1945-10-19 Rochester, New York, USA
John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor. He studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his diverse work on stage and screen. He has received numerous accolades, including six Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, four Grammy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Laurence Olivier Award. Lithgow won two Tony Awards, his first for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his Broadway debut in The Changing Room (1972) and his second for Best Actor in a Musical for the musical Sweet Smell of Success (2002). He was Tony-nominated for Requiem for a Heavyweight (1985), M. Butterfly (1988), and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005). He has acted in the plays The Columnist (2012), A Delicate Balance (2014), and Hillary and Clinton (2019). He portrayed Roald Dahl in the play Giant on the West End, for which he was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actor. He starred as Dick Solomon in the television sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001), winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. He received further Primetime Emmy Awards for his performances as Arthur Mitchell in the drama Dexter (2009) and as Winston Churchill in the Netflix drama The Crown (2016–2019). He also starred in HBO's Perry Mason (2020) and FX's The Old Man (2022). On film, he has received two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor nominations for his roles as a transsexual ex-football player in The World According to Garp (1982) and a lonely banker in Terms of Endearment (1983). He also acted in All That Jazz (1979), Blow Out (1981), Footloose (1984), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), A Civil Action (1998), Shrek (2001), Kinsey (2004), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Love Is Strange (2014), Interstellar (2014), Late Night (2019), Bombshell (2019), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), and Conclave (2024).
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The Rule of Jenny Pen | Dave Crealy | 2025-03-07 |
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Jimpa | Jimpa | 2025-11-06 |
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Art Happens Here with John Lithgow | Self | 2024-04-26 |
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Conclave | Tremblay | 2024-10-25 |
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Cabrini | Mayor Gould | 2024-03-07 |
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Spellbound | Bolinar (voice) | 2024-11-22 |
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Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic | Self | 2023-12-21 |
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Sharper | Richard Hobbes | 2023-02-10 |
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Killers of the Flower Moon | Prosecutor Peter Leaward | 2023-10-18 |
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The Bubble | Tom the Studio Chairman | 2022-03-25 |
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Chez Bob | 2022-12-15 | |
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Show of Titles | "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer | 2021-06-13 |
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Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes | Philip Drummond | 2021-12-07 |
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Myths and Hymns | 2021-01-13 | |
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Emily @ the Edge of Chaos | Sir Isaac Newton (voice) | 2021-05-07 |
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Give My Regards to Broadway | Self | 2020-07-16 |
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The Tomorrow Man | Ed Hemsler | 2019-05-22 |
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Bombshell | Roger Ailes | 2019-12-13 |
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The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts | President Donald J. Trump | 2019-06-24 |
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Pet Sematary | Jud Crandall | 2019-04-04 |
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On Broadway | Self | 2019-10-12 |
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Late Night | Walter Lovell | 2019-01-25 |
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Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy Baterman | Jud Crandall | 2018-11-13 |
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Mister Rogers: It's You I Like | Self | 2018-03-06 |
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The Pulitzer At 100 | Self | 2017-07-21 |
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Beatriz at Dinner | Doug Strutt | 2017-06-09 |
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Broadway: The Next Generation | Self | 2017-11-16 |
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Daddy's Home 2 | Don | 2017-11-09 |
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Pitch Perfect 3 | Fergus | 2017-12-20 |
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They All Saw a Cat | 2017-01-01 | |
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Hickory Dickory Doc | Himself | 2017-01-30 |
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Shakespeare Live! From the RSC | Self - Performer | 2016-04-23 |
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The Accountant | Lamar Blackburn | 2016-10-13 |
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Miss Sloane | Senator Ronald Sperling | 2016-11-25 |
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Ode to Joy: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 | Narrator | 2016-04-05 |
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Best of Enemies | Self | 2015-07-31 |
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Projections of America | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2015-02-10 |
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Lord John | 2015-07-20 | |
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Inside 'Interstellar' | Self | 2015-03-31 |
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Interstellar | Donald | 2014-11-05 |
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Love Is Strange | Ben | 2014-08-22 |
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Les As de la Jungle 2 : Le Trésor du Vieux Jim | Maurice (voice) | 2014-08-27 |
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The Homesman | Reverend Alfred Dowd | 2014-05-18 |
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Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love | Self | 2013-10-12 |
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Timms Valley | Ol' Gregory Timms | 2013-12-31 |
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Shrek Stories | Lord Farquaad (voice) | 2013-10-01 |
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National Theatre Live: The Magistrate | Posket | 2013-01-17 |
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Casting By | Self | 2012-11-01 |
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This Is 40 | Oliver | 2012-12-20 |
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The Campaign | Glen Motch | 2012-08-09 |
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New Year's Eve | Jonathan Cox (uncredited) | 2011-12-08 |
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Shrek: Once Upon a Time | Self | 2011-12-30 |
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Rise of the Planet of the Apes | Charles Rodman | 2011-08-03 |
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Leap Year | Jack Brady | 2010-01-08 |
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Confessions of a Shopaholic | Edgar West | 2009-02-05 |
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Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn | Narrator | 2009-10-10 |
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The Macabre World of Lavender Williams | God | 2009-05-31 |
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Car of the Future | Narrator | 2008-04-22 |
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ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway | Self | 2007-04-19 |
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Dreamgirls | Jerry Harris | 2006-12-25 |
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The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand Challenge | Narrator | 2006-03-28 |
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Sangre | Cafe chef and owner | 2006-01-01 |
