|
|
|
|
| Birth Name(s) : John Lithgow |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
|
Partner:
|
| Profession:
N/A |
| << Add John Lithgow To Your Favorites |
|
Full John Lithgow Biography
John Arthur Lithgow (pronounced "lith-go"; born October 19, 1945) is an American actor perhaps best-known for his starring role as Dick Solomon in the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun. He has also achieved success on stage, film, and radio. He has earned multiple Emmy Awards and Tony Awards, as well as two Oscar nominations. He has also recorded music for children.
Lithgow won a scholarship to Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1967. He was in the same dorm as former Vice President Al Gore and actor Tommy Lee Jones. Lithgow later served on its Board of Overseers. Lithgow credits a performance at Harvard of Gilbert and Sullivan's Utopia Limited with helping him decide to become an actor. After graduation, Lithgow won a Fulbright Scholarship to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
In 1973, Lithgow debuted on Broadway in David Storey's The Changing Room, for which he received both the Tony and Drama Desk Award as Best Featured Actor in a Play. The following year he starred opposite Lynn Redgrave in My Fat Friend and in 1976 played opposite Meryl Streep in Arthur Miller's A Memory of Two Mondays. He was nominated for two Best Actor Tonys for Requiem for a Heavyweight (1985) and M. Butterfly (1988).
In 2002, Lithgow won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of J.J. Hunsecker in the Broadway adaptation of the 1957 film Sweet Smell of Success. In 2005, Lithgow was elected into the American Theatre Hall of Fame for his work on Broadway. He was also nominated for a Best Leading Actor in a Musical Tony for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
In 1983 and 1984, Lithgow was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances as Roberta Muldoon in The World According to Garp and as Sam Burns in Terms of Endearment. Both films were screen adaptations of popular novels. Lithgow originated the character of Dr. Emilio Lizardo/Lord John Whorfin, a psychotic Italian physicist inhabited by an evil alien, which he played in the 1984 cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. In 1984, Lithgow also played the moralistic anti-dancing, anti-rock pastor in Footloose and later the role of American space engineer Walter Curnow in 2010, the sequel to the science fiction classic 2001: A Space Odyssey.
In 1983, Lithgow played John Valentine in a remake of the classic Twilight Zone episode Nightmare at 20,000 Feet in the Twilight Zone: The Movie as the paranoid passenger once made famous on the television show by William Shatner. (This was made reference to in an episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun in which William Shatner portrayed the Big Giant Head, the overseer of the Solomons' expedition to Earth.) In 1992, he starred as the main role in Brian De Palma's film Raising Cain, and in 1993, starred as Eric Qualen in the Stallone movie Cliffhanger.
In 1987, Lithgow starred in the Bigfoot-themed family comedy, Harry and the Hendersons. In 2001, Lithgow provided the voice-acting for the villainous Lord Farquaad in the hit animated movie Shrek. In 2002, he narrated Life's Greatest Miracle, a sex education film, while in 2004, he portrayed the moralistic, rigid father of Alfred Kinsey in that year's biopic Kinsey. In 2006, Lithgow had a small role in the Academy Award-winning film, Dreamgirls, as Jerry Harris- a film producer offering Deena Jones (Beyoncé Knowles) a film role.
Lithgow is probably most widely known for his starring role as Dick Solomon in the 1996-2001 NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the category "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" in each of the program's six seasons and won three times, in 1996, 1997, and 1999. In 1986, Lithgow received a Primetime Emmy Award in the category "Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series" for his appearance in an episode of the Amazing Stories anthology show.
Additionally, Lithgow has been nominated for an "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special" Emmy for The Day After (1983), two "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special" Emmys for "Resting Place" (1986) and "My Brother's Keeper" (1995). Lithgow was approached about playing Dr. Frasier Crane on Cheers, but turned it down. Lithgow starred with Jeffrey Tambor in the NBC sitcom Twenty Good Years.
Since 2006 he has starred in Campbell Soup Company's commercials advertising their "Campbell's Select" premium soup brand.
Lithgow voiced the character of Yoda in the National Public Radio adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He provided narration for the IMAX film Special Effects. He hosts Paloozaville, a children's Video on Demand program on Mag Rack based on his best-selling children's books. He appeared in the most recent Campbell's Select™Soups commercials, portraying a restaurant waiter serving 'customers' in their own household.
Lithgow is a registered pastor of Rose Ministries, and has officiated the wedding of his goddaughter.
When asked what instrument would reflect his personality; "My personality? The kazoo. Requires enthusiasm but no skill whatsoever." |
|
|
| Add John Lithgow Biography (SuperUSERS) + |
| Add John Lithgow Review/Comment
|
HQ John Lithgow Pictures (1) | Random John Lithgow Picture
|
| << Back to the John Lithgow Homepage |
|
