Fred Melamed
Fred Melamed | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, New York, U.S. | May 13, 1956
Education | Hampshire College (BA) Yale University (MFA) |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1981–present |
Spouse |
Leslee Spieler (m. 1999) |
Children | 2 |
Fred Melamed (born May 13, 1956) is an American actor, comedian and writer. After spending most of his early career primarily as a renowned
His television roles include Bruce Ben-Bacharach in
Early life
Melamed was born in Queens, New York, the product of a brief love affair between actress/director Nancy Zala, and British psychoanalyst Stan Silverstone. He was adopted by a secular Jewish family, Louis Melamed, a Manhattan television producer, and wife, Syma (Krichefsky) Melamed,[2] a sometime actress and housewife.[3] His biological father was a relative of the prominent Adler acting family, including Luther and Stella Adler.[4] He attended the Hunter College Elementary School, a primary school for gifted children, and Riverdale Country School.[citation needed]
His father worked with TV pioneer
Career
Early career
He began his theatrical training at
Melamed's voice became a familiar presence on television, serving as the sound of the
Melamed's feature film debut was in Marshall Brickman's 1983 romantic comedy, Lovesick, starring Dudley Moore and Elizabeth McGovern. Melamed's second film was Woody Allen's comedy-drama Hannah and Her Sisters (1986). In addition, Melamed has prolifically appeared in other Allen films. He has appeared in more Allen movies than any other actor besides Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow (and Allen himself). He has appeared in Radio Days (1987), Another Woman (1988), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Shadows and Fog (1991), Husbands and Wives (1992), and Hollywood Ending (2000). During the 1980s Melamed played significant supporting roles in Roland Joffé's religious epic The Mission (1986), Elaine May's comedy Ishtar (1987). Also in 1987, he appeared in Peter Yates' legal mystery thriller Suspect (1987) starring Cher, Dennis Quaid, and Liam Neeson as well as the romantic comedy The Pick-up Artist starring Robert Downey Jr. and Molly Ringwald. The following year he appeared in The Good Mother (1988), opposite Diane Keaton and Liam Neeson.
2010s
For his portrayal of "sensitive" villain Sy Ableman, in
On television, Melamed starred with
Melamed appeared in the Sundance film
On Broadway in 2011, after a long hiatus from the theatre, Melamed originated the roles of The Father in Ethan Coen's Talking Cure, and Thomas Moran in
As a writer, he has produced screenplays including Girl of the Perfume River, A Jones for Gash, The Asshat Project, and is currently at work on a long-form, television version of The Preservationist, a fictional drama inspired by the case of Melamed's college friend,
In 2019, Melamed acted in the crime thriller Lying and Stealing alongside Theo James and Emily Ratajkowski. The film was a modest critical success with Dennis Harvey of Variety writing, "Lying and Stealing manages to be a retro escapist pleasure — one whose cleverness might actually have been muffled by flashier surface assets."[6]
2020s
Melamed joined the
Personal life
After living in the Hamptons hamlet of Montauk, N.Y. for many years, Melamed moved with his wife, Leslee, and twin sons to Los Angeles in 2013. Both of the Melamed children were diagnosed with
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Lovesick | Psychoanalyst | |
1986 | Hannah and Her Sisters | Dr. Grey | |
The Mission | Cabeza | Voice; special thanks | |
The Manhattan Project | Assay Technician | ||
1987 | Radio Days | Bradley | Uncredited |
