Peter Riegert

Peter Riegert
Peter Riegert in 1979
Born	April 11, 1947 (1947-04-11) (age 62) The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, Screenwriter, Film Director
Years active	1975—present

Peter Riegert (born April 11, 1947) is an Oscar-nominated American actor, screenwriter, and film director.

Early life

Born in The Bronx, Riegert grew up in Hartsdale, NY, graduated Ardsley High School in 1964 and later from the University of Buffalo and worked at a number of jobs, including teaching, waiting tables, and social worker before settling on acting as a career.

Career

Stage

He made his Broadway debut in the musical Dance with Me. Other Broadway credits include The Old Neighborhood, An American Daughter, The Nerd, and Censored Scenes From King Kong. Off-Broadway he has appeared in Road to Nirvana, The Birthday Party, Isn't It Romantic, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and A Rosen by Any Other Name.

Film

Riegert's notable feature film credits include Animal House, Americathon, Crossing Delancey, Local Hero, Chilly Scenes of Winter, Oscar, The Mask, Coldblooded, Traffic (which won him the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture), and How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog.

TV

Riegert made his television debut as Cpl. Igor Straminsky in two episodes of M*A*S*H. He has also portrayed crooked New Jersey State Assemblyman Ronald Zellman in The Sopranos and defense attorney Chauncey Zeirko in multiple episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He starred opposite former girlfriend Bette Midler in the television adaptation of Gypsy and was featured in the HBO drama Barbarians at the Gate (which earned him an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special), the final episode of Seinfeld and the television movie Back When We Were Grownups, and he voiced the character of Max Weinstein in the controversial episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" of Family Guy. He also played an NBC executive on early episodes of Seinfeld.

Other

Riegert made his screenwriting and directorial debuts with By Courier, based on a short story by O. Henry. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film and won him the Festival Award for Best First Feature at the Marco Island Film Festival. He also wrote, directed, and starred in the full-length feature King of the Corner.

Riegert narrated the audiobook of Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union, which was nominated for a 2008 Audie Award in literary fiction.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Peter Riegert

• Peter Riegert at the Internet Movie Database
• Peter Riegert at the Internet Broadway Database
• IndustryCentral profile
• AllMovie.com profile
• Interview with Riegert