Michael Lerner - Biography

Michael Lerner (born June 22, 1941) is an American actor.

Life and career

Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York of Romanian Jewish descent, the son of Blanche and George Lerner, who was a fisherman and antiques dealer. He was raised in Bensonhurst and Red Hook. His brother, Ken Lerner, is also an actor. After graduating from Brooklyn College and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Lerner began his acting career in the late 1960s at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. At the age of 24 he gave a bravura performance as Hieronymous the Miser in a KPFA radio production of Michel de Ghelderode’s Breugelesque play, Red Magic.

During the seventies, Lerner began making several guest appearances in television shows such as The Brady Bunch, The Odd Couple and M*A*S*H. He appeared in three episodes of The Rockford Files. In 1974, he appeared in the teleplay The Missiles of October as President John F. Kennedy's press secretary Pierre Salinger.

In 1970 Michael made his film debut in the Donald Sutherland picture Alex in Wonderland. He then went on to appear in supporting roles in various Hollywood movies such as Robert Redford's The Candidate, Charles Bronson's St. Ives and Jack Nicholson's The Postman Always Rings Twice. In 1991, after co-starring in the Eddie Murphy comedy Harlem Nights, Michael played film producer Jack Lipnick in the Coen Brothers' Barton Fink, a performance for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Michael's recent projects include the Christmas comedy Elf and Poster Boy, as well as appearing in television programs such as Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Entourage.

British audiences know him best for his role in a 1990s TV ad for Heineken lager saying, "You like the limo? It's yours".

In 2002 he appeared in London`s West End production of Up for Grabs with Madonna. Michael also appeared on Radio Four in 2008 as a member of the cast of David Quantick's Radio Four's series One.

Filmography

• "The Brady Bunch", (1969) Johnny
• Alex in Wonderland, (1970) Leo
• The Candidate, (1972) Corliss
• Firehouse, (1973 TV-movie) Ernie Bush
• Busting, (1974) Marvin
• Newman's Law, (1974) Frank Acker
• The Missiles of October, (1974 TV-movie) Pierre Salinger
• Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975) (TV film) Dr. Marvin Kittredge
• Hangup, (1975) Richard
• Dark Victory, (1976 TV-movie) Manny
• St. Ives, (1976) Myron Green
• Scott Free, (1976) Santini
• The Other Side of Midnight, (1977) Barbet
• Killer on Board, (1977 TV-movie) Dr. Berglund
• Outlaw Blues, (1977) Hatch
• A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story, (1978) Dr. Canlan
• Ruby and Oswald, (1978 TV-movie) Jack Ruby
• Goldengirl, (1979) Sternberg
• The Baltimore Bullet, (1980) Paulie
• Coast to Coast, (1980) Dr. Frederick Froll
• Borderline, (1980) Henry Lydell
• The Postman Always Rings Twice, (1981) Mr. Katz
• Threshold, (1981) Henry de Vici
• National Lampoon's Class Reunion, (1982) Dr. Robert Young
• Hill Street Blues, (1983-1985 TV series) Rollie Simone
• Strange Invaders, (1983) Willie Collings
• Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess, (1983 TV-movie) Henry Cohn
• Movers & Shakers, (1984) Arnie
• The Execution, (1985) Sidney Ferraro
• The Child is Mine, (1985 TV-movie) Abe Rosenberg
• That Secret Sunday, (1986) Mario Pinelli
• Anguish, (1987) Bigas Luna
• Hands of a Stranger, (1987 TV-movie) Capt. Cirrillo
• The King of Love, (1987) Nat Goldberg
• Any Man's Death, (1988) Herb Denner
• Vibes, (1988) Burt Wilder
• Eight Men Out, (1988) Arnold Rothstein
• Harlem Nights, (1989) Bugsy Calhoune
• Framed, (1990 TV-movie) Elliot Shane
• Maniac Cop 2, (1990) Edward Doyle
• Barton Fink, (1991) Jack Lipnick (Academy-Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role)
• Omen IV: The Awakening, (1991 TV-movie) Earl Knight
• Newsies, (1992) Weasel
• The Comrades of Summer, (1992) George
• Amos & Andrew, (1993) Phil Gillman
• Blank Check, (1994) Biderman
• Radioland Murders, (1994) Lieutenant Cross
• The Road to Wellville, (1994) Goodloe Bender
• No Escape, (1994) Warden
• Girl in the Cadillac, (1995) Pal
• No Way Back, (1995) Frank Serlano
• A Pyromaniac's Love Story, (1995) Perry
• Clueless, (1996-1997 TV-series) Mel Horowitz
• For Richer or Poorer, (1997) Phillip Kleinman
• Godzilla, (1998) Mayor Ebert
• Safe Men, (1998) Big Fat Bernie Gayle
• Celebrity, (1998) Dr. Lupus
• Tale of the Mummy, (1998) Professor Marcus
• The Mod Squad, (1999) Howard
• My Favorite Martian (1999) Mr. Channing
• Murder at the Cannes Film Festival, (2000 TV-movie) Morrie Borelli
• Attention Shoppers, (2000) Khourosh
• Mockingbird Don't Sing, (2001) Dr. Stan York
• 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure, (2002) Producer (voice only)
• Elf, (2003) Fulton
• Nobody Knows Anything!, (2003) Uncle Lou
• The Calcium Kid, (2004) Artie Cohen
• Poster Boy, (2004) Jack Kray
• When Do We Eat?, (2005) Ira Stuckman
• Love and Other Disasters, (2005) Morty
• The Last Time, (2006) Leguzza
• A Dennis the Menace Christmas, (2007) Mr. Souse
• Entourage, (2008) Guest Star
• A Serious Man, (2009) Solomon Schlutz
• Life During Wartime, (2009) Harvey Wiener
• Atlas Shrugged, (2011) Wesley Mouch

Brady Bunch, 1969. Johnny

External links