Alan Alda

Alan Alda

Birth name: Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo
Born: January 28, 1936
Age: 88
Birthplace: New York City, United States
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Biography

Alan Alda (born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is widely known for his roles as Captain Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H and Arnold Vinick in The West Wing. He has also appeared in many feature films, most notably in Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) as pretentious television producer Lester and in The Aviator (2004) as U.S. Senator Owen Brewster, the latter of which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

For 14 years, he served as the host of Scientific American Frontiers, a television show that explored cutting-edge advances in science and technology. He is currently a Visiting Professor at Stony Brook University and a founder and member of the advisory board of the university's Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and the Future of Life Institute. He serves on the board of the World Science Festival and is a judge for Math-O-Vision.

Alda was born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo on January 28, 1936, in New York City, and had a peripatetic childhood, as his parents traveled around the United States in support of his father's job as a performer in burlesque theatres. His father, Robert Alda (born Alphonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo), was an actor and singer, and his mother, Joan Browne, was a homemaker and former beauty pageant winner. His father was of Italian descent and his mother was of Irish ancestry. His adopted surname, "Alda," is a portmanteau of ALphonso and D'Abruzzo.

When Alda was seven years old, he contracted poliomyelitis. To combat the disease, his parents administered a painful treatment regimen developed by Sister Elizabeth Kenny, consisting of applying hot woollen blankets to his limbs and stretching his muscles. Alda attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York. In 1956, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Fordham College of Fordham University in the Bronx, where he was a student staff member of its FM radio station, WFUV. Alda's half-brother, Antony Alda, was born that year (1956) and would also become an actor.

During Alda's junior year, he studied in Paris, acted in a play in Rome, and performed with his father on television in Amsterdam. In college, he was a member of the ROTC, and after graduation, he served for a year at Fort Benning, and then six months in the United States Army Reserve on a tour of duty in Korea.

In 1956, while attending Fordham University, he met Arlene Weiss, who was attending Hunter College. They bonded at a mutual friend's dinner party; when a rum cake accidentally fell onto the kitchen floor, they were the only two guests who did not hesitate to eat it. A year after his graduation, on March 15, they were married. They have three daughters: Eve, Elizabeth, and Beatrice. Two of his eight grandchildren are aspiring actors.

The Aldas have been longtime residents of Leonia, New Jersey. Alda frequented Sol & Sol Deli on Palisade Avenue in the nearby town of Englewood, New Jersey—a fact mirrored in his character's daydream about eating whitefish from the establishment, in an episode of M*A*S*H in which Hawkeye sustains a head injury.

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Career

Early acting

Alda began his career in the 1950s, as a member of the Compass Players comedy revue. He joined the acting company at the Cleveland Play House during the 1958-59 season as part of a grant from the Ford Foundation, appearing in productions such as To Dorothy A Son, Heaven Come Wednesday, Monique and Job. In the November 1964 world premiere at the ANTA Playhouse of the stage version of The Owl and The Pussycat, he played Felix the "Owl" opposite the "Pussycat" which was played by black actress/singer Diana Sands. He continued to play Felix the "Owl" for the 1964-5 Broadway season. In 1966, he starred in the musical The Apple Tree on Broadway; he was nominated for the Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical for that role.

Although from away, Alan Alda says he became a Mainer in 1957 when he played at the Kennebunkport Playhouse.

Alda made his Hollywood acting debut as a supporting player in Gone are the Days! - a film version of the highly successful Broadway play Purlie Victorious, which co-starred veteran actors Ruby Dee and her husband, Ossie Davis. Other film roles would follow, such as his portrayal of author, humorist, and actor George Plimpton in the film Paper Lion (1968), as well as The Extraordinary Seaman (1969), and the occult-murder-suspense thriller The Mephisto Waltz, with actress Jacqueline Bisset. During this time, Alda frequently appeared as a panelist on the 1968 revival of What's My Line?. He also appeared as a panelist on I've Got a Secret during its 1972 syndication revival.

