Age: 89
Birthplace: The Bronx, New York
Judd Hirsch (born March 15, 1935) is an American actor known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series Taxi (1978-1983), John Lacey on the NBC series Dear John (1988-1992), and Alan Eppes on the CBS series Numb3rs (2005-2010). He is also well known for his career in theatre and for his roles in films such as Ordinary People (1980), Running on Empty (1988), Independence Day (1996), and A Beautiful Mind (2001).
Over the course of his career, he has twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, has twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, and has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Hirsch was born in The Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York, the son of Sally Hirsch (née Kitzis) and Joseph Sidney Hirsch, an electrician. Hirsch's father was born in New York to a German Jewish father, Benjamin Hirsh, and an English-born mother, Rosa Hirsch (née Benjamin), whose family were Dutch Jews. Hirsch's mother, Sally, was born in Russia, also to a Jewish family. Hirsch has a brother named Roland Hirsch.
He grew up in both Brooklyn and the Bronx, but graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School, located in The Bronx, in 1952, and later earned a degree in physics from City College of New York.
After graduating from college, Hirsch served a tour in the United States Army. Hirsch worked as an engineer for Westinghouse before he found work in the theater.
Over the last several decades, Hirsch has distinguished himself in film, television, and theatre. The Los Angeles Times noted that Hirsch is "one of the very few actors who slips effortlessly from TV series to Broadway to feature films and back again, racking up awards and favorable reviews wherever he performs."
After appearing frequently on television in the 1970s, Hirsch gained stardom for his lead role of Alex Rieger in the popular sitcom Taxi, which ran from 1978 to 1983. For his performance in the series, in 1981 and again in 1983, Judd Hirsch won the Emmy Award for Lead Actor In a Comedy Series. Hirsch went on to play the title character on the modestly successful sitcom Dear John and in 1989 won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series in a Comedy or Musical for this role. He later teamed with Bob Newhart in the short-lived comedy George and Leo. He had also previously starred for one season in the series Delvecchio, playing a police detective (1976-1977).
In film, Hirsch received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the drama film Ordinary People (1980). Other films in the 1980s include the 1983 drama Without a Trace, the 1984 dramedies, Teachers and The Goodbye People, and the 1988 drama, Running on Empty, directed by Sidney Lumet and co-starring River Phoenix. In 1996 Hirsch portrayed the father of Jeff Goldblum's character in the blockbuster Independence Day, and in 2001 he played a professor in the acclaimed A Beautiful Mind.
Hirsch co-starred on the CBS Television drama, NUMB3RS (2005-2010), as Alan Eppes, father of FBI agent, Don Eppes (Rob Morrow), and Professor Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz). When Krumholtz was 13, he played son to Hirsch's father role in Conversations with My Father, a Herb Gardner play for which Hirsch won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play. Krumholtz credits Hirsch with jump-starting his career after Hirsch chose him during the audition process for Conversations. Other noteworthy stage performances include The Hot l Baltimore, Talley's Folly, and his starring role in I'm Not Rappaport, for which Hirsch also won a Tony Award in 1986.
More recently, Hirsch guest-starred on episodes of Warehouse 13, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Law & Order: SVU, and The Whole Truth (which saw him reunite with Numb3rs co-star Rob Morrow), among others, and lent his voice to the animated programs Tom Goes to the Mayor and American Dad! In 1999, he reprised his role from Taxi for a brief moment in Man on the Moon, the biopic of his co-star from Taxi, Andy Kaufman (portrayed by Jim Carrey). Judd has also appeared several times on the television show Maron as comedian Marc Maron's father.
From 2014 to 2015, he appeared as a series regular on the ABC television series Forever.
In March 2016, it was announced that Hirsch would be appearing on the CBS comedy series The Big Bang Theory portraying Leonard's (Johnny Galecki) father.
Hirsch had a child with his first wife, Elisa Sadaune, whom he was with from 1956 to 1967. He was married to his second wife, fashion designer Bonni Sue Chalkin, from 1992 to 2005.
