Peter Friedman
Encyclopedia
Peter Friedman is an American stage, film and television actor.
Born in New York City
, Friedman graduated from Hofstra University
before making his Broadway
debut in The Great God Brown in 1972. Additional theatre credits include The Visit
(1973), Piaf
and A Soldier's Play
(both 1981), The Heidi Chronicles
(1989), Ragtime
(1998), and Twelve Angry Men (2004). He has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
and the Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, Outstanding Actor in a Play, and Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.
On television
, Friedman starred as patriarch
George Silver in Brooklyn Bridge
, has made numerous guest appearances in such series as Miami Vice
, Law & Order
, NYPD Blue
, Without a Trace
, Ghost Whisperer
, and Damages
, and had a featured role in Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of Boulder
. Early in his career he performed in several episodes of The Muppet Show
in its first and third seasons, and spent a brief time on Sesame Street
.
Friedman's many feature film
credits include Prince of the City
, Daniel
, The Seventh Sign
, Single White Female
, I'm Not Rappaport
, I Shot Andy Warhol, Safe, Freedomland
, The Savages
, and I'm Not There
.
Friedman married actress Joan Allen
in 1990. The couple divorced in 2002. They have one daughter, Sadie, born in March 1994.
Born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Friedman graduated from Hofstra University
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
before making his Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in The Great God Brown in 1972. Additional theatre credits include The Visit
The Visit
The Visit is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt.-Plot summary:...
(1973), Piaf
Piaf (play)
Piaf is a play by Pam Gems that focuses on the life and career of French chanteuse Edith Piaf. The biographical drama with music portrays the singer in a most unflattering light...
and A Soldier's Play
A Soldier's Play
A Soldier's Play is a drama by Charles Fuller. The play uses a murder mystery to explore the complicated feelings of anger and resentment that some African Americans have toward one another, and the ways in which many black Americans have absorbed white racist attitudes.This play is loosely based...
(both 1981), The Heidi Chronicles
The Heidi Chronicles
The Heidi Chronicles is a 1988 play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.-Production history:A workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre was held in April 1988, directed by Daniel J. Sullivan....
(1989), Ragtime
Ragtime (musical)
Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty.Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in America, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in...
(1998), and Twelve Angry Men (2004). He has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival...
and the Drama Desk Award
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...
for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, Outstanding Actor in a Play, and Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.
On television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, Friedman starred as patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
George Silver in Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge (TV series)
Brooklyn Bridge is an American television program which aired on CBS between 1991 and 1993. It is about a Jewish American family living in Brooklyn in the middle 1950s...
, has made numerous guest appearances in such series as Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
, Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
, NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
, Without a Trace
Without a Trace
Without a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.-Premise:...
, Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer is an American television supernatural drama, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts...
, and Damages
Damages (TV series)
Damages is an American television drama series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler . It is broadcast in the United States on the DirecTV channel Audience Network after originally airing on FX and is produced by the creators' own...
, and had a featured role in Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of Boulder
Perfect Murder, Perfect Town
Perfect Murder, Perfect Town is a 2000 American television miniseries directed by Lawrence Schiller. The teleplay by Tom Topor is based on Schiller's book of the same title....
. Early in his career he performed in several episodes of The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
in its first and third seasons, and spent a brief time on Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
.
Friedman's many feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
credits include Prince of the City
Prince of the City
Prince of the City is an American crime drama film about an NYPD officer who chooses to expose police corruption for idealistic reasons. The character of Daniel Ciello was based on real-life NYPD Narcotics Detective Robert Leuci and the script was based on Robert Daley's 1978 book of the same name...
, Daniel
Daniel (1983 film)
Daniel is a 1983 film which was adapted by E. L. Doctorow from his novel The Book of Daniel. It was directed by Sidney Lumet. It was based on the life story of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted as spies and executed by the United States government in 1953 for giving nuclear secrets...
, The Seventh Sign
The Seventh Sign
The Seventh Sign is a 1988 apocalyptic drama film written by Clifford and Ellen Green and directed by Carl Schultz.-Plot:Signs of the apocalypse are appearing, along with a mysterious wanderer. Father Lucci is the Vatican official investigating them...
, Single White Female
Single White Female
Single White Female is a 1992 American erotic thriller based on John Lutz's novel SWF Seeks Same. The film stars Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh and is directed by Barbet Schroeder.-Plot:...
, I'm Not Rappaport
I'm Not Rappaport
I'm Not Rappaport is a play by Herb Gardner originally staged by Seattle Repertory Theatre in 1984. Its Broadway debut production, directed by Daniel Sullivan, starring Judd Hirsch, Cleavon Little, Jace Alexander, and Mercedes Ruehl, opened on November 19, 1985 at the Booth Theatre, where it ran...
, I Shot Andy Warhol, Safe, Freedomland
Freedomland (film)
Freedomland is a 2006 American crime drama-mystery film starring Samuel L. Jackson and Julianne Moore. Richard Price adapted his own novel, which touches on themes of covert racism. Joe Roth directed the film.-Plot:...
, The Savages
The Savages (film)
The Savages is a 2007 American comedy-drama film, written and directed by Tamara Jenkins. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.-Plot:...
, and I'm Not There
I'm Not There
I'm Not There is a 2007 biographical musical film directed by Todd Haynes, inspired by iconic American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Six actors depict different facets of Dylan's life and public persona: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw...
.
Friedman married actress Joan Allen
Joan Allen
Joan Allen is an American actress. She worked in theatre, television and film during her early career, and achieved recognition for her Broadway debut in Burn This, winning a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play in 1989.She has received three Academy Award nominations;...
in 1990. The couple divorced in 2002. They have one daughter, Sadie, born in March 1994.