M*A*S*H series (1972-83)

In early 1972, Alda auditioned for and was selected to play the role of Hawkeye Pierce in the TV adaptation of the 1970 film MASH. He was nominated for 21 Emmy Awards, and won five. He took part in writing 19 episodes, including the 1983 2½-hour series finale "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", which was also the 32nd episode he directed. It remains the single most-watched episode of any American broadcast network television series. Alda is the only series regular to appear in all 251 episodes.

Alda commuted from Los Angeles to his home in New Jersey every weekend for 11 years while starring in M*A*S*H. His wife and daughters lived in New Jersey, and he did not want to move his family to Los Angeles, especially because he did not know how long the show would last.

Alda's father, Robert Alda, and half-brother Antony Alda appeared together in an episode of M*A*S*H, "Lend a Hand", during season 8. Robert had previously appeared in "The Consultant" in season 3.

During the first five seasons of the series, the tone of M*A*S*H was largely that of a traditional "service comedy", in the vein of shows like McHale's Navy. However, as the original writers gradually left the series, Alda gained increasing control, and by the final seasons had become a producer and creative consultant. Under his watch, M*A*S*H retained its comedic foundation, but gradually assumed a somewhat more serious tone, openly addressing political issues. As a result, the 11 years of M*A*S*H are generally split into two eras: the Larry Gelbart/Gene Reynolds "comedy" years (1972-1979), and the Alan Alda "dramatic" years (1979-1983).

For the first three seasons, Alda and his co-stars Wayne Rogers and McLean Stevenson worked well together, but later, tensions increased, particularly as Alda's role grew in popularity. Rogers and Stevenson both left the show at the end of the third season. At the beginning of the fourth season, Alda and the producers decided to find a replacement actor to play the surrogate parent role formerly taken by Colonel Blake. They eventually found veteran actor and fan of the series, Harry Morgan, who would star as Colonel Sherman T. Potter, becoming another of the show's protagonists. Mike Farrell was also introduced as Alda's co-star BJ Hunnicutt.

In his 1981 autobiography, Jackie Cooper (who directed several early episodes) wrote that Alda concealed a lot of hostility beneath the surface, and that the two of them barely spoke to each other by the time Cooper’s directing of M*A*S*H ended.

During his M*A*S*H years, Alda made several game-show appearances, most notably in The $10,000 Pyramid and as a frequent panelist on What's My Line? and To Tell the Truth.

His favorite episodes of M*A*S*H are "Dear Sigmund" and "In Love and War".

In 1996, Alda was ranked #41 on TV Guide's "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time".

Writing and directing credits

The following is a list of M*A*S*H episodes written and/or directed by Alda.

Season Episode Credit
One Episode 19: "The Long John Flap" Written
Two Episode 5: "Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde" Written with Robert Klane
Episode 23: "Mail Call" Directed
Three Episode 16: "Bulletin Board" Directed
Four Episode 4: "The Late Captain Pierce" Directed
Episode 7: "Dear Mildred" Directed
Episode 8: "The Kids" Directed
Episode 16: "Dear Ma" Directed
Five Episode 2: "Margaret's Engagement" Directed
Episode 7: "Dear Sigmund" Written and directed
Episode 12: "Exorcism" Directed
Episode 19: "Hepatitis" Written and directed
Six Episode 2: "Fallen Idol" Written and directed
Episode 4: "War of Nerves" Written and directed
Episode 7: "In Love and War" Written and directed
Episode 12: "Comrades in Arms, Part 1" Written; directed with Burt Metcalfe
Episode 13: "Comrades in Arms, Part 2" Written; directed with Burt Metcalfe
Seven Episode 5: "The Billfold Syndrome" Directed
Episode 8: "Major Ego" Directed
Episode 14: "Dear Sis" Written and directed
Episode 16: "Inga" Written and directed
Episode 25: "The Party" Written with Burt Metcalfe
Eight Episode 3: "Guerilla My Dreams" Directed
Episode 11: "Life Time" Written with Walter D. Dishell, M.D.; directed
Episode 15: "Yessir, That's Our Baby" Directed
Episode 20: "Lend a Hand" Written and directed
Episode 22: "Dreams" Teleplay; story with James Jay Rubinfier; directed
Nine Episode 4: "Father's Day" Directed
Episode 12: "Depressing News" Directed
Episode 15: "Bottoms Up" Directed
Episode 20: "The Life You Save" Written with John Rappaport; directed
Ten Episode 6: "Communication Breakdown" directed
Episode 10: "Follies of the Living - Concerns of the Dead" Written and directed
Episode 17: "Where There's a Will, There's a War" Directed
Eleven Episode 1: "Hey, Look Me Over" Written with Karen Hall
Episode 16: "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" Written with Burt Metcalfe,
John Rappaport, Dan Wilcox,
Thad Mumford, Elias Davis,
David Pollock and Karen Hall; directed