Ishtar | The Caid of Assari | ||
The Pick-up Artist | George | ||
Suspect | Morty Rosenthal | ||
1988 | Sticky Fingers | The Cop | Voice; Uncredited |
The Good Mother | Dr. Payne | ||
Another Woman | Engagement Party Guest / Patient | Voices | |
1989 | Crimes and Misdemeanors | The Dean | Uncredited |
1991 | Shadows and Fog | Undesirables Onlooker | |
1992 | Husbands and Wives | Mel | Uncredited |
2002 | Hollywood Ending | Pappas | |
2009 | A Serious Man | Sy Ableman | |
2011 | Interpersonal Exopolitics | Hank | Short film |
2012 | The Dictator | Head Nuclear Scientist | |
Fred Won't Move Out
|
Bob | ||
2013 | In a World... | Sam | |
Hair Brained | Benny Greenberg | ||
Blumenthal | Jimmy Basmati | ||
2014 | Get On Up | Syd Nathan | |
Adult Beginners | Story Book Reader | Voice | |
Some Kind of Beautiful | Victor Piggott | ||
2015 | Raise the ToyGantic | Irving Goldbath | Short film |
You Are Whole | Norman | Short film | |
Bone Tomahawk | Clarence | ||
The Dazzling Darling Sisters | Leo Reznik | Short film | |
2016 | Hail, Caesar! | Communist Writer | |
Passengers | Observatory | Voice | |
Kid Gambled | The Repair Man | Short film | |
2017 | Lemon | Howard | |
Chicanery | Arthur Schekner | ||
Brawl in Cell Block 99 | Mr. Irving | ||
2018 | The Spy Who Dumped Me | Roger | |
Silver Lake | Howard | ||
Dragged Across Concrete | Mr. Edmington | ||
Killer Black | RK Sherwood | Short film | |
2019 | Lying and Stealing | Dimitri | |
The Vigil | Dr. Kohlberg | ||
2020 | Shiva Baby | Joel | |
2021 | Together Together | Marty | |
Barking Mad | Diego Fiesta | ||
Rumble | The Mayor | Voice | |
2022 | Diary of a Spy | James | |
2023 | Cat Person | Dr. Resnick | |
Peak Season | George Friedman | ||
Fuzzy Head | The Quadruped | ||
2024 | Little Death | Augustus | In production |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1981–1982 | One Life to Live | Alberto Cervantes | Soap opera |
1989 | Another World | Crazed Homeless Man | 1 episode |
1990 | America Tonight | Announcer | Voice |
1991–1993 | Silk Stalkings | Announcer | Voice; 54 episodes |
1992–1996 | FTL Newsfeed | The Alien Presence | Voice |
1998–2003 | The NFL Today | Announcer | Voice |
2000–2001 | Courage the Cowardly Dog | The Magic Tree of Nowhere Spirit of the Harvest Moon Various characters |
Voice; 12 episodes |
2005 | Wonder Pets! | The Magician | Voice; Episode: "The Amazing Ollie" |
2010 | Law & Order | Judge Bertram Hill | Episode: "Steel-Eyed Death" |
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Dan Goldberg | Episode: "Merchandise" | |
2011 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Dr. Thurgood | Episode: "Mister Softee" |
2011–2014 | The Good Wife | Judge Alan Karpman | 3 episodes |
2012 | 30 Rock | Jack | Voice; Episode: "There's No I in America" |
2013 | Two Wrongs | Steven | Pilot |
2013–2014 | The Crazy Ones | Himself | 2 episodes |
2014 | Benched | Judge Nelson | 5 episodes |
Superior Living | Marty | Voice; Pilot | |
2015 | Girls | Avi Mensusen | Episode: "Tad & Loreen & Avi & Shanaz" |
House of Lies | Harvey Oberholt | 4 episodes | |
Childrens Hospital | Leonard Hillman | Episode: "With Great Power..." | |
Married | Professor Donald Holt | Episode: "1997" | |
2015–2016 | Blunt Talk | Dr. Mendelson | 3 episodes |
2015–2018 | Casual | Charles Cole | 8 episodes |
2016 | New Girl | J. Cronkite Valley-Forge | 3 episodes |
The Detour | Conquistadors' Announcer | Voice; Episode: "The Restaurant" | |
2016–2017 | Lady Dynamite | Bruce Ben-Bacharach | 20 episodes |
Brooklyn Nine-Nine | D.C. Parlov | 2 episodes | |
2017 | Trial & Error | Howard Mankiewicz | 2 episodes |
Fargo | Howard Zimmerman | Episode: "The Law of Non-Contradiction" | |
2017–2018