Abraham, F[ahrid] Murray (b.1939), character actor. The craggy‐looking performer was born in Pittsburgh and raised in El Paso, Texas, where he attended the University of Texas. He studied with Uta Hagen at the Berghof Studio before making his New York debut in 1966 as a replacement in The Fantasticks. Abraham later shone in several supporting roles onstage, usually playing villains or broad farcical characters. After finding fame in Hollywood, he returned to Manhattan and played leading roles in classic works, such as Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream and King Lear, and in modern plays, memorably Pozzo in the 1988 revival of Waiting for Godot.
F. Murray Abraham
| American Theater Guide: Fahrid Murray Abraham |
| Actor: F. Murray Abraham |
- Born: Oct 24, 1939 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Occupation: Actor
- Active: '70s-2000s
- Major Genres: Drama, Comedy
- Career Highlights: Amadeus, Nostradamus, The Name of the Rose
- First Major Screen Credit: The Ritz (1976)
Biography
Of Italian/Syrian heritage, Pittsburgh native F. Murray Abraham attended the University of Texas, then studied acting under Uta Hagen in New York. The peripatetic Abraham made his stage debut in a Los Angeles production of Ray Bradbury's The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, and, shortly before reaching the age of 29, made his New York bow in The Fantasticks. An archetypal example of the "working actor," Abraham managed for more than ten years to make a good living at his craft without ever truly achieving fame. Appearing on television in everything from All in the Family to Kojak, he was seen on several commercials, including a now-famous spot for Fruit of the Loom underwear. His big-screen roles include 1975's The Sunshine Boys (a garage mechanic); 1976's All the President's Men (one of the arresting officers at the Watergate Hotel); 1976's The Ritz (a gay bathhouse patron); and 1978's The Big Fix (a fugitive '60s activist). Abraham's "overnight" stardom came about in 1984, when he was cast as the covetous Antonio Salieri in Amadeus, and his brilliant, bravura performance won him an Oscar. Abraham remained busy throughout the 1980s and '90s, appearing in such efforts as The Name of the Rose (1986), in which he playing a 14th century monk deliberately made up to look like a "living gargoyle," and the otherwise awful Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), in an uncredited, albeit pivotal, role of a prosecuting attorney. One of the most versatile actors in the business, Abraham has nonetheless never quite escaped the long shadow cast by his unforgettable portrayal of Salieri. Indeed, in Arnold Schwarzenegger's genre spoof The Last Action Hero, Abraham was pinpointed as the mystery murderer because he looked just like "the guy that killed Mozart." Onece again hamming it up in that same year's National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1, Abraham freaquently alternated big-budget Hollywood fare and more low-key, performance driven dramas and comedies through the remainder of the decade. While apprearances in such films as Mimic (1997) and Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) kept Abraham a familiar face to a new generation of moviegoers, roles in such small screen efforts as Dead Man's Walk (1996) and the following year's The Color of Justice allowed him a venue to display his true skills. In 1995 Abraham portrayed famed gangster Al Capone in not one but two films; Dillinger and Capone and Baby Face Nelson. Heading into the new millennium with roles in Finding Forrester and 13 Ghosts, Abraham appeared alongside an impressive cast in The Bridge of San Luis Rey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide| Filmography: F. Murray Abraham |
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| Wikipedia: F. Murray Abraham |
| F. Murray Abraham | |
 F. Murray Abraham, 2008 |
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| Born | Fahrid Murray Abraham October 24, 1939 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
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| Other name(s) | Frank Murray Abraham |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1971–present |
| Spouse(s) | Kate Hannan (1962-present) |
Fahrid Murray Abraham (in Arabic فريد مراد ابراهيم الاحمد Farīd Murād Ibrāhīm Al-Aḥmad;[1] born October 24, 1939) is an American actor. He became known during the 1980s, after winning the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in Amadeus, and has since appeared in many roles, both leading and supporting, in films, television, and mainly on stage.
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Early life
Abraham was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Josephine, a housewife, and Fahrid Abraham, an auto mechanic.[1] His father was an Assyrian[2] Christian who immigrated from Syria during the 1920s famine; his paternal grandfather was a cantor in the Syriac Orthodox Church.[1] Abraham's mother, one of fourteen children, was Italian American and the daughter of an immigrant who worked in the coal mines of Western Pennsylvania.[1] Abraham was raised in El Paso, Texas, near the Mexican border, where he was a gang member during his teenage years.[1] He attended Texas Western College (later named The University of Texas at El Paso), where he was given the best actor award by Alpha Psi Omega for his portrayal of the Indian nocona in 'Comanche Eagle' during the 1959-60 season. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, then studied acting under Uta Hagen in New York City. He began his acting career on the stage, debuting in a Los Angeles production of Ray Bradbury's The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit.