Hirsch has three children. Son Alexander was born in 1966 with Elisa. From his second marriage, Hirsch has a daughter Montana and son London.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1971 | Jump | Unknown | Uncredited |
1973 | Serpico | Cop | Uncredited |
1978 | King of the Gypsies | Groffo | |
1980 | Ordinary People | Dr. Tyrone C. Berger | Nominated-Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated-Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture |
1983 | Without a Trace | Detective Al Manetti | |
1984 | Goodbye People, TheThe Goodbye People | Arthur Korman | |
1984 | Teachers | Roger Rubell | |
1988 | Running on Empty | Arthur Pope/Paul Manfield | |
1996 | Independence Day | Julius Levinson | |
1999 | Out of the Cold | Leon Axelrod | |
1999 | Man on the Moon | Alex Rieger | Uncredited Cameo |
2001 | A Beautiful Mind | Dr. Helinger | Nominated-Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
2004 | Zeyda and the Hitman | Gideon Schub | |
2006 | Brother's Shadow | Leo Groden | |
2011 | Tower Heist | Mr. Simon | |
2011 | The Muppets | Himself | Cameo |
2011 | This Must Be the Place | Mordecai Midler | |
2013 | Altered Minds | Dr. Nathan Shellner | |
2015 | Wild Oats | ||
2016 | Independence Day: Resurgence | Julius Levinson | Post-production |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | The Law | Murray Stone | Television movie |
1975 | The Law | Murray Stone | 3 episodes |
1975 | Fear on Trial | Saul | Television movie |
1975 | Medical Story | Dr. Joe Dempsey | Episode: "Waste Land" |
1975 | The Legend of Valentino | Jack Auerbach | Television movie |
1976 | Keegans, TheThe Keegans | Lieutenant Marco Ciardi | Television movie |
1976 | Visions | Joe Morris | Episode: "Two Brothers" |
1977 | Rhoda | Mike | 2 episodes Nominated-Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series |
1976-1977 | Delvecchio | Sergeant Dominick Delvecchio | 22 episodes |
1979 | Sooner or Later | Bob Walters | Television movie |
1979 | Halloween That Almost Wasn't, TheThe Halloween That Almost Wasn't | Count Dracula | Television movie |
1980 | Marriage Is Alive and Well | Herb Rollie | Television movie |
1980 | Last Resort, TheThe Last Resort | Unknown | Episode: "Zegelmania" |
1981 | Robert Klein Show, TheThe Robert Klein Show | Unknown | Television movie |
1983 | Lights: The Miracle of Chanukah | Unknown | Television movie |
1978-1983 | Taxi | Alex Rieger | 114 episodes 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 Lead Actor in a Comedy Series |
1985 | Detective in the House | Press Wyman | 6 episodes |
1985 | First Steps | Dr. Jerrold Petrofsky | Television movie |
1985 | Brotherly Love | Ben Ryder/Harry Brand | Television movie |
1988-1992 | Dear John | John Lacey | 74 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy Nominated-Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy |
1988 | Great Escape II: The Untold Story, TheThe Great Escape II: The Untold Story | Capt. David Matthews | Television movie |
1990 | She Said No | Martin Knapek | Television movie |
1994 | Betrayal of Trust | Dr. Jules Masserman | Television movie |
1996 | Caroline in the City | Ben Karinsky | Episode: "Caroline and the Comic" |
1997 | Color of Justice | Sam Lind | Television movie |
1997-1998 | George & Leo | Leo Wagonman | 22 episodes |
1999 | Rocky Marciano | Al Weill | Television movie |
2000 | Welcome to New York | Dr. Bob | Episode: "Dr. Bob" |
2001 | Family Law | Daniel Bonner | Episode: "Security" |
2002 | Philly | Rabbi Nathan Wexler | Episode: "The Curse of the Klopman Diamonds" |
2003 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Dr. Judah Platner | Episode: "Mercy" |
2003 | Regular Joe | Baxter Binder | 5 episodes |
2003 | Street Time | Shimi Goldman | Episode: "High Holly Roller" |
2003 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Ben Elkins | Episode: "Pravda" |
2003 | Who Killed the Federal Theatre | Narrator | Television movie |
2005 | Family Guy | Himself | Episode: "Blind Ambition" |
2006 | Tom Goes to the Mayor | Prisoner | Episode: "Spray a Carpet or Rug" |
2006 | Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | Wes Mendell | Episode: "Pilot" |
2009 | American Dad! | Rabbi | 2 episodes |
2005-2010 | Numb3rs | Alan Eppes | 114 episodes |
2010 | Warehouse 13 | Isadore Weisfelt | Episode: "Secret Santa" |
2011-2012 | Damages | Bill Herndon | 14 episodes |
2012 | The Good Wife | Judge Harrison Creary | Episode: "Here Comes the Judge" |
2013-2015 | Maron | Larry Maron | 4 episodes |
2014 | Sharknado 2: The Second One | Ben | Television movie |
2014-2015 | Forever | Abe | 22 episodes |
2015 | The Goldbergs | Ben "Pop-Pop" Goldberg | 2 episodes |
2016 | The Big Bang Theory | Dr. Alfred Hofstadter | Episode: "9.24" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1976 | Knock Knock | Multiple roles | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play |
1977-1978 | Chapter Two | George Schneider | Nominated - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play |
1980 | Talley's Folly | Matt Friedman | Nominated - Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play Nominated - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play |
1985-1988 | I'm Not Rappaport | Nat | Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play |
1992-1993 | Conversations with My Father | Eddie | Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play |
1996 | A Thousand Clowns | Murray Burns | |
2004 | Sixteen Wounded | Hans |