George Dzundza (/ˈzʊndzə/ ZUUND-zə;[1] born July 19, 1945)[2] is a retired[3] American actor. He is known for his varied work in film and on television, including The Deer Hunter (1978), Skokie (1981), No Way Out (1987), The Beast (1988), Impulse (1990), White Hunter Black Heart (also 1990), The Butcher's Wife (1991), Basic Instinct (1992), Crimson Tide (1995), Dangerous Minds (also 1995), and City by the Sea (2002).
George Dzundza | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 19, 1945 |
| Alma mater | St. John's University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1973–2011 |
| Spouse |
Mary Jo Vermeulen
(m. 1982) |
| Children | 3 |
Dzundza's television roles include Sergeant Max Greevey on the first season of Law & Order (1990-91), Tom Grzelack on Hack (2002-03), Harold O'Malley on Grey's Anatomy (2005-07), and the voices of Arnold Wesker/The Ventriloquist and Perry White in the DC Animated Universe. He also starred on the short-lived sitcom Open All Night (1981). Along with the ensemble cast, Dzundza won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his performance in the Robert Altman film Streamers (1983).
Early life and education
editDzundza was born in Rosenheim, Germany, to Polish parents Roman Dzundza and Maria Humenecka, who respectively originated from Kalush and Lviv in what is now Ukraine. After the Nazis forced his parents into factory labor, Dzundza spent his early years living in displaced persons camps with them.[4][5]
Dzundza's family moved to Amsterdam in 1949, then moved to the US in 1956, settling in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City.[6] He became a naturalized US citizen.[2] He attended Xavier High School and St. Johns University, and studied under Stella Adler and Harold Clurman.[7][8]
Career
editDzundza began acting in his freshman year of college at the insistence of another student.[9] However, his professional stage debut was in a 1973 New York Shakespeare Festival production of King Lear,[6] which was later aired as an episode of Great Performances. He starred in the Festival's 1973-74 national tour of That Championship Season.[10] He also starred in the Broadway productions The Ritz and Legend,[10] and in A Prayer for My Daughter at the Public Theatre.[11] In 1979 he played the role of Cully Sawyer in the horror film, Salem's Lot.
Dzundza starred in a short-lived 1981 sitcom series Open All Night,[9] about the owner of a "Store 364" convenience store in Inglewood, California.[12] He portrayed American Nazi leader Frank Collin in the 1981 television film Skokie.[13] In 1983, he starred in Robert Altman's film Streamers, based on the David Rabe play of the same name.[14] The film's ensemble cast collectively won the Best Actor Award at the 40th Venice International Film Festival.
In 1987, Dzundza played Sam Hesselman, a disabled man in a wheelchair, in No Way Out[15][7] and Commander Daskal in The Beast in 1988.[16] Other major film roles of his include The Deer Hunter,[14] Impulse,[14] White Hunter Black Heart, [14] The Butcher's Wife,[14] Basic Instinct,[14] Crimson Tide,[14] Dangerous Minds[14] and City by the Sea.[7]
He was an original cast member of the NBC drama Law & Order,[14] playing NYPD Sergeant Max Greevey in the first season only. Dzundza left after the first season of the show.[17]
His other acting work includes an appearance on The Waltons (1975),[14] and playing the Archie Bunker-like father in the short-lived Christina Applegate sitcom Jesse.[14] He voiced supervillain the Ventriloquist in Batman: The Animated Series,[14] and Perry White in Superman: The Animated Series.[14]
In 2005, he played Anubis (aka "Jim") in the Stargate SG-1 episode "Threads".[14] Dzundza portrayed George O'Malley's father Harold on Grey's Anatomy.[14]
Personal life
editDzundza has been married to Mary Jo Vermeulen since 1982.[8] They have three daughters and two grandchildren.[8][2]
Now semi-retired, Dzundza resides in Astoria, Oregon, where he directs community and regional theatre productions.[3]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Massage Parlor Murders | Mr. Creepy | Also assistant director |
| 1974 | Fischia Il Sesso | Dean | |
| 1975 | The Happy Hooker | Chet | |
| 1978 | The Deer Hunter | John Welsh | |
| 1981 | Honky Tonk Freeway | Eugene | |
| 1983 | Streamers | Cokes | |
| 1984 | Best Defense | Steve Loparino | |
| 1986 | No Mercy | Captain Stemkowski | |