Post-M*A*S*H

Alda's prominence in the enormously successful M*A*S*H provided him a platform to speak out on political topics. He has been a strong and vocal supporter of women's rights and the feminist movement. He co-chaired, with former First Lady Betty Ford, the Equal Rights Amendment Countdown campaign. In 1976, The Boston Globe dubbed him "the quintessential Honorary Woman: a feminist icon" for his activism on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Alda played Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman in the play QED, which had only one other character. Although Peter Parnell wrote the play, Alda both produced and inspired it. Alda has also appeared frequently in the films of Woody Allen, and was a guest star five times on ER, playing Dr. Kerry Weaver's mentor, Gabriel Lawrence. During the later episodes, Dr. Lawrence was revealed to be suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Alda also had a co-starring role as Dr. Robert Gallo in the 1993 TV movie And the Band Played On.

During M*A*S*H's run and continuing through the 1980s, Alda embarked on a successful career as a writer and director, with the ensemble dramedy The Four Seasons being perhaps his most notable hit. Betsy's Wedding is his last directing credit to date. After M*A*S*H, Alda took on a series of roles that either parodied or directly contradicted his "nice guy" image.

Later work

In 1993, he co-starred with Woody Allen (also the director), Diane Keaton, and Anjelica Huston in the comedy/mystery Manhattan Murder Mystery. The four play a quartet of amateur crime solvers who become entangled in a murder plot possibly perpetrated by Keaton and Allen's neighbor. Alda's character is Ted, a playwright secretly in love with Keaton's character Carol, but who eventually falls for Huston's character Marcia.

From the fall season of 1993 until the show ended in 2005, Alda was the host for Scientific American Frontiers, which began on PBS in 1990.

In 1995, he starred as the President of the United States in Michael Moore's political satire/comedy film Canadian Bacon. Around this time, rumors circulated that Alda was considering running for the United States Senate in New Jersey, but he denied this. In 1996, Alda played Henry Ford in Camping With Henry and Tom, based on the book by Mark St. Germain and appeared in the comedy film Flirting with Disaster.

Beginning in 2004, Alda was a regular cast member on the NBC program The West Wing, portraying Republican U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Arnold Vinick, until the show's conclusion in May 2006. He made his premiere in the sixth season's eighth episode, "In The Room", and was added to the opening credits with the 13th episode, "King Corn." In August 2006, Alda won an Emmy for his portrayal of Arnold Vinick in the final season of The West Wing. Alda had been a serious candidate, along with Sidney Poitier, for the role of President Josiah Bartlet before Martin Sheen was ultimately cast in the role.

In 2004, Alda portrayed conservative Maine Senator Owen Brewster in Martin Scorsese's Academy Award-winning film The Aviator, in which he co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Throughout his career, Alda has received 31 Emmy Award nominations and two Tony Award nominations, and has won seven People's Choice Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and three Directors Guild of America awards. However, it was not until 2005, after a long acting career, that Alda received his first Academy Award nomination, for his role in The Aviator.

Alda also wrote several of the stories and poems that appeared in Marlo Thomas's television show Free to Be... You and Me.

