George Dzundza | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 19, 1945 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1973–2011 |
| Spouse |
Mary Jo Vermeulen
(m. 1982) |
| Children | 3 |
George Dzundza (/ˈzʊndzə/ ZUUND-zə;[1] born July 19, 1945)[2] is an American television and film actor. His notable work includes The Waltons (1975), Skokie (1981), Open All Night (1981), No Way Out (1987), The Beast (1988). He appeared in The Deer Hunter, Streamers, Impulse, White Hunter Black Heart, The Butcher's Wife, Basic Instinct, Crimson Tide, Dangerous Minds and City by the Sea, Law & Order, and Jesse.
Early life and education
Dzundza was born in Rosenheim, Germany, to a Ukrainian father, Roman Dzundza, originally from Kalush, Ukraine, and a Polish mother, Maria Humenecka, originally from Lviv, Poland. His parents were forced into factory labour by the Nazis.[3] He spent the first few years of his life in displaced persons camps with his parents and one brother.[4]
The 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.[5] He attended Xavier High School in Manhattan. He attended St. Johns University and also studied under Stella Adler[6] and Harold Clurman.[7]
Career
Dzundza began acting in his freshman year of college at the insistence of another student.[8] However, his professional stage debut was in a 1973 New York Shakespeare Festival production of King Lear.[5]
Dzundza starred in a short-lived 1981 sitcom series Open All Night,[8] about the owner of a "Store 364" convenience store in Inglewood, California.[9] He portrayed American Nazi leader Frank Collin in the 1981 made-for-television movie Skokie.[10]
In 1987, Dzundza played Sam Hesselman, a disabled man in a wheelchair, in No Way Out[11][6] and Commander Daskal in The Beast in 1988.[12] Other major film roles of his include The Deer Hunter,[13] Streamers,[13] Impulse,[13] White Hunter Black Heart, [13] The Butcher's Wife,[13] Basic Instinct,[13] Crimson Tide,[13] Dangerous Minds[13] and City by the Sea.[6]
He was an original cast member of the NBC drama Law & Order,[13] playing NYPD Sergeant Max Greevey in the first season only. Dzundza quit after the first season of the show.[14]
His other acting work includes an appearance on The Waltons (1975),[13] and playing the Archie Bunker-like father in the short-lived Christina Applegate sitcom Jesse.[13] He voiced supervillain the Ventriloquist in Batman: The Animated Series,[13] and Perry White in Superman: The Animated Series.[13]
In 2005, he played Anubis (aka "Jim") in the Stargate SG-1 Season 8 episode "Threads".[13] Dzundza portrayed George O'Malley's father Harold on Grey's Anatomy.[13]
Personal life
Dzundza has been married since 1982 to Mary Jo Vermeulen.[7] They have three daughters[2] as well as two grandchildren.[7]
He is a naturalized US citizen.[2]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Massage Parlor Murders | Mr. Creepy | |
| 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 | Chief of the Boat (COB) | |
| 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[15] |
| 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[15] |
| 2010 | The Chosen One | Norman |
Television
| 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 | TV film |
| 1979 | Salem's Lot | Cully Sawyer | 2 episodes
TV miniseries |
| 1979–1980 | Young Maverick | Clem | 2 episodes |
| 1981 | Skokie | Frank Collin | TV film |
| A Long Way Home | Floyd Booth | ||
| 1981–1982 | Open All Night | Gordon Feester | 13 episodes |
| 1983 | The Face of Rage | Nick | TV film |
| Faerie Tale Theatre | The Woodsman | Episode: "Sleeping Beauty" | |
| 1984 | The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck | Lt. DeCarlo | TV 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 | TV 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 | TV film | |
| 1987 | Crime Story | Ivan Ivanovitch Patchenko | Episode: "Mig 21" |
| Glory Years | John Moss | TV film | |
| 1988 | Something Is Out There | Frank Dileo | 2 episodes |
| 1989 | Terror on Highway 91 | Sheriff Jessie Barton | TV film |
| The Ryan White Story | Dr. Kleiman | ||
| Cross of Fire | Boyd Gurley | TV miniseries (2 episodes) / TV film | |
| 1990–1991 | Law & Order | Sergeant Max Greevey | 22 episodes |
| 1992 | What She Doesn't Know | Jack Kilcoin | TV film |
| 1993–1995 | Batman: The Animated Series | Arnold Wesker/The Ventriloquist, G. Carl Francis, Chubb | Voice, 6 episodes[15] |
| 1993 | The Untouchables | Warden Wyandotte | 3 episodes |
| Animaniacs | Ivan Bloski | Voice, episode: "Plane Pals"[15] | |
| 1994 | The Babymaker: The Dr. Cecil Jacobson Story | Dr. Cecil Jacobson | TV film |
| Matlock | Michael Brennan | Episode: "Brennan" | |
| The Enemy Within | Jake | TV film | |
| 1996 | The Limbic Region | Lloyd | |
| Road Rovers | Gustav Hovac | Voice, episode: "Where Rovers Dare"[15] | |
| 1996–1999 | Superman: The Animated Series | Perry White | Voice, 8 episodes[15] |
| 1997 | The New Batman Adventures | Arnold Wesker/The Ventriloquist | Voice, episode: "Double Talk"[15] |
| 1998–1999 | Jesse | John Warner, Sr. | 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" |
| 2002–2003 | Hack | Tom Grzelak | 22 episodes |
| 2005 | Stargate SG-1 | Jim/Anubis | Episode: "Threads" |
| 2005–2007 | Grey's Anatomy | Harold O'Malley | TV series, 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 | TV film |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Superman: Shadow of Apokolips | Perry White | [15] |
References
- ↑ "Say How? A Pronunciation Guide to Names of Public Figures". Loc.gov. 2014-12-02. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- 1 2 3 "Dzundza, George 1945—". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ↑ 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.
- 1 2 "George Dzundza". TCM.com. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- 1 2 3 "George Dzundza". stellaadler.com. Stella Adler Studio of Acting. 20 August 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- 1 2 3 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.
- 1 2 Jacobs, Jay S. (February 26, 2003). "George Dzundza". PopEntertainment.com. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "George Dzundza Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ↑ 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.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "George Dzundza (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 16, 2023.