| 1987 | No Way Out | Sam Hesselman | |
| No Man's Land | Uncle Mike | Uncredited | |
| 1988 | The Beast | Daskal | |
| Honor Bound | Wocjinski | ||
| 1990 | Impulse | Lt. Joe Morgan | |
| White Hunter Black Heart | Paul Landers | ||
| 1991 | The Butcher's Wife | Leo Lemke | |
| 1992 | Basic Instinct | Detective Gus Moran | |
| 1995 | Crimson Tide | COB Walters | |
| Dangerous Minds | Hal Griffith | ||
| 1997 | That Darn Cat | Boetticher | |
| Do Me A Favor | Wallace Muller | ||
| 1998 | Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero | Dr. Gregory Belson (voice) | Direct-to-video[18] |
| Species II | Colonel Carter Burgess Jr. | ||
| 1999 | Instinct | Dr. John Murray | |
| 2000 | Above Suspicion | Stamos | |
| 2002 | Determination of Death | Mac | |
| City by the Sea | Reg Duffy | ||
| 2005 | National Lampoon's Adam & Eve | Eve's dad | |
| 2006 | Superman: Brainiac Attacks | Perry White (voice) | Direct-to-video[18] |
| 2010 | The Chosen One | Norman | [19][20] |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Kung Fu | Mr. Evans / 1st John | Episode: "Night of the Owls, Day of the Doves" |
| Great Performances | Gentleman | Episode: "King Lear" | |
| 1975 | Movin' On | Charlie Banner | Episode: "From Baltimore to Eternity" |
| Starsky & Hutch | Crandell | Episode: "Snowstorm" | |
| The Waltons | A.J. Covington | Episode: "The Abdication" | |
| Grady | George Kosinski | 3 episodes | |
| Joe Forrester | Episode: "The Best Laid Schemes" | ||
| 1976 | Bert D'Angelo/Superstar | Mike Zuber | Episode: "Murder in Velvet" |
| 1977 | The Streets of San Francisco | Paul Weber | Episode: "The Canine Collar" |
| 1978 | The Defection of Simas Kudirka | Gruzauskas | Television film |
| 1979 | Salem's Lot | Cully Sawyer | Miniseries |
| 1979–1980 | Young Maverick | Clem | 2 episodes |
| 1981 | Skokie | Frank Collin | Television film |
| A Long Way Home | Floyd Booth | ||
| 1981–1982 | Open All Night | Gordon Feester | 13 episodes |
| 1983 | The Face of Rage | Nick | Television film |
| Faerie Tale Theatre | The Woodsman | Episode: "Sleeping Beauty" | |
| 1984 | The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck | Lt. DeCarlo | Television film |
| When She Says No | Paul Fellows | ||
| 1984, 1988 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Mr. Elder / Arthur Jennings | 2 episodes |
| 1985 | The Rape of Richard Beck | Blastig | Television film |
| Brotherly Love | Lieutenant Conde | ||
| The Execution of Raymond Graham | Prison Chaplain | ||
| 1986 | The Disney Sunday Movie | Pete Selzer | Episode: "2 1/2 Dad" |
| The Twilight Zone | Colonel Ilyanov | Episode: "Red Snow" | |
| One Police Plaza | Detective Gustav Stamm | Television film | |
| 1987 | Crime Story | Ivan Ivanovitch Patchenko | Episode: "Mig 21" |
| Glory Years | John Moss | Television film | |
| 1988 | Something Is Out There | Frank Dileo | 2 episodes |
| 1989 | Terror on Highway 91 | Sheriff Jessie Barton | Television film |
| The Ryan White Story | Dr. Kleiman | ||
| Cross of Fire | Boyd Gurley | Miniseries | |
| 1990–91 | Law & Order | Sergeant Max Greevey | Main cast (22 episodes) |
| 1992 | What She Doesn't Know | Jack Kilcoin | Television film |
| 1993–95 | Batman: The Animated Series | Arnold Wesker/The Ventriloquist, G. Carl Francis, Chubb (voices) | 6 episodes[18] |
| 1993 | The Untouchables | Warden Wyandotte | 3 episodes |
| Animaniacs | Ivan Bloski (voice) | Episode: "Plane Pals"[18] | |
| 1994 | The Babymaker: The Dr. Cecil Jacobson Story | Cecil Jacobson | Television film |
| Matlock | Michael Brennan | Episode: "Brennan" | |
| The Enemy Within | Jake | Television film | |
| 1996 | The Limbic Region | Lloyd | |
| Road Rovers | Gustav Hovac (voice) | Episode: "Where Rovers Dare"[18] | |
| 1996–99 | Superman: The Animated Series | Perry White (voice) | 10 episodes[18] |
| 1997 | The New Batman Adventures | Arnold Wesker/The Ventriloquist (voice) | Episode: "Double Talk"[18] |
| 1998–99 | Jesse | John Warner Sr. | Main cast (22 episodes) |
| 2000 | Touched by an Angel | Bud Baxter | Episode: "The Empty Chair" |
| Third Watch | Faith's Dad | Episode: "Know Thyself" | |
| 2002 | The Agency | Helmut | Episode: "The Gauntlet" |
| 2002–03 | Hack | Tom Grzelak | Main cast (22 episodes) |
| 2005 | Stargate SG-1 | Jim/Anubis | Episode: "Threads" |
| 2005–07 | Grey's Anatomy | Harold O'Malley | 7 episodes |
