1945-10-19 Rochester, New York, USA
John Arthur Lithgow (born October 19, 1945) 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 transgender 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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Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic | Self | 2026-04-05 |
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Giant | Roald Dahl | 2026-11-19 |
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GIANT - The Play | Roald Dahl | 2026-07-30 |
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Jimpa | Jimpa | 2026-02-06 |
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The Rule of Jenny Pen | Dave Crealy | 2025-03-07 |
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Cabrini | Mayor Gould | 2024-03-07 |
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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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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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Chez Bob | 2022-12-15 | |
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The Bubble | Tom the Studio Chairman | 2022-03-25 |
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Myths and Hymns | 2021-01-13 | |
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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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Show of Titles | "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer | 2021-06-13 |
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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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Pet Sematary | Jud Crandall | 2019-04-04 |
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Bombshell | Roger Ailes | 2019-12-13 |
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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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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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Mister Rogers: It's You I Like | Self | 2018-03-06 |
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Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy Baterman | Jud Crandall | 2018-11-13 |
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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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The Pulitzer At 100 | Self | 2017-07-21 |
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Pitch Perfect 3 | Fergus | 2017-12-20 |
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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 Accountant | Lamar Blackburn | 2016-10-13 |
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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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Miss Sloane | Senator Ronald Sperling | 2016-11-25 |
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Inside 'Interstellar' | Self | 2015-03-31 |
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Projections of America | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2015-03-28 |
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Lord John | 2015-07-20 | |
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Best of Enemies | Voice of Gore Vidal | 2015-07-31 |
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9 Kisses | Man in Club | 2014-02-14 |
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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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Interstellar | Donald | 2014-11-05 |
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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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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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Casting By | Self | 2012-11-01 |
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The Campaign | Glen Motch | 2012-08-09 |
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This Is 40 | Oliver | 2012-12-20 |
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Rise of the Planet of the Apes | Charles Rodman | 2011-08-03 |
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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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Leap Year | Jack Brady | 2010-01-08 |
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Confessions of a Shopaholic | Edgar West | 2009-02-05 |
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The Macabre World of Lavender Williams | God | 2009-05-31 |
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Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn | Narrator | 2009-10-10 |
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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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The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand Challenge | Narrator | 2006-03-28 |
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Dreamgirls | Jerry Harris | 2006-12-25 |
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The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays | René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly") | 2006-05-02 |
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Sangre | Cafe chef and owner | 2006-01-01 |
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Einstein's Big Idea | Narrator (voice) U.S. edition | 2005-10-11 |
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Footloose: A Modern Musical | Self | 2004-09-28 |
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Kinsey | Alfred Seguine Kinsey | 2004-09-04 |
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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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Shrek 3-D | Ghost of Farquaad (voice) | 2004-04-03 |
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Bark, George | 2003-01-01 | |
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Buckaroo Banzai Declassified | Self | 2002-01-04 |
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Orange County | Bud Brumder | 2002-01-11 |
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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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95 Worlds and Counting | Narrator | 2000-01-01 |
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Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | Jean-Claude (voice) | 2000-11-17 |
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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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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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Officer Buckle and Gloria | Narrator (voice) | 1997-01-01 |
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Special Effects: Anything Can Happen | Narrator | 1996-07-04 |
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Hollow Point | Thomas Livingston | 1996-10-21 |
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The Tuskegee Airmen | Senator Conyers | 1995-08-25 |
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Redwood Curtain | Laird Riordan | 1995-04-23 |
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My Brother's Keeper | Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley | 1995-03-19 |
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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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Silent Fall | Dr. Rene Harlinger | 1994-10-28 |
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Princess Caraboo | Professor Wilkinson | 1994-09-16 |
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The Pelican Brief | Smith Keen | 1993-09-17 |
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The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale | Alexander (voice) | 1993-12-08 |
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The Wrong Man | Phillip Mills | 1993-09-05 |
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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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Cliffhanger | Qualen | 1993-05-28 |
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Raising Cain | Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo | 1992-08-07 |
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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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Ricochet | Earl Talbott Blake | 1991-10-04 |
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John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concert | 1990-06-01 | |
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Ivory Hunters | Robert Carter | 1990-08-20 |
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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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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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Baby Girl Scott | Neil Scott | 1987-01-01 |
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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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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 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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Mesmerized | Oliver Thompson | 1985-11-18 |
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2010 | Dr. Walter Curnow | 1984-12-06 |
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears | Goldilocks' Father | 1984-01-09 |
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The Glitter Dome | Sgt. Marty Wellborn | 1984-11-18 |
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The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension | Lord John Whorfin | 1984-08-10 |
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2010 : The Odyssey Continues | Himself | 1984-01-01 |
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Footloose | Rev. Shaw Moore | 1984-02-17 |
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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 Day After | Joe Huxley | 1983-12-10 |
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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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The World According to Garp | Roberta Muldoon | 1982-07-23 |
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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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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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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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Broadway: The Next Generation | Self | |
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Stallone on the Edge: The Making of Cliffhanger | Self | |
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Sequestered - Inside Conclave | Self |