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The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays | René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly") | 2006-05-02 |
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Einstein's Big Idea | Narrator (voice) U.S. edition | 2005-10-11 |
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The Life and Death of Peter Sellers | Blake Edwards | 2004-10-01 |
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Dogs and More Dogs | Narrator | 2004-02-03 |
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Kinsey | Alfred Seguine Kinsey | 2004-09-04 |
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The Ghost of Lord Farquaad | Ghost of Farquaad (voice) | 2003-05-23 |
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Bark, George | 2003-01-01 | |
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Orange County | Bud Brumder | 2002-01-11 |
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Buckaroo Banzai Declassified | Self | 2002-01-04 |
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Shrek | Lord Farquaad (voice) | 2001-05-18 |
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Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party | Lord Farquaad (singing voice) | 2001-11-02 |
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Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | Jean-Claude (voice) | 2000-11-17 |
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95 Worlds and Counting | Narrator | 2000-01-01 |
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Don Quixote | Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano | 2000-04-09 |
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Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection | Dr. Oscar Charles | 1999-09-07 |
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A Civil Action | Judge Walter J. Skinner | 1998-12-25 |
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Johnny Skidmarks | Sergeant Larry Skovik | 1998-01-18 |
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Homegrown | Malcolm / Robert Stockman | 1998-04-17 |
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Officer Buckle and Gloria | Narrator (voice) | 1997-01-01 |
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Hollow Point | Thomas Livingston | 1996-10-21 |
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Special Effects: Anything Can Happen | Narrator | 1996-07-04 |
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The Tuskegee Airmen | Senator Conyers | 1995-08-25 |
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American Cinema | Narrator | 1995-01-23 |
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My Brother's Keeper | Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley | 1995-03-19 |
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Tales from the Crypt: You, Murderer | Dr. Oscar Charles | 1995-01-25 |
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Redwood Curtain | Laird Riordan | 1995-01-01 |
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Princess Caraboo | Professor Wilkinson | 1994-09-16 |
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Silent Fall | Dr. Rene Harlinger | 1994-10-28 |
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A Good Man in Africa | Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner | 1994-07-14 |
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Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects | Self | 1994-05-22 |
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The Wrong Man | Phillip Mills | 1993-09-05 |
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Sylvester and the Magic Pebble | Narrator | 1993-01-01 |
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The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale | Alexander (voice) | 1993-12-08 |
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Cliffhanger | Eric Qualen | 1993-05-28 |
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The Pelican Brief | Smith Keen | 1993-09-17 |
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Love, Cheat & Steal | Paul Harrington | 1993-12-05 |
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Raising Cain | Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo | 1992-08-07 |
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Ricochet | Earl Talbott Blake | 1991-10-04 |
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The Boys | Artie Margulies | 1991-04-15 |
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At Play in the Fields of the Lord | Leslie Huben | 1991-12-06 |
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John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concert | 1990-06-01 | |
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Memphis Belle | Bruce Derringer | 1990-09-07 |
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Amazing Stories: The Movie II | John Walters (archive footage) | 1990-11-25 |
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Night of 100 Stars III | Self | 1990-05-21 |
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Ivory Hunters | Robert Carter | 1990-08-20 |
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Traveling Man | Ben Cluett | 1989-06-25 |
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Out Cold | Dave | 1989-03-03 |
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Distant Thunder | Mark Lambert | 1988-11-11 |
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The Amazing Bone | Narrator | 1987-06-01 |
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Harry and the Hendersons | George Henderson | 1987-06-05 |
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Baby Girl Scott | Neil Scott | 1987-01-01 |
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Resting Place | Maj. Kendall Laird | 1986-04-27 |
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The Manhattan Project | John Mathewson | 1986-06-13 |
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Santa Claus: The Movie | B.Z. | 1985-10-29 |
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Mesmerized | Oliver Thompson | 1985-11-18 |
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Santa Claus: The Making of the Movie | Self | 1985-12-01 |
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The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension | Lord John Whorfin | 1984-08-10 |
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The Glitter Dome | Sgt. Marty Wellborn | 1984-11-18 |
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Footloose | Rev. Shaw Moore | 1984-02-17 |
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears | Goldilocks' Father | 1984-01-09 |
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2010 | Dr. Walter Curnow | 1984-12-06 |
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2010 : The Odyssey Continues | Himself | 1984-01-01 |
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The Day After | Joe Huxley | 1983-11-20 |
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Terms of Endearment | Sam Burns | 1983-11-20 |
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Twilight Zone: The Movie | Valentine | 1983-06-24 |
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The World According to Garp | Roberta Muldoon | 1982-07-23 |
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I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can | Mr. Brunner | 1982-03-05 |
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Not in Front of the Children | Richard Carruthers | 1982-10-26 |
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Blow Out | Burke | 1981-07-24 |
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The Oldest Living Graduate | Clarence | 1980-04-07 |
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Mom, the Wolfman and Me | Wally | 1980-10-20 |
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Big Blonde | Herbie Morse | 1980-12-01 |
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Rich Kids | Paul Philips | 1979-08-17 |
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All That Jazz | Lucas Sergeant | 1979-12-16 |
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The Big Fix | Sam Sebastian | 1978-10-06 |
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Secret Service | Capt. Thorne | 1977-01-12 |
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Obsession | Robert Lasalle | 1976-08-01 |
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The Country Girl | Paul Unger | 1974-02-05 |
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Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues | John | 1972-02-25 |
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Sequestered - Inside Conclave | Self |
