British?American actor (1930?2018)
Donald Moffat
|
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Born
| (
1930-12-26
)
December 26, 1930
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Died
| December 20, 2018
(2018-12-20)
(aged 87)
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Education
| Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
(
BA
)
|
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Occupation
| Actor
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Years active
| 1956?2005
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Spouses
| -
Anne Murray Ellsperman
(
m.
1954;
div.
1968)
-
|
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Children
| 4
|
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Donald Moffat
(December 26, 1930 ? December 20, 2018) was a British-American actor with a decades-long career in film and stage in the United States. He began his acting career on- and off-
Broadway
, which included appearances in
The Wild Duck
and
Right You Are If You Think You Are
, earning Tony Award nominations for both, as well as
Painting Churches
, for which he received an
Obie Award
. Moffat also appeared in several feature films, including
The Thing
(1982),
The Right Stuff
(1983) and, in a rare leading role on film, as a tenuously-recovering alcoholic in
On the Nickel
(1980). Moffat also made guest appearances in numerous television series, including such shows as
Little House on the Prairie
,
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
, and
The West Wing
. He also was a principal in the 1993 TV miniseries
Tales of the City
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Moffat was born in
Plymouth
,
Devon
, the only child of Kathleen Mary (
nee
Smith) and Walter George Moffat, an insurance agent. His father was
Scottish
. His parents ran a boarding house in
Totnes
. Completing his studies at the local
King Edward VI School
and
national service
in the
Army
from 1949 to 1951, Moffat trained at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
in
London
.
[1]
[2]
Career
[
edit
]
Stage
[
edit
]
Moffat began his career as a stage actor in
London
and
New York City
. His first work was at the
Old Vic Theatre
Company in London.
[3]
After moving to the United States, Moffat worked as a bartender and a lumberjack in
Oregon
, his wife's home state. "After six months," he said, "I realized that I was an actor and I would always be an actor. And an actor must act. So I started acting again."
[4]
His first acting job in the United States was in
Princeton, New Jersey
. He worked as a carpenter, and his wife did ironing in order to supplement his $25 per week pay.
[2]
He joined APA (The Association of Producing Artists), a repertory company on
Broadway
, and was nominated for a Tony for Best Actor in a Play in 1967 for his roles in revivals of
Henrik Ibsen
's
The Wild Duck
and
Pirandello
's
Right You Are If You Think You Are
.
[5]
He was nominated for
Drama Desk Awards
for Outstanding Actor in a Play for his work in
Play Memory
(1984) and for Outstanding Featured Actor in the revival of
Eugene O'Neill
's
The Iceman Cometh
(1986) with
Jason Robards
.
[6]
He won an
Obie
for
Painting Churches
.
[7]
In 1998, he was nominated for a
Gemini Award
for his performance as attorney Joe Ruah in the
CBC
miniseries
The Sleep Room
.
[8]
He also appeared in many
Broadway
and Off-Broadway plays, including John Guare's
A Few Stout Individuals
(as
Ulysses S. Grant
),
[9]
The Heiress
,
[10]
The Cherry Orchard
,
[11]
Much Ado About Nothing
,
[12]
The School for Scandal
,
[12]
The Affair
[13]
and
Hamlet
.
[14]
Film
[
edit
]
Among Moffat's best-known film roles are as
Lyndon B. Johnson
in
The Right Stuff
(1983), the corrupt U.S. president in
Clear and Present Danger
, and as Garry, the station commander in
The Thing
.
[15]
Television
[
edit
]
Moffat played Enos in the CBS western miniseries
The Chisholms
,
[16]
Lars Lundstrom in the ABC drama
The New Land
.
[17]
and Rem in the CBS science-fiction series
Logan's Run
.
[18]
He also appeared in
Columbo
,
The West Wing
,
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
and
Tales of the City
, in which his performance as dying executive Edgar Halcyon earned him many new fans. One of his final roles was as Baseball Commissioner
Ford Frick
in the
HBO
movie,
61*
.
[15]
Moffat's last role was as a judge in an episode of
Law & Order: Trial by Jury
in 2005.