| 2006 | The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | Coach (voice) | Episode: "The Secret Snake Club vs. P.E." |
| 2008 | October Road | Gloy Daniels | Episode: "Hat? No Hat?" |
| 2009 | The Beast | Lieutenant Platko | Episode: "Two Choices" |
| 2011 | Danni Lowinski | Augustus 'Gus' Lowinski | Television film |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Superman: Shadow of Apokolips | Perry White[18] | |
| 2004 | Shellshock: Nam '67 | Platt | |
| 2009 | Batman: Arkham Asylum | Blackgate Thug | Uncredited |
Stage appearances
edit| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | King Lear | Gentleman | Delacorte Theater, Off-Broadway | For Shakespeare in the Park |
| That Championship Season | George Sikowski | U.S. tour | ||
| 1974 | Mert and Phil | Dream Man | Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway | |
| 1975-76 | The Ritz | Abe | Longacre Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1976 | A Streetcar Named Desire | McCarter Theatre, Princeton | ||
| Legend | William F. P. Morgan | Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway | ||
| 1977 | As To The Meaning of Words | Hartman Theatre, Stamford | ||
| 1977 | A Prayer for My Daughter | Kelly | Public Theater, Off-Broadway | |
| 1999 | Measure for Measure | Pompey | Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles |
Awards and nominations
edit| Institution | Year | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Derby Awards | 2007 | Drama Guest Actor | Grey's Anatomy | Won |
| 2010 | Drama Guest Actor of the Decade | Nominated | ||
| Venice Film Festival | 1983 | Best Actor | Streamers | Won[a] |
References
edit- ^ "Say How? A Pronunciation Guide to Names of Public Figures". Loc.gov. 2014-12-02. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- ^ a b c "Dzundza, George 1945—". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ a b Webb, Patrick (August 7, 2023). "Everyday People: Retired actor wants audiences to question". The Astorian. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
- ^ Jakle, Jeanne (December 26, 1998). "Nice-guy actor won't turn fans away - or off". San Antonio Express-News / mySA.com. S.A. Life. Retrieved 2015-08-26 – via newsbank.com.
- ^ "New Yorkers bring culture to Catskills". ukrweekly.com. 13 September 1998. Archived from the original on January 5, 2006.
- ^ a b "George Dzundza". TCM.com. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ a b c "George Dzundza". stellaadler.com. Stella Adler Studio of Acting. 20 August 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ a b c Bengel, Erick (March 13, 2014). "Dzundza directs Coaster Theatre production". The Astorian (December 7, 2018 ed.). Cannon Beach Gazette. Retrieved May 4, 2022 – via dailyastorian.com.
- ^ a b Jacobs, Jay S. (February 26, 2003). "George Dzundza". PopEntertainment.com. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ a b "George Dzundza – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
- ^ "A Prayer for My Daughter". www.iobdb.com. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
- ^ Handler, David (March 3, 1982). "'Open All Night' is weird -- but good". The Madison Courier. Madison, Indiana. p. B7. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
- ^ "Film documents Skokie's resistance to Neo-Nazis". San Diego Jewish World. 2020-11-02. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "George Dzundza Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ Slovick, Matt. "No Way Out". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ Kehr, Dave (2 December 1988). "'The Beast' Intrigues with Its Point of View". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ Courrier, Kevin; Green, Susan (November 22, 1999). Law & Order: The Unofficial Companion (2nd ed.). Los Angeles, California: Renaissance Books. p. 111. ISBN 1-58063-108-8.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "George Dzundza (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 12, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
- ^ Block, Alex Ben (March 6, 2013). "Film Investors' Lawsuit Against Rob Schneider Moves to L.A. Superior Court". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
- ^ Leo, Vince (August 30, 2010). "The Chosen One review (2010)". qwipster.net. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
Notes
edit- ^ Shared with Guy Boyd, David Alan Grier, Mitchell Lichtenstein, Matthew Modine, and Michael Wright.