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Glenn Shadix

 
Actor: Glenn Shadix
  • Born: Apr 15, 1952
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '80s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Fantasy
  • Career Highlights: The Nightmare Before Christmas, Rose's, Dark Side of Genius
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Biography

Though he's occasionally cast as eccentric urbanites, rotund character actor Glenn Shadix actually spent his childhood in rural Alabama. After acting in regional theater and waiting tables in New York, he moved to Los Angeles in his early twenties. He made his film debut with a bit part in the 1981 film remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice, but most of his time in the '80s was spent on-stage. One of his first starring roles was in drag as the famed American writer Gertrude Stein in Dr. Faustus Lights the Lights at the West Coast Ensemble Studio Theater. He earned an LA Weekly award for his performance. Young filmmaker Tim Burton saw the play and decided to cast him in his next film, Beetlejuice. The Deetz's vain interior designer Otho continues to be one of his most recognizable roles.

Joining Burton's circle of regulars, Shadix provided the voice of the mayor of Halloween Town in The Nightmare Before Christmas. He also developed a friendship with another young filmmaker named Michael Lehmann during a comedy improvisation project. He was cast in two of Lehmann's films: the black comedy Heathers, as funeral orator Father Ripper, and the suburban satire Meet the Applegates. After appearing in some of the biggest cult films of the early '90s, Shadix increased his exposure by guest starring on the popular television sitcoms Seinfeld and Cheers. He eventually played the regular role of gentle giant Typhon on the syndicated adventure series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Back on the big screen, he played various eccentrics in family-friendly films like Bingo, It Runs in the Family, and Dunston Checks In. He also occasionally appeared in horror films (Sleepwalkers), science fiction (Demolition Man), and thrillers (Dark Side of Genius). Harking back to his stage roots, Shadix then appeared in two talky obscurities: the feminist film Men and the psychological drama The Empty Mirror. Moving toward more independent projects, he played a strange Southern sheriff in the crime comedy Rose's and a loud alcoholic in the drama Shut Yer Dirty Little Mouth. In 2001, he re-teamed with Burton to play Sentator Nado in the remake of Planet of the Apes. Working the convention circuit in support of his cult film status, Shadix traveled around the world. He also underwent gastric bypass surgery in order to lose over 100 pounds. In 2003, he appeared as an aging wardrobeman in Ruby Romaine Trailer Tales and as an stubborn councilman in Carnivàle, both on HBO. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
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Glenn Shadix
Born William Glenn Shadix
April 15, 1952 (1952-04-15) (age 57)
Bessemer, Alabama, U.S.
Spouse(s) Jon Jong

William Glenn Shadix (born April 15, 1952) is an American actor, known for his role as “Otho” in Tim Burton's horror/comedy film Beetlejuice.

Contents

Theatrical career

Shadix was born in Bessemer, Alabama. He attended Birmingham-Southern College for two years, studying with absurdist playwright-director Arnold Powell. He lived in New York City prior to moving to Hollywood in the late 1970s. He got his breakthrough film role in Beetlejuice while doing a stage play, portraying Gertrude Stein. According to Shadix, it was the play that his agent warned him against doing, since it was a role that seemed too risky. But the actor went on instinct and played the role. As fate would have it, Tim Burton was one of the people sitting in the audience that night. Shadix became personal friends with Burton while making Beetlejuice, and the two would go on to make two more films together: 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas and the 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes.

In 2005, Shadix was cast as the Brain and Monsieur Mallah in season five of the Teen Titans animated series. Other voice work done by Shadix includes the aforementioned Nightmare, and episodes of Jackie Chan Adventures and Justice League Unlimited. He reprised his Nightmare Before Christmas role in the sequel, Oogie’s Revenge, and the Square-Enix video game Kingdom Hearts II.

His television work includes the HBO drama Carnivàle, and the NBC television comedy Seinfeld, in which he played Jerry's landlord.

On stage, Shadix is set to begin rehearsals for History Boys, the award winning Broadway play by Alan Bennett. It will be Shadix's first time back in Birmingham Theatre since 1973 where he appeared in Boys in the Band at the Birmingham Festival Theatre.

Personal life

Shadix is second cousin to fellow actor John Rothman.[citation needed] He is also openly gay, and has written that, as a teenager, he submitted to electroconvulsive aversion therapy in an unsuccessful attempt to become straight.[1]

In 2007, after spending thirty years in Los Angeles, he returned to his native Bessemer, Alabama, where he purchased a Queen Anne Victorian home. The house was completely destroyed in a fire on December 13, 2008; Shadix told reporters that "I have lost my dream."[2] The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Selected filmography

References

External links


 
 
Learn More
The Legendary Journeys - Cast a Giant Shadow: Hercules (TV Episode) (1995 Fantasy TV Episode)
The Apartment: Seinfeld (TV Episode) (1991 Comedy TV Episode)
The Legendary Journeys - Monster Child in a Promised Land: Hercules (TV Episode) (1996 Fantasy TV Episode)

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Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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