[19]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Moffat married actress Anne Murray in 1954;
[1]
they had a daughter, Wendy, and a son, Gabriel, before divorcing in 1968.
[2]
He later married actress
Gwen Arner
.
[4]
Moffat died on December 20, 2018, in
Sleepy Hollow, New York
due to complications from a
stroke
, six days before his 88th birthday.
[1]
Selected TV and filmography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
McFadden, Robert D. (December 20, 2018).
"Donald Moffat, 87, a Top Actor Who Thrived in Second Billings, Dies"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
December 21,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
Glover, William (March 28, 1967).
"He's Still Broke But Has Grown As Actor"
.
The Danville Register
.
Associated Press
. p. 9
. Retrieved
August 11,
2017
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Familiar Face"
.
The Irish Times
.
Dublin
. Retrieved
December 21,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Waiting for Rem"
.
San Antonio Express
. August 25, 1977. p. 2B
. Retrieved
August 11,
2017
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Peikert, Mark (March 21, 2018).
"Two-Time Tony Nominee Donald Moffat Dead at 87"
.
Playbill
. Retrieved
March 25,
2022
.
- ^
"Donald Moffat"
.
Playbill
. Archived from
the original
on August 12, 2017
. Retrieved
August 12,
2017
.
- ^
"1980s: Winners"
.
OBIE Awards
. Archived from
the original
on August 12, 2017
. Retrieved
August 12,
2017
.
- ^
Hannant, Larry (December 1999).
"The Man Who Might Have Been: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Herbert Norman produced by Louise Lore and Gerry Flahive, The Sleep Room produced by Bernard Zukerman, The Un-Canadians produced by Joanne Smale (review)"
.
Canadian Historical Review
.
80
(4): 698?705.
- ^
Isherwood, Charles (May 13, 2002).
"A Few Stout Individuals"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
December 21,
2018
.
- ^
Winer, Laurie (September 13, 1996).
"Cruelty Forges a Shining 'Heiress'
"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
ISSN
0458-3035
. Retrieved
December 21,
2018
.
- ^
Loehlin, James N. (September 14, 2006).
Chekhov: The Cherry Orchard
. Cambridge University Press. p. 119.
ISBN
978-0-5218-2593-1
.
- ^
a
b
Criscitiello, Alexa (December 20, 2018).
"Award-Winning Actor and Director Donald Moffat Passes Away At Age 87"
.
Broadway World
. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
- ^
Bordman, Gerald (November 21, 1996).
American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1930-1969
. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 382.
ISBN
978-0-1950-9079-6
.
- ^
Adams, Val (May 22, 1964).
"C.B.S. Series Plans Part Of 'The Brig'; Play Will Be a Segment of 'Look Up and Live'
"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
December 21,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
aa
ab
ac
ad
ae
af
ag
"Filmography for Donald Moffat"
.
Turner Classic Movies
. Archived from
the original
on April 6, 2019
. Retrieved
December 21,
2018
.
- ^
Terrace, pp. 185?186.
- ^
Terrace, p. 755.
- ^
Terrace, pp. 617?618.
- ^
a
b
c
Lincoln, Ross (December 21, 2018).
"Donald Moffat, 'The Right Stuff' and 'The Thing' Actor, Dies at 87"
.
TheWrap
. Retrieved
December 21,
2018
.
- ^
"The Battle of the River Plate"
.
Trailers from Hell
. July 22, 2017
. Retrieved
December 22,
2018
.
- ^
Skelton, Scott (1999).
Rod Serling's Night Gallery: An After-hours Tour
. Syracuse University Press. p. 206.
ISBN
9780815627821
. Retrieved
December 22,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Donald Moffat List of Movies and TV Shows"
.
TV Guide
. Retrieved
December 21,
2018
.
- ^
"Ebony, Ivory and Jade(1979)"
.
Turner Classic Movies
. Retrieved
December 22,
2018
.
- ^
"The Sleep Room (1998)"
.
Rotten Tomatoes
. Retrieved
December 22,
2018
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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People
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Other
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