George Dzundza
| George Dzundza | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 19, 1945 Rosenheim, Germany |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1974–present |
George Dzundza (/ˈzʊndzə/ ZUUND-zə)[1] (born July 19, 1945) is a German-born American television and film actor.
Early life and education
Dzundza was born in Rosenheim, Germany, to a Ukrainian father and Polish mother who were forced into factory labour by the Nazis.[2] He spent the first few years of his life in displaced persons camps with his parents and one brother.[3] Before immigrating to the United States in 1956, the family lived in Amsterdam for some years. His family then moved to the US, settling in New York City, where George attended Xavier High School. Dzundza attended St. John's University, studying speech and theatre arts. He is a naturalized U.S. citizen.[4]
Career
In 1987, Dzundza played Sam Hesselman, a disabled man in a wheelchair, in No Way Out and Commander Daskal in The Beast. His other major film roles include The Deer Hunter, White Hunter Black Heart, Basic Instinct, Crimson Tide, and Dangerous Minds. He was an original cast member of the long-running NBC drama Law & Order, playing NYPD Sergeant Max Greevey in the first season before leaving the show. Dzundza had his own 1981 sitcom series Open All Night, about the owner of a "Store 364" convenience store in Inglewood, CA.[5]
His other, lesser-known acting work includes an appearance on The Waltons (1975), playing the Archie Bunker-like father in the short-lived Christina Applegate sitcom Jesse, and voicing supervillain the Ventriloquist in Batman: The Animated Series and Perry White in Superman: The Animated Series, as well as numerous minor roles within both shows. His Broadway theatre credits include Terrence McNally's The Ritz.
He portrayed American Nazi leader Frank Collin in the 1981 made-for-television movie Skokie.
In 2005, he played Anubis (aka "Jim") in the Stargate SG-1 Season 8 episode "Threads".
More recently, Dzundza portrayed George O'Malley's father on Grey's Anatomy.
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Massage Parlor Murders | Mr. Creepy | |
| 1975 | Starsky & Hutch | Crandell | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1975 | The Waltons | A.J. Covington | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1979 | Salem's Lot | Cully Sawyer | TV miniseries |
| 1981 | Skokie | Frank Collin | TV film |
| 1981-1982 | Open All Night | Gordon Feester | TV series |
| 1981 | A Long Way Home | Floyd Booth | TV film |
| 1984 | The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck | Lt. DeCarlo | TV film |
| 1985 | The Execution of Raymond Graham | Prison Chaplain | TV film |
| 1985 | Country Dance | Lt. Conde | TV film |
| 1988 | Something Is Out There | Frank Dileo | TV miniseries |
| 1989 | The Ryan White Story | Dr. Kleiman | TV film |
| 1989 | Cross of Fire | Boyd Gurley | TV miniseries |
| 1990-1991 | Law & Order | Sgt. Max Greevey | TV series, 22 episodes |
| 1993-1995 | Batman: The Animated Series | Arnold Wesker / The Ventriloquist | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 1994 | Matlock | Michael Brennan | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1996 | The Limbic Region | Lloyd | TV film |
| 1996-1999 | Superman: The Animated Series | Perry White | TV series, 8 episodes |
| 1997 | The New Batman Adventures | Arnold Wesker / The Ventriloquist | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1998-1999 | Jesse | John Warner, Sr. | TV series, 22 episodes |
| 2002-2003 | Hack | Tom Grzelak | TV series, 22 episodes |
| 2005 | Stargate SG-1 | Anubis | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2005-2007 | Grey's Anatomy | Harold O'Malley | TV series, 7 episodes |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| 1987 | No Man's Land | Uncle Mike | Uncredited |
| 1988 | The Beast | Daskal | |
| 1990 | White Hunter Black Heart | Paul Landers | |
| 1990 | Impulse | Lt. Joe Morgan | |
| 1991 | The Butcher's Wife | Leo Lemke | |
| 1992 | Basic Instinct | Detective Gus | |
| 1995 | Crimson Tide | Chief of the Boat (COB) William Cob | |
| 1995 | Dangerous Minds | Hal Griffith | |
| 1997 | That Darn Cat | Boetticher | |
| 1997 | Do Me a Favor | Wallace Muller | |
| 1998 | Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero | Dr. Gregory Belson | Direct-to-video |
| 1998 | Species II | Col. Carter Burgess Jr. | |
| 1999 | Instinct | Dr. John Murray | |
| 2000 | Above Suspicion | Stamos | |
| 2002 | City by the Sea | Reg Duffy | |
| 2005 | National Lampoon's Adam & Eve | Eve's dad | |
| 2006 | Superman: Brainiac Attacks | Perry White | Direct-to-video |
References
- ↑ "Say How? A Pronunciation Guide to Names of Public Figures". Loc.gov. 2014-12-02. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- ↑ "San Antonio Express-News Newspaper Archive, Newspaper, Archives | mySA.com". Docs.newsbank.com. 1998-12-26. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- ↑ DATELINE NEW YORK: New Yorkers bring culture to Catskills (09/13/98) Archived January 5, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "George Dzundza Biography (1945-)". Filmreference.com. 1945-07-19. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- ↑ Handler, David (March 3, 1982). "'Open All Night' is weird -- but good". The Madison Courier. Madison, IN. p. B7. Retrieved November 16, 2012.