Harry Groener
Encyclopedia
Harry Groener is a German-born American actor and dancer, perhaps best known for playing Mayor Wilkins in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (seasons 3, 4 and 7).
, Bavaria
, Germany to an opera singer mother and a father who worked as a concert pianist, office clerk, and composer. He emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of two. As a teenager, Groener was apprenticed at the San Francisco Ballet
; he went on to study drama at the University of Washington
.
. His Broadway credits include Is there life after high school?
, Will Parker in Oklahoma!
(Tony Award
nomination, Theatre World Award
), Munkustrap in Cats
(Tony nomination), Georges/George in Sunday in the Park With George
, and Bobby Child in Crazy for You
(Tony, Drama Desk
, and Outer Critics Circle Award
nominations). In 1999 he performed off-Broadway with Twiggy at the Lucille Lortel Theater in If Love Were All, a musical revue based on the friendship of Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence. He has performed in regional theatre
s across the country, including the San Diego Old Globe Theatre
(where he is an associate artist), Mark Taper Forum
, Westwood Playhouse, South Coast Repertory
, Long Wharf Theater, A.C.T., and the Williamstown Theater Festival.Currently he has a role as "clint" in how met your mother he is ted's stepdad.
Groener has performed regularly on TV, including guest appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation
(1990), Star Trek: Voyager
(1996), Star Trek: Enterprise
(2005) and several dozen other series; he was also a series regular in the sitcom Dear John...
. In 1998-1999, Groener portrayed Richard Wilkins, the evil mayor of Sunnydale
on the 3rd season of cult TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Groener reprised his role in cameo appearances in Buffy's 4th and 7th seasons. From 2004 to 2006 he appeared as the chef Gunther on the TV series Las Vegas
. Notable film work includes Road to Perdition
and About Schmidt
. He also appeared in two episodes of The West Wing as the Secretary of Agriculture
and in the episode of Bones
The Woman at the Airport
as a plastic surgeon, Henry Atlas.
He was a regular vocalist for the Varèse Sarabande
label, performing on such recordings as Shakespeare on Broadway, Cole Porter: A Musical Toast, and various installments of the Unsung Broadway and Lost in Boston series. He played King Arthur
in Monty Python's Spamalot during 2006. In 2010, he appeared as the title role in the Antaeus Company's production of King Lear. He won the LA Drama Critics Circle Award for this performance.
Early life
Groener was born in AugsburgAugsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Germany to an opera singer mother and a father who worked as a concert pianist, office clerk, and composer. He emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of two. As a teenager, Groener was apprenticed at the San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet
The San Francisco Ballet is a ballet company, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. SFB is the first professional ballet company in the United States...
; he went on to study drama at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
.
Career
Groener's reputation in New York City rests almost entirely on his work in musical theater, although the bulk of his roles outside New York have been in classical drama or contemporary plays like Eastern StandardEastern Standard
Eastern Standard is a play by Richard Greenberg. Set in 1987, it focuses on yuppies, AIDS, the stock market and insider trading scandals, homelessness, and urban malaise.-Plot:...
. His Broadway credits include Is there life after high school?
Is there life after high school?
Is there life after high school? is a musical with a book by Jeffrey Kindley and music and lyrics by Craig Carnelia. It is loosely inspired by Ralph Keyes' best-selling book of the same name....
, Will Parker in Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
(Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nomination, Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
), Munkustrap in Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
(Tony nomination), Georges/George in Sunday in the Park With George
Sunday in the Park with George
Sunday in the Park with George is a 1984 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical was inspired by the painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat...
, and Bobby Child in Crazy for You
Crazy for You
Crazy for You is a musical with a book by Ken Ludwig, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. Billed as "The New Gershwin Musical Comedy", it is largely based on the songwriting team’s 1930 musical, Girl Crazy, but interpolates songs from several other productions as well...
(Tony, Drama Desk
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
, and Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
nominations). In 1999 he performed off-Broadway with Twiggy at the Lucille Lortel Theater in If Love Were All, a musical revue based on the friendship of Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence. He has performed in regional theatre
Regional theatre in the United States
Regional theaters, or resident theaters, in the United States are professional or semi-professional, theater companies that produce their own seasons. The term regional theatre most often refers to professional theatres outside of New York City...
s across the country, including the San Diego Old Globe Theatre
Old Globe Theatre
The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons...
(where he is an associate artist), Mark Taper Forum
Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739 seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles...
, Westwood Playhouse, South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...
, Long Wharf Theater, A.C.T., and the Williamstown Theater Festival.Currently he has a role as "clint" in how met your mother he is ted's stepdad.
Groener has performed regularly on TV, including guest appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation
Tin Man (TNG episode)
"Tin Man" is the title of an episode from the third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.-Plot:The Enterprise brings aboard the Betazoid Federation emissary Tam Elbrun, and takes him to a distant star system...
(1990), Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
(1996), Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
(2005) and several dozen other series; he was also a series regular in the sitcom Dear John...
Dear John (US TV series)
Dear John is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1988 to 1992. The series was originally based on the British sitcom of the same name. Dear John was retitled Dear John USA when it was shown in the UK. During its four-season run, the series was bounced to and from various time periods on...
. In 1998-1999, Groener portrayed Richard Wilkins, the evil mayor of Sunnydale
Sunnydale
Sunnydale, California is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror...
on the 3rd season of cult TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Groener reprised his role in cameo appearances in Buffy's 4th and 7th seasons. From 2004 to 2006 he appeared as the chef Gunther on the TV series Las Vegas
Las Vegas (TV series)
Las Vegas was an American television series broadcast by NBC from September 22, 2003 to February 15, 2008. The show focuses on a team of people working at the ficticional Montecito Resort & Casino dealing with issues that arise within the working environment, ranging from valet parking and...
. Notable film work includes Road to Perdition
Road to Perdition
Road to Perdition is a 2002 American crime film directed by Sam Mendes. The screenplay was adapted by David Self, from the graphic novel of the same name by Max Allan Collins. The film stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, and Daniel Craig...
and About Schmidt
About Schmidt
About Schmidt is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne, starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. It is loosely based on the 1996 novel of the same title by Louis Begley. Many of the scenes were filmed on location, especially in Omaha, Nebraska and Denver, Colorado...
. He also appeared in two episodes of The West Wing as the Secretary of Agriculture
United States Secretary of Agriculture
The United States Secretary of Agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The current secretary is Tom Vilsack, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 20 January 2009. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other...
and in the episode of Bones
Bones (TV series)
Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...
The Woman at the Airport
The Woman at the Airport
"The Woman at the Airport" is the tenth episode of the first season of the television series, Bones. Originally aired on January 25, 2006 on Fox network, the episode is written by Teresa Lin and directed by Greg Yaitanes. While the series takes place mostly in Washington, D.C., this episode is also...
as a plastic surgeon, Henry Atlas.
He was a regular vocalist for the Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
label, performing on such recordings as Shakespeare on Broadway, Cole Porter: A Musical Toast, and various installments of the Unsung Broadway and Lost in Boston series. He played King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
in Monty Python's Spamalot during 2006. In 2010, he appeared as the title role in the Antaeus Company's production of King Lear. He won the LA Drama Critics Circle Award for this performance.
Personal life
His wife is actress Dawn Didawick, with whom he can be seen dancing in Dance with Me. He is cousin to actress Andrea Groener.External links
- The Somewhat Official Harry Groener Page
- Harry Groener - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.orgAmerican Theatre WingThe American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...
, 2006 - Performance Working in the Theatre seminar at American Theatre Wing.orgAmerican Theatre WingThe American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...
, April 1992