Alda starred in the original Broadway production of the play 'Art', which opened on March 1, 1998, at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. The play won the Tony Award for best original play.

Alda also had a part in the 2000 romantic comedy What Women Want, as the CEO of the advertising firm where the main characters worked.

In early 2005, Alda starred as Shelly Levene in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play. Throughout 2009 and 2010, he appeared in three episodes of 30 Rock as Milton Greene, the biological father of Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin). In January 2010, Alda hosted The Human Spark, a three-part series originally broadcast on PBS discussing the nature of human uniqueness and recent studies on the human brain.

In 2011, Alda was scheduled to guest star on Law & Order: LA, portraying former police and naval officer John Winters, the father of the former main character Rex Winters. It is unknown whether he filmed his role before the series was redesigned and Rex Winters written off.

After the release of the movie Tower Heist, Alda was devastated when on December 7, 2011, his decades-long friend Harry Morgan from M*A*S*H died.

Alda returned to Broadway in November 2014, playing the role of Andrew Makepeace in the revival of Love Letters at the Brooks Atkinson Theater alongside Candice Bergen.

In 2016 Alda appeared in Louis C. K.'s web-based series Horace and Pete as the irascible Uncle Pete in what Indiewire critic Sam Adams described as "his best role in years" in an otherwise lukewarm review.

Charitable work and other interests

Alda has done extensive charity work. He helped narrate a 2005 St. Jude's Children's Hospital produced one-hour special TV show Fighting for Life. He and his wife, Arlene, are also close friends of Marlo Thomas, who is very active in fund-raising for the hospital her father founded. The special featured Ben Bowen as one of six patients being treated for childhood cancer at Saint Jude. Alda and Marlo Thomas had also worked together in the early 70s on a critically acclaimed children's album entitled Free to Be You and Me, which featured Alda, Thomas and a number of other well-known character actors. This project remains one of the earliest public signs of his support of women's rights.

In 2005, Alda published his first round of memoirs, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned. Among other stories, he recalls his intestines becoming strangulated while on location in La Serena, Chile, for his PBS show Scientific American Frontiers, during which he mildly surprised a young doctor with his understanding of medical procedures, which he had learned from M*A*S*H. He also talks about his mother's battle with schizophrenia. The title comes from an incident in his childhood, when Alda was distraught about his dog dying and his well-meaning father had the animal stuffed. Alda was horrified by the results, and took from this that sometimes we have to accept things as they are, rather than desperately and fruitlessly trying to change them.

In 2006, Alda contributed his voice to a part in the audio book of Max Brooks' World War Z. In this book, he voiced Arthur Sinclair Jr., the director of the United States Government's fictional "Department of Strategic Resources (DeStRes)".

His second memoir, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, weaves together advice from public speeches he has given with personal recollections about his life and beliefs.

Alda also has an avid interest in cosmology, and participated in BBC coverage of the opening of the Large Hadron Collider, at CERN, Geneva, in September 2008.

After years of interviews, Alda helped inspire the creation of the Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in 2009. He remains on the advisory board as of 2013. He was named an Honorary Fellow by the Society for Technical Communication in 2014 for his work with the Center for Communicating Science and the annual Flame Challenge. He is also on the advisory board of the Future of Life Institute. Alda would like to use his expertise in acting and communication to help scientists communicate more effectively to the public.

Alda has been a feminist activist for many years. He co-chaired, with former First Lady Betty Ford, the Equal Rights Amendment Countdown campaign. In 1976, The Boston Globe dubbed him "the quintessential Honorary Woman: a feminist icon" for his activism on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Religious views

In Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, Alda describes how as a teen he was raised as a Roman Catholic and eventually he realized he had begun thinking like an agnostic or atheist:

For a while in my teens, I was sure I had it. It was about getting to heaven. If heaven existed and lasted forever, then a mere lifetime spent scrupulously following orders was a small investment for an infinite payoff. One day, though, I realized I was no longer a believer, and realizing that, I couldn’t go back. Not that I lost the urge to pray. Occasionally, even after I stopped believing, I might send off a quick memo to the Master of the Universe, usually on a matter needing urgent attention, like Oh, God, don’t let us crash. These were automatic expulsions of words, brief SOS messages from the base of my brain. They were similar to the short prayers that were admired by the church in my Catholic boyhood, which they called “ejaculations.” I always liked the idea that you could shorten your time in purgatory with each ejaculation; what boy wouldn’t find that a comforting idea? But my effort to keep the plane in the air by talking to God didn’t mean I suddenly was overcome with belief, only that I was scared. Whether I’d wake up in heaven someday or not, whatever meaning I found would have to occur first on this end of eternity.

Speaking further on agnosticism, Alda goes on to say:

I still don't like the word agnostic. It's too fancy. I'm simply not a believer. But, as simple as this notion is, it confuses some people. Someone wrote a Wikipedia entry about me, identifying me as an atheist because I'd said in a book I wrote that I wasn't a believer. I guess in a world uncomfortable with uncertainty, an unbeliever must be an atheist, and possibly an infidel. This gets us back to that most pressing of human questions: why do people worry so much about other people's holding beliefs other than their own?

Alda made these comments in an interview for the 2008 question section of the Edge Foundation website.

Awards and nominations

Awards

  • Emmy Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" in 2006, for his portrayal of Senator and Presidential candidate Arnold Vinick in The West Wing
  • Emmy Award for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" in 1980 for M*A*S*H
  • Emmy Award for "Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Comedy-Variety or Music Series" in 1979 for M*A*S*H: Inga
  • Emmy Award for "Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series" in 1977 for M*A*S*H: "Dear Sigmund"
  • Emmy Award for "Actor of the Year - Series" in 1974 for M*A*S*H
  • Emmy Award for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" in 1974 for M*A*S*H
  • Golden Globe Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Musical/Comedy" in 1983 for M*A*S*H
  • Golden Globe Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Musical/Comedy" in 1982 for M*A*S*H
  • Golden Globe Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Musical/Comedy" in 1981 for M*A*S*H
  • Golden Globe Award for "Best TV Actor - Musical/Comedy" in 1980 for M*A*S*H
  • Golden Globe Award for "Best TV Actor - Musical/Comedy" in 1976 for M*A*S*H
  • Golden Globe Award for "Best TV Actor - Musical/Comedy" in 1975 for M*A*S*H
  • Directors Guild of America Award for "Outstanding Directorial - Comedy Series" in 1983 for M*A*S*H: Where There's a Will, There's a War
  • Directors Guild of America Award for "Outstanding Directorial - Comedy Series" in 1982 for M*A*S*H: The Life You Save
  • Directors Guild of America Award for "Outstanding Directorial - Comedy Series" in 1977 for M*A*S*H: "Dear Sigmund"
  • Induction into the Television Hall of Fame in 1994
  • Drama Desk Award for "Outstanding Ensemble Performance" in 2005 for Glengarry Glen Ross.
  • Became Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2006
  • Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 2015

Nominations

  • The audiobook version of Things I Overheard While Talking To Myself was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award in the category of Best Spoken Word Album.
  • Alda received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Senator Ralph Owen Brewster in Martin Scorsese's film The Aviator.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1963 Gone Are the Days Charlie Cotchipee
1968 Paper Lion George Plimpton Nominated—Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor
1969 The Extraordinary Seaman Lt. Morton Krim
1970 Jenny Delano
1970 The Moonshine War John W. Martin
1971 The Mephisto Waltz Myles Clarkson
1972 To Kill a Clown Major Evelyn Ritchie
1978 Same Time, Next Year George Peters Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1978 California Suite Bill Warren
1979 The Seduction of Joe Tynan Joe Tynan
1981 The Four Seasons Jack Burroughs Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
1986 Sweet Liberty Michael Burgess
1988 A New Life Steve Giardino
1989 Crimes and Misdemeanors Lester National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1990 Betsy's Wedding Eddie Hopper
1992 Whispers in the Dark Leo Green Nominated—Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor
1993 Manhattan Murder Mystery Ted
1995 Canadian Bacon President of the United States
1996 Flirting with Disaster Richard Schlichting
1996 Everyone Says I Love You Bob
1997 Murder at 1600 National Security Advisor Alvin Jordan
1997 Mad City Kevin Hollander
1998 The Object of My Affection Sidney Miller
1999 Keepers of the Frame Himself Documentary
2000 What Women Want Dan Wanamaker
2004 The Aviator Senator Ralph Owen Brewster Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2007 Resurrecting the Champ Ralph Metz
2008 Diminished Capacity Uncle Rollie Zerbs
2008 Flash of Genius Gregory Lawson
2008 Nothing but the Truth Albert Burnside
2011 Tower Heist Arthur Shaw
2012 Wanderlust Carvin
2015 The Longest Ride Ira Levinson
2015 Bridge of Spies Thomas Watters

