1945-10-19 Rochester, New York, USA
John Arthur Lithgow (born October 19, 1945) is an American actor. Prolific in films, television and on stage, Lithgow is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Tony Awards and nominations for two Academy Awards and four Grammy Awards. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame and has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Lithgow studied at Harvard University winning a Fulbright scholarship and getting a chance to attend the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. From there he focused his training on the New York stage beginning a distinguished career on Broadway. In 1973, Lithgow received his first Tony Award for his performance in The Changing Room. In 1976 Lithgow acted alongside Meryl Streep in three plays 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, A Memory of Two Mondays and Secret Service. In the 1980s he continued to receive Tony Awards nominations for his performances in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1985) and M. Butterfly (1988). In 2002, Lithgow received his second Tony Award, this time for a musical, The Sweet Smell of Success and another nomination for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005). In 2007, he made his Royal Shakespeare Company debut as Malvolio in Neil Bartlett's production of Twelfth Night. He has also appeared on Broadway in the acclaimed plays The Columnist (2012) and A Delicate Balance (2014). He portrayed Bill Clinton in Hillary and Clinton (2019) alongside Laurie Metcalf as Hillary Clinton. Lithgow is also known for his television roles such as Dick Solomon in the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001) winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance. He also played Arthur Mitchell in the drama Dexter (2009) and he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama. In 2004, Lithgow played Blake Edwards in the HBO television movie, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. He has also appeared on 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, Louie and Drunk History. Lithgow won great acclaim for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Peter Morgan's historical drama The Crown (2016–2019) on Netflix. For acting in The Crown he won a Primetime Emmy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2020, he had a recurring role on the HBO period series Perry Mason. He is also well known for his film roles. His early screen roles included Bob Fosse's All That Jazz (1979) and Brian De Palma's Blow Out (1981). He received his first Academy Award nomination for his breakout performance in The World According to Garp (1982) and received a second Academy Award nomination for Terms of Endearment (1983). He then starred in the films Footloose (1984), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), The Pelican Brief and Cliffhanger (1993), A Civil Action (1998), Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000), Shrek (2001), Kinsey (2004), Dreamgirls (2006), Love Is Strange (2014), Miss Sloane (2016) and Beatriz at Dinner (2017). In 2019 he appeared in Mindy Kaling's comedy Late Night and portrayed Roger Ailes in Bombshell.
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The Rule of Jenny Pen | 2025-03-20 | |
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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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Killers of the Flower Moon | Prosecutor Peter Leaward | 2023-10-18 |
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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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Chez Bob | 2022-12-15 | |
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The Bubble | Tom the Studio Chairman | 2022-03-25 |
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Emily @ the Edge of Chaos | Sir Isaac Newton (voice) | 2021-05-07 |
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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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Give My Regards to Broadway | Self | 2020-07-16 |
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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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On Broadway | Self | 2019-10-12 |
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Pet Sematary | Jud Crandall | 2019-04-04 |
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The Tomorrow Man | Ed Hemsler | 2019-05-22 |
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Late Night | Walter Lovell | 2019-01-25 |
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Bombshell | Roger Ailes | 2019-12-13 |
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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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Broadway: The Next Generation | Self | 2017-11-16 |
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They All Saw a Cat | 2017-01-01 | |
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Daddy's Home 2 | Don | 2017-11-09 |
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Beatriz at Dinner | Doug Strutt | 2017-06-09 |
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The Pulitzer At 100 | Self | 2017-07-21 |
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Pitch Perfect 3 | Fergus | 2017-12-20 |
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Hickory Dickory Doc | Himself | 2017-01-30 |
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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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Shakespeare Live! From the RSC | Self - Performer | 2016-04-23 |
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Projections of America | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2015-02-10 |
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Inside 'Interstellar' | Self | 2015-03-31 |
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Lord John | 2015-07-20 | |
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Best of Enemies | Self | 2015-07-31 |
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Les As de la Jungle 2 : Le Trésor du Vieux Jim | Maurice (voice) | 2014-08-27 |
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9 Kisses | Man in Club | 2014-12-11 |
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The Homesman | Reverend Alfred Dowd | 2014-05-18 |
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Love Is Strange | Ben | 2014-08-22 |
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Interstellar | Donald | 2014-11-05 |
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National Theatre Live: The Magistrate | Posket | 2013-01-17 |
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Shrek Stories | Lord Farquaad (voice) | 2013-10-01 |
