Paul Michael Glaser (born March 25, 1943) is an
American actor and director.
Biography
Originally Paul Manfred Glaser, he was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the
youngest of three children. His parents were Dorothy and Samuel Glaser. Glaser attended Tulane University, where he was roommates with film director
Bruce Paltrow, and earned a Master's degree in
English and theater in 1966. He was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. He earned a second
master's degree from Boston University in acting and directing in 1967.
Glaser has been married twice. He married his first wife, Elizabeth (Meyer) Glaser,
in 1980. In August 1981, Elizabeth contracted HIV through a blood transfusion while giving birth to the couple's first child, Ariel. Elizabeth did not find out
about the virus until four years later, at which time both Ariel and son Jake (born October 1984)
were also found to be HIV positive. Ariel Glaser died in August 1988; Elizabeth Glaser died in 1994, after founding the
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. After Elizabeth's
death, Glaser served as chairman of the foundation until 2002 and remains Honorary Chairman, roles in which he has testified
before the United States Congress and met with national leaders, as well as
headlining annual fundraisers for the organization.
Glaser married producer Tracy Barone in 1996; the couple had a daughter, Zoe, in 1997. Glaser filed for divorce in June of
2007, citing "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for ending his 10-year marriage. He was seeking joint legal and physical
custody of their daughter.
Career
After appearing in several Broadway productions, Glaser appeared in his first
feature film in 1971, playing Perchik in the film version of
Fiddler on the Roof. He first gained notice on television playing Dr. Peter
Chernak on the daytime series Love is a Many Splendored
Thing, and made guest appearances on shows such as: The Rockford
Files, but found fame playing Detective David Starsky opposite David Soul in the
television show Starsky and Hutch, of which he directed several episodes. It
ran for four seasons (1975-1979) on ABC.
After the series, Glaser continued to act on television and in films, and directed the 1987 movie The Running Man starring
Arnold Schwarzenegger as well as the 1992 movie The Cutting Edge. He also directed episodes of several well-known TV series, including
Robbery Homicide Division and Judging
Amy. Glaser returned to the big screen in 2004 in both Something's Gotta Give as Diane Keaton's
ex-husband and with a brief cameo in the 2004 film version of Starsky & Hutch, where his old role was reprised by Ben
Stiller. He also directed the children's film Kazaam starring Shaquille O'Neal.
Filmography
External links
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