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1958 The Phil Silvers Show Carlyle Thomson III Episode: "Bilko the Art Lover"
1962 Naked City Young Poet Episode: "Hold for Gloria Christmas"
1963 The Doctors and the Nurses Dr. John Griffin 2 episodes
1963 Route 66 Dr. Glazer Episode: "Soda Pop and Paper Flags"
1963 East Side/West Side Freddie Wilcox Episode: "The Sinner"
1965 The Trials of O'Brien Nick Staphos Episode: "Picture Me a Murder"
1967 Coronet Blue Clay Episode: "Six Months to Mars"
1968 Premiere Frank St. John Episode: "Higher and Higher"
1972 Class of '55 Peter Television movie
1972 The Glass House Jonathan Paige Television movie
1972 Playmates Marshall Barnett Television movie
1972-83 M*A*S*H Captain Benjamin Franklin
"Hawkeye" Pierce
251 episodes
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy
People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Television Performer
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
1973 Isn't It Shocking? Dan Television movie
1973-75 The New $25,000 Pyramid Himself 7 episodes
1974 The Carol Burnett Show Himself Episode: "#8.13"
1974 Free to Be... You and Me Himself Television movie
1974 6 Rms Riv Vu Paul Friedman Television movie
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
1977 Kill Me If You Can Caryl W. Chessman Television movie
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
1993 And the Band Played On Dr. Robert Gallo Television movie
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
1993-2007 Scientific American Frontiers Himself 81 episodes
1994 White Mile Dan Cutler Television movie
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film
1996 Jake's Women Jake Television movie
1999 ER Dr. Gabriel Lawrence 5 episodes
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
2001 Club Land Willie Walters Television movie
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2001 The Killing Yard Ernie Goodman Television movie
2004-06 The West Wing Senator Arnold Vinick 28 episodes
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Nominated—Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Drama
2005 Getaway Himself Episode: "Found"
2009-11 30 Rock Milton Greene 3 episodes
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
2011-13 The Big C Dr. Atticus Sherman 6 episodes
2012 The Human Spark Himself PBS
2013 Brains on Trial with Alan Alda Himself PBS
2013-14 The Blacklist Alan Fitch 5 episodes
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
2016 Horace and Pete Uncle Pete 4 episodes
2016 Broad City Dr. Jay Heller 1 episode

Stage

Year Title Role Notes
1959 Only in America Telephone Man
1961-62 Purlie Victorious Charlie Cotchpiee
1964 Fair Game for Lovers Benny
1964 Cafe Crown Dr. Irving Gilbert
1964-65 The Owl and the Pussycat F. Sherman
1966-67 The Apple Tree Various Nominated—Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical
1992 Jake's Women Jake Nominated—Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play
1998-99 Art Marc
2001-02 QED Richard Feynman
2003 The Play What I Wrote Replacement
2005 Glengarry Glen Ross Shelly Levene Nominated—Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play
2014 Love Letters Andrew Makepeace Ladd III

Bibliography

  • Alda, Alan (2006). Never Have Your Dog Stuffed. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 978-0-09-179652-5. OCLC 64931144.
  • — (2007). Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6617-9. OCLC 122309367.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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