Career
Abraham made his screen debut as a cabbie in Neil Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue.Abraham can be seen as one of the undercover cops along with Al Pacino in Sidney Lumet's Serpico (1973). He also appears very early in All the President's Men as one of the police officers who arrests the Watergate burglars in the offices of the Democratic National Headquarters.
Prior to his acclaimed role in Amadeus, Abraham was perhaps best known to audiences as a talking leaf in a series of television commercials for Fruit of the Loom underwear.[3] He worked with Pacino again in the gangster film Scarface in 1983, playing drug dealer Omar Suarez. Abraham won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus (1984). After Amadeus he has mainly focused on classical theatre, and has starred in many Shakespearean productions such as Othello and Richard III, as well as many other plays by the likes of Samuel Beckett and Gilbert and Sullivan. He is also known for his roles in The Name of the Rose (1986), where he played Bernardo Gui, nemesis to Sean Connery's William of Baskerville, Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Ahdar Ru'afo in Star Trek: Insurrection(1998), and Gus Van Sant's Finding Forrester (2000), where he once again played nemesis to Connery.
Abraham has focused on stage work throughout his career, giving notable performances as Pozzo in Mike Nichols' production of Waiting for Godot, Malvolio in Twelfth Night for the New York Shakespeare Festival, and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, for a New York based theatre company called Theatre For A New Audience (TFANA) which has been performed in March 2007, at The Swan Theatre, part of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Abraham's relatively low-profile film career subsequent to his Academy Award has been held by many as an example of the so-called Oscar jinx. So linked is Abraham with the phenomenon of winning an Oscar and yet failing to maintain the trajectory toward a high-level film career that, according to film critic Leonard Maltin, it is referred to in Hollywood circles as the F. Murray Abraham syndrome.[1] Abraham himself rejects this notion. He once told an interviewer:
The Oscar is the single most important event of my career. I have dined with kings, shared equal billing with my idols, lectured at Harvard and Columbia. If this is a jinx, I'll take two.
In the same interview, Abraham said:
Even though I won the Oscar, I can still take the subway, in New York, and nobody recognizes me. Some actors might find that disconcerting, but I find it refreshing.
Abraham most recently made a guest appearance on the popular television series Saving Grace, on which he played an angel, Matthew.
Personal life
Abraham has been married to Kate Hannan since 1962; they have two children.[4] He taught Theater at Brooklyn College.
Work
Filmography
Theatre credits
- Angels in America
- The Ritz
- Triumph of Love
- Teibele and Her Demon
- Othello
- Landscape of the Body
- Richard II
- King Lear
- Much Ado About Nothing
- The Fantasticks
- Waiting for Godot
- Mauritius
- Oedipus Rex
- Twelfth Night
- The Merchant of Venice
- A Life in the Theatre
- Almost an Evening
- A Midsummer Nights Dream He played the character of Nick Bottom
Awards and nominations
Theatre
- 1980: Drama Desk Award for Best Actor in a Play, for Teibele and Her Demon - Nominated
- 1992: Drama Desk Award for Best Actor in a Play, for A Life in the Theatre - Nominated
Film
- 1985: Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actor, for Amadeus - Won
- 1985: Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for Amadeus - Won
- 1985: Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, for Amadeus - Won
- 1985: Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Actor, for Amadeus - Won
- 1986: BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, for Amadeus - Nominated
References
- ^ a b c d e Salomon, Andrew (2007-02-15). "The Lion in Winter". Backstage.com. http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/features/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003546469. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
- ^ F. Murray Abraham, Oscar Winner, Seeks Tolerance Through Arts
- ^ F. Murray Abraham Biography - Yahoo! Movies
- ^ http://www.amadeusimmortal.com/movie/abraham.php
External links
- F. Murray Abraham at the Internet Movie Database
- F. Murray Abraham at Allmovie
- F. Murray Abraham at the Internet Broadway Database
- F. Murray Abraham at Internet off-Broadway Database
- F. Murray Abraham at TV.com
- Yahoo! Movies bio
- F. Murray Abraham at IMG Artists
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Mentioned in
- Elizabeth Berridge (Actor, Drama/Comedy Drama)
- Dillinger and Capone (1995 Crime Film)
- Esther (2000 Epic Film)
- The Unemployment Story, Part One: All in the Family (TV Episode) (1976 Comedy TV Episode)
- An Angel for Murray: Mad About You (TV Episode) (1995 Comedy TV Episode)
- King Lear (American Theater)
- The Big Fix (1978 Comedy Film)
- 1071 Fifth Ave: Frank Lloyd Wright & the Story of the Guggenheim Museum (1994 History Film)
- A Question of Answers (1975 Thriller Film)
- The All New Adventures of Laurel and Hardy: For Love or Mummy (1999 Comedy Film)
- Dead Man's Walk (1996 Western Film)
- Nature: Sharkland (2007 Nature Film)
- The Godson: Kojak (TV Episode) (1977 TV Episode)
- The Name of the Rose (1986 Mystery Film)
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