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Timms Valley | Ol' Gregory Timms | 2013-12-31 |
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Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love | Self | 2013-10-12 |
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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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Casting By | Self | 2012-11-01 |
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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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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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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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Einstein's Big Idea | Narrator (voice) U.S. edition | 2005-10-11 |
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The Ghost of Lord Farquaad | Ghost of Farquaad (voice) | 2004-04-03 |
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Kinsey | Alfred Seguine Kinsey | 2004-09-04 |
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Dogs and More Dogs | Narrator | 2004-02-03 |
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The Life and Death of Peter Sellers | Blake Edwards | 2004-10-01 |
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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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Don Quixote | Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano | 2000-04-09 |
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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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Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection | Dr. Oscar Charles | 1999-09-07 |
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Homegrown | Malcolm / Robert Stockman | 1998-04-17 |
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Johnny Skidmarks | Sergeant Larry Skovik | 1998-01-18 |
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A Civil Action | Judge Walter J. Skinner | 1998-12-25 |
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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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My Brother's Keeper | Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley | 1995-03-14 |
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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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Redwood Curtain | Laird Riordan | 1995-01-01 |
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Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects | Self | 1994-05-22 |
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A Good Man in Africa | Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner | 1994-07-14 |
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Silent Fall | Dr. Rene Harlinger | 1994-10-28 |
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Princess Caraboo | Professor Wilkinson | 1994-09-16 |
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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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Sylvester and the Magic Pebble | Narrator | 1993-01-01 |
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The Wrong Man | Phillip Mills | 1993-09-05 |
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The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale | Alexander (voice) | 1993-12-08 |
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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 | 1991-04-15 | |
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At Play in the Fields of the Lord | Leslie Huben | 1991-12-06 |
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Ivory Hunters | Robert Carter | 1990-08-20 |
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Night of 100 Stars III | Self | 1990-05-21 |
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Memphis Belle | Bruce Derringer | 1990-09-07 |
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John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concert | 1990-06-01 | |
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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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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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The Amazing Bone | Narrator | 1987-06-01 |
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The Manhattan Project | John Mathewson | 1986-06-13 |
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Resting Place | Maj. Kendall Laird | 1986-04-27 |
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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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Santa Claus: The Movie | B.Z. | 1985-10-29 |
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Footloose | Rev. Shaw Moore | 1984-02-17 |
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2010 | Dr. Walter Curnow | 1984-12-06 |
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The Glitter Dome | Sgt. Marty Wellborn | 1984-11-18 |
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears | Goldilocks' Father | 1984-01-09 |
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The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension | Lord John Whorfin | 1984-08-10 |
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Twilight Zone: The Movie | Valentine | 1983-06-24 |
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Terms of Endearment | Sam Burns | 1983-11-20 |
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The Day After | Joe Huxley | 1983-11-20 |
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The World According to Garp | Roberta Muldoon | 1982-08-13 |
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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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Big Blonde | Herbie Morse | 1980-12-01 |
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Mom, the Wolfman and Me | Wally | 1980-10-20 |
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The Oldest Living Graduate | Clarence | 1980-04-07 |
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All That Jazz | Lucas Sergeant | 1979-12-16 |
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Rich Kids | Paul Philips | 1979-08-17 |
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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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The Fall of 2008 | Glenn Motch (The Campaign) | |
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Jimpa | Jimpa | |
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Amazing Stories: The Movie II | John Walters (archive footage) |
