Cliff Osmond
Encyclopedia
Cliff Osmond is an American character actor and television screenwriter most famous for his role of "Barney" in Billy Wilder
's "Kiss Me, Stupid
" (the comedic song lyrics were actually written by Ira Gershwin
). Osmond also appeared in three other Billy Wilder
comedies, including a co-starring role as "Purkey" opposite Jack Lemmon
and Walter Matthau
in "The Fortune Cookie
," as well as appearing in Wilder's "Irma La Douce
" and "Front Page
."
Osmond made more than 100 appearances in TV shows or movies between 1962 and 1996. During that he he guest-starred in multiple "Gunsmoke
" episodes, as well as guest starring in such shows as "All in the Family
," the "Bob Newhart Show," "Kojak
," "Here's Lucy
," and the original and "Twilight Zone
."
Also a screenwriter, Osmond was nominated for a Writer's Guild
Award for writing an episode of "Streets of San Francisco." He also wrote and directed the features film "The Penitent," starring Raul Julia
and Armand Assante
.
As an actor received a Best Actor award for his UCLA performance of Berthold Brecht's "Baal
", and the Joseph Jefferson acting award for a Chicago stage appearance in Shaw's "You Never Can Tell
."
In addition to his acting and writing careers, Osmond has, for the past thirty years, also been successful acting teacher and coach in Los Angeles. He has taught and lectured to over twenty thousand students there and around the country, in forty states, in a dozen universities, and in his own private acting schools in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Antonio. In the fall of 2004, he was visiting professor in acting and Guest Resident Artist at Georgetown University
, teaching two acting courses and directing Ibsen's "A Doll's House
."
In 2010 he wrote a book about his career and acting: "Acting is Living: Exploring the Ten Essential Elements in any Successful Performance."
Cliff Osmond was born in Jersey City's Margaret Hague Medical Center, raised in Union City, N.J., is a graduate of Thomas A. Edison grammar school, Emerson High School, and Dartmouth College
(BA in English). He received his Masters Degree in Business Administration from UCLA, and advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. in Theater History at UCLA.
He is married to Gretchen Ebrahim, and the father of two children: Margaret (Mishi) and Eric.
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
's "Kiss Me, Stupid
Kiss Me, Stupid
Kiss Me, Stupid is a 1964 American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Dean Martin, Kim Novak, and Ray Walston.The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on Wife For a Night , an Italian film starring Gina Lollobrigida -- which was itself taken from a play by Anna Bonacci...
" (the comedic song lyrics were actually written by Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
). Osmond also appeared in three other Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
comedies, including a co-starring role as "Purkey" opposite Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
and Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
in "The Fortune Cookie
The Fortune Cookie
The Fortune Cookie is a 1966 film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in their first on-screen collaboration, and directed by Billy Wilder.- Plot :...
," as well as appearing in Wilder's "Irma La Douce
Irma la Douce
Irma la Douce/Irma la Dolce is a 1963 romantic comedy starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, directed by Billy Wilder.It is based on the 1956 French musical Irma La Douce by Marguerite Monnot and Alexandre Breffort.-Plot:...
" and "Front Page
Front Page
A front page is the first page of a newspaper or other publication lacking a front cover, typically the place where the most important content is placed, hence the metaphorical connotations of the term.Front Page can also refer to:...
."
Osmond made more than 100 appearances in TV shows or movies between 1962 and 1996. During that he he guest-starred in multiple "Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
" episodes, as well as guest starring in such shows as "All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
," the "Bob Newhart Show," "Kojak
Kojak
Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
," "Here's Lucy
Here's Lucy
Here's Lucy is Lucille Ball's third network television sitcom. It ran on CBS from 1968 to 1974.-Background:Though The Lucy Show was still hugely popular during the previous season, finishing in the top five of the Nielsen Ratings , Ball opted to end that series at the end of that season and create...
," and the original and "Twilight Zone
Twilight zone
-Television series and spinoffs:*The Twilight Zone, the anthology television series and its franchise:**The Twilight Zone , the 1959–1964 original television series***Twilight Zone: The Movie, a 1983 film based on the original series...
."
