 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Ron Silver" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Ron Silver | |
|---|---|
 Ron Silver in the television seriesSkin (2003) | |
| Born | Ronald Arthur Silver (1946-07-02)July 2, 1946 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | March 15, 2009(2009-03-15) (aged 62) New York City, U.S. |
| Resting place | Westchester Hills Cemetery |
| Education | University at Buffalo (BA) St. John's University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1974–2009 |
| Political party | Independent (after 2001) |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic (before 2001) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| 12th President of theActors' Equity Association | |
| In office 1991–2000 | |
| Preceded by | Colleen Dewhurst |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Quinn |
Ronald Arthur Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor, director, producer, radio host, and activist. As an actor, he portrayedHenry Kissinger,Alan Dershowitz andAngelo Dundee. He was awarded aTony in 1988 for Best Actor forSpeed-the-Plow, a satirical dissection of the American movie business, and was nominated for anEmmy for his recurring role as political strategist Bruno Gianelli inThe West Wing.[1][2]
Silver was born on July 2, 1946, inManhattan, the son of May (née Zimelman), a substitute teacher, and Irving Roy Silver, a clothing sales executive.[3][4] Silver was raised Jewish on theLower East Side of Manhattan and attendedStuyvesant High School.[5]
Silver went on to graduate from theState University of New York at Buffalo,[6] with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Chinese, and received a master's degree inChinese History fromSt. John's University in New York and theChinese Culture University in Taiwan. He also attendedColumbia University'sGraduate School of International Affairs (SIPA) and studied acting at theHerbert Berghof Studio,[7] and later atThe Actors Studio.[8][9] As a student he was exempt from theVietnam War draft.[10]
Silver got his big acting break starring inEl Grande de Coca-Cola in 1974. Producers Richard Flanzer and Roy Silver (no relation) opened it at the famedWhisky a Go Go on theSunset Strip in Los Angeles. The production ran for more than a year. Silver and his co-star, actorJeff Goldblum, were discovered by Hollywood film agents during this show's run.
In 1976, he made his film debut inTunnel Vision, and also played a placekicker in the football comedy filmSemi-Tough. From 1976 to 1978, he had a recurring role as Gary Levy in the sitcomRhoda, a spinoff fromThe Mary Tyler Moore Show. Additional screen roles include psychiatrists in theChuck Norris filmSilent Rage and in the horror storyThe Entity (1983), the devoted son ofAnne Bancroft inGarbo Talks (1984), an incompetent detective inEat and Run (1986), the pistol-wielding psychopath stalkingJamie Lee Curtis in 1989'sBlue Steel, and the lead inPaul Mazursky's Oscar-nominatedEnemies: A Love Story (1989).
He starred asJerry Lewis's character's son in the multi-episode "Garment District Arc" of the television crime seriesWiseguy (1988).
He portrayed two well-known attorneys in films based on actual events, playingdefense attorneyAlan Dershowitz in the dramaReversal of Fortune (1990), based on the trial ofClaus von Bülow and defense attorneyRobert Shapiro in the television filmAmerican Tragedy (2000), the story of theO. J. Simpson trial.
From 1991 to 2000, Silver served as president of theActors' Equity Association. He played a film producer inBest Friends oppositeBurt Reynolds andGoldie Hawn (1982), an actor inLovesick (1983) and a film director inMr. Saturday Night (1992). Silver portrayed a corrupt, rogue senator in the 1994Jean-Claude Van Damme sci-fi thrillerTimecop.
On television in 1998, he starred oppositeKirstie Alley in season two of her TV comedy seriesVeronica's Closet.
In other films based on true stories, Silver portrayed tennis playerBobby Riggs in the TV docudramaWhen Billie Beat Bobby (2001), about Riggs' real-life exhibition tennis match againstBillie Jean King, which Riggs lost. He was also featured asMuhammad Ali's boxing trainer and cornermanAngelo Dundee inMichael Mann's 2001 biopicAli.
In 2000 he starred as rock promoter Bill Graham in “Bill Graham Presents” a one man show written by playwright Robert Greenfield, who co-wrote Graham’s posthumously published 1992 autobiography.
From 2001 to 2002 and again from 2005 to 2006, he had a recurring role as presidential campaign adviserBruno Gianelli on the NBC seriesThe West Wing.
Silver provided the narration for the 2004 political documentary filmFahrenHYPE 9/11 that was produced as a conservative political response to the award-winning and controversialMichael Moore documentary film,Fahrenheit 9/11.
Silver also narrated aMEMRI documentary film about the Arab and Iranian reactions to theSeptember 11 attacks calledThe Arab and Iranian Reaction to 911: Five Years Later.[11]
Additionally, Silver narrated the audiobook versions of severalPhilip Roth novels, includingAmerican Pastoral,The Plot Against America, andPortnoy's Complaint.
One of his final film performances was as a judge in another true story, 2006'sFind Me Guilty, directed bySidney Lumet and starringVin Diesel.[12]
In February 2008, Silver began hostingThe Ron Silver Show onSirius Satellite Radio, which focused on politics and public affairs.
Silver traveled to more than 30 countries and spoke fluentMandarin Chinese and Spanish. He taught at the high school level and was a social worker for theDepartment of Social Services.
In 1975 he married Lynne Miller, a social worker who later became aSelf magazine editor. The couple had two children; they divorced in 1997.[13]
In 1989, he co-founded theCreative Coalition, an entertainment industry political advocacy organization that championsFirst Amendment rights, public education, and support for the arts.[3]
Silver was a member of theCouncil on Foreign Relations. In 2000, he co-founded the organizationOne Jerusalem to oppose theOslo Peace Agreement and to maintain "a unitedJerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel".[14]
Silver, who had been a lifelongDemocrat, left the party and became anindependent and a supporter of PresidentGeorge W. Bush after theSeptember 11 attacks, citing those attacks and Democratic policies regardingterrorism as reasons. He spoke at the2004 Republican National Convention, continued to support Bush, and was appointed Chairman for the Millennium Committee byNew York MayorRudy Giuliani.
In a blog post on thePJ Media website, Silver recounted that colleagues on the set ofThe West Wing had teasingly referred to him as "Ron, Ron, theNeo-Con".[15]
On October 7, 2005, Bush nominated Silver to the Board of Directors of theUnited States Institute of Peace. On September 8, 2006, it was announced that Silver had joined an advisory committee to theLewis Libby Legal Defense Trust.[16]
Bush also appointed Silver to the Honorary Delegation that accompanied him toJerusalem in May 2008 for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of theState of Israel.[17]
In one of his last televised interviews, Silver toldSky News that SenatorJohn McCain's choice ofSarah Palin as his running mate in the2008 Presidential election was a "brilliant political choice" but that a part of him wished to "see an African American become president in my lifetime".[18] In his obituary inThe New York Times, his brother, Mitchell Silver, was quoted as saying, "He told me that he did vote forBarack Obama in the end".[3]
Silver, a long-time smoker,[19] died on March 15, 2009, at the age of 62, ofesophageal cancer,[3][20] which had been diagnosed two years earlier.[21] He is buried atWestchester Hills Cemetery inHastings-on-Hudson, New York.[citation needed]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Tunnel Vision | Dr. Manuel Labor | film debut |
| 1976 | Welcome to L.A. | Massuese | Uncredited |
| 1977 | Semi-Tough | Vlada Kostov | |
| 1982 | Silent Rage | Dr. Tom Halman | |
| 1982 | The Entity | Phil Sneiderman | |
| 1982 | Best Friends | Larry Weisman | |
| 1983 | Lovesick | Ted Caruso | |
| 1983 | Silkwood | Paul Stone | |
| 1984 | Romancing the Stone | Vendor | |
| 1984 | The Goodbye People | Eddie Bergson | |
| 1984 | Garbo Talks | Gilbert Rolfe | |
| 1984 | Oh, God! You Devil | Gary Frantz | |
| 1987 | Eat and Run | Mickey McSorely | |
| 1989 | Enemies: A Love Story | Herman Broder | |
| 1990 | Blue Steel | Eugene Hunt | |
| 1990 | Reversal of Fortune | Alan Dershowitz | |
| 1991 | Married to It | Leo Rothenberg | |
| 1991 | The Good Policeman | Isaac Seidel | |
| 1992 | Live Wire | Frank Traveres | |
| 1992 | Mr. Saturday Night | Larry Meyerson | |
| 1994 | Timecop | Sen. Aaron McComb | |
| 1995 | Deadly Outbreak | Colonel Baron | Direct-to-Video |
| 1996 | The Arrival | Phil Gordian / Mexican Guard | |
| 1996 | Girl 6 | Director #2 - LA | |
| 1996 | Danger Zone | Maurice Dupont | |
| 1998 | The White Raven | Tully Windsor | |
| 1999 | Black and White | Simon Herzel | |
| 2001 | Festival in Cannes | Rick Yorkin | |
| 2001 | Ali | Angelo Dundee | |
| 2001 | Exposure | Gary Whitford | Direct-to-Video |
| 2002 | The Wisher | Campbell | |
| 2005 | Red Mercury | Sidney | |
| 2006 | Find Me Guilty | Judge Sidney Finestein | |
| 2006 | Call It Fiction | Chas | Short |
| 2007 | The Ten | Fielding Barnes | |
| 2009 | A Secret Promise | Sam Dunbar | (final film role) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | The Mac Davis Show | unknown | unknown episode |
| 1975 | Big Eddie | Enzo | Episode: "Hellow Poppa" |
| 1975 | McMillan & Wife | Art | Episode: "Secrets for Sale" |
| 1975 | Rhoda | Sonny Michaels | Episode: "Mucho, Macho" |
| 1976 | The Rockford Files | Ted Haller | Episode: "The Italian Bird Fiasco" |
| 1976 | The Return of the World's Greatest Detective | Dr. Collins | Television Movie |
| 1976–1978 | Rhoda | Gary Levy | series regular; 33 episodes |
| 1978 | Having Babies | Lamar | Episode: "Careers" |
| 1978 | Murder at the Mardi Gras | Larry Cook | Television Movie |
| 1978 | Betrayal | Bob Cohen | Television Movie |
| 1979 | Dear Detective | Detective Schwartz | 4 episodes |
| 1980 | Here's Boomer | Kolodny | Episode: "Private Eye" |
| 1980 | The Stockard Channing Show | Brad Gabriel | series regular; 13 episodes |
| 1981 | World of Honor | David Lerner | Television Series |
| 1982 | Baker's Dozen | Mike Locasale | 6 episodes; recurring role |
| 1983 | Hill Street Blues | Sam Weiser | 2 episodes |
| 1984 | American Playhouse | Gruenwald | Episode: "The Cafeteria" |
| 1985 | Kane & Abel | Thaddeus Cohen | Television Miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 1986 | Trapped in Silence | Dr. Jeff Tomlinson | Television Movie |
| 1987 | Trying Times | Driving Instructor | Episode: "Drive, She Said" |
| 1987 | Billionaire Boys Club | Ron Levin | Television Movie Nominated -Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special |
| 1988 | A Father's Revenge | Max Greewald | Television Movie |
| 1988–1989 | Wiseguy | David Sternberg | 5 episodes; recurring role |
| 1990 | Screen Two | Asa Kaufman | Episode: "Fellow Traveller" |
| 1990 | Forgotten Prisoners: The Amnesty Files | Jordan Ford | Television Movie |
| 1993 | Blind Side | Doug Kaines | Television Movie |
| 1993 | Lifepod | Terman | Television Movie; also Director |
| 1995 | A Woman of Independent Means | Arthur | Television Miniseries; 3 episodes |
| 1995 | Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story | Ron Kershaw | Television Movie |
| 1995 | Kissinger and Nixon | Henry A. Kissinger/Narrator | Television Movie Nominated -Gemini Award for Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Dramatic Program |
| 1996 | Shadow Zone: The Undead Express | Valentine | Television Movie |
| 1996–1997 | Chicago Hope | Tommy Wilmette | 11 episodes; recurring role |
| 1997 | The Beneficiary | Guy Girard | Television Movie |
| 1997 | Skeletons | Peter Crane | Television Movie |
| 1998 | Rhapsody in Bloom | Mitch Bloom | Television Movie |
| 1998–1999 | Veronica's Closet | Alec Bilson | series regular; 23 episodes (season 2) |
| 1999 | Love Is Strange | Tom Ainsworth | Television Movie |
| 1999 | In the Company of Spies | Tom Lenahan | Television Movie |
| 1999 | Heat Vision and Jack | Ron Silver | Television Short |
| 2000 | Ratz | Herb Soric | Television Movie |
| 2000 | Cutaway | Lieutenant Brian Margate | Television Movie |
| 2000 | American Tragedy | Robert Shapiro | Television Movie |
| 2001 | When Billie Beat Bobby | Bobby Riggs | Television Movie |
| 2001 | The Practice | Attorney John Mockler | Episode: "Killing Time" |
| 2001–2006 | The West Wing | Bruno Gianelli | 19 episodes; recurring role Nominated -Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series |
| 2002 | Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story | Mike Fine | Television Movie |
| 2003–2004 | Skin | Larry Goldman | 6 episodes; recurring role |
| 2004 | Jack | Paul | Television Movie Nominated -Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children/Youth/Family Special |
| 2004–2007 | Law & Order | Bernie Adler | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Trial by Jury | Bernie Alder | Episode: "Eros in the Upper Eighties" |
| 2007 | Crossing Jordan | Shelly Levine | Episode: "Night of the Living Dead" |
| 2008 | Xenophobia | President | Television Movie |