Also a screenwriter, Osmond was nominated for a Writer's Guild
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
Award for writing an episode of "Streets of San Francisco." He also wrote and directed the features film "The Penitent," starring Raul Julia
Raúl Juliá
Raúl Rafael Juliá y Arcelay was a Puerto Rican actor.Born in San Juan, he gained interest in acting while still in school. Upon completing his studies, Juliá decided to pursue a career in acting. After performing in the local scene for some time, he was convinced by entertainment personality Orson...
and Armand Assante
Armand Assante
-Personal life:Assante was born in New York City and raised in Cornwall, New York, the son of Katherine , a music teacher and poet, and Armand Anthony Assante, Sr., a painter and artist. His father was Italian and his mother was Irish, and was raised in a devoutly Roman Catholic family...
.
As an actor received a Best Actor award for his UCLA performance of Berthold Brecht's "Baal
Baal
Baʿal is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...
", and the Joseph Jefferson acting award for a Chicago stage appearance in Shaw's "You Never Can Tell
You Never Can Tell
You Never Can Tell is an 1897 four-act play by G. Bernard Shaw that debuted at the Royalty Theatre. It was published as part of a volume of Shaw's plays entitled Plays Pleasant....
."
In addition to his acting and writing careers, Osmond has, for the past thirty years, also been successful acting teacher and coach in Los Angeles. He has taught and lectured to over twenty thousand students there and around the country, in forty states, in a dozen universities, and in his own private acting schools in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Antonio. In the fall of 2004, he was visiting professor in acting and Guest Resident Artist at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, teaching two acting courses and directing Ibsen's "A Doll's House
A Doll's House
A Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premièred at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month....
."
In 2010 he wrote a book about his career and acting: "Acting is Living: Exploring the Ten Essential Elements in any Successful Performance."
Cliff Osmond was born in Jersey City's Margaret Hague Medical Center, raised in Union City, N.J., is a graduate of Thomas A. Edison grammar school, Emerson High School, and Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
(BA in English). He received his Masters Degree in Business Administration from UCLA, and advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. in Theater History at UCLA.
He is married to Gretchen Ebrahim, and the father of two children: Margaret (Mishi) and Eric.
Partial filmography
- Irma La DouceIrma la DouceIrma la Douce/Irma la Dolce is a 1963 romantic comedy starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, directed by Billy Wilder.It is based on the 1956 French musical Irma La Douce by Marguerite Monnot and Alexandre Breffort.-Plot:...
(1963) - Wild and Wonderful (1964)
- Kiss Me, StupidKiss Me, StupidKiss Me, Stupid is a 1964 American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Dean Martin, Kim Novak, and Ray Walston.The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on Wife For a Night , an Italian film starring Gina Lollobrigida -- which was itself taken from a play by Anna Bonacci...
(1964) - The Fortune CookieThe Fortune CookieThe Fortune Cookie is a 1966 film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in their first on-screen collaboration, and directed by Billy Wilder.- Plot :...
(1966) - Three Guns for Texas (1968)
- Invasion of the Bee GirlsInvasion of the Bee GirlsInvasion of the Bee Girls is a 1973 science fiction film. The first film venture for writer Nicholas Meyer, it was directed by Denis Sanders and stars William Smith, Victoria Vetri and Anitra Ford.-Synopsis:...
(1973) - The Front PageThe Front Page (1974 film)The Front Page is a 1974 American comedy-drama film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on the 1928 play of the same title by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, which was previously adapted for the screen under its...
(1974) - Sharks' Treasure (1975)
- The Great BrainThe Great BrainThe Great Brain is a series of children's books by American author John Dennis Fitzgerald . Set in the fictitious small town of Adenville, Utah, between 1896 and 1898, the stories are loosely based on Fitzgerald's childhood experiences. Although John D...
(1978) - The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides AgainThe Apple Dumpling Gang Rides AgainThe Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again is a 1979 sequel to the 1975 family film The Apple Dumpling Gang starring the comedy duo of Tim Conway, and Don Knotts. Conway and Knotts reprise their roles as Amos and Theodore. The film also stars Tim Matheson, Harry Morgan, and Kenneth Mars. Laugh-In star...
(1979) - The North Avenue IrregularsThe North Avenue IrregularsThe North Avenue Irregulars is a 1979 Disney film distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company starring Edward Hermann, Barbara Harris and Susan Clark. It was based on original work by Albert Fay Hill, as adapted by Don Tait...
(1979) - For Which He Stands (1996)
External links
- Cliff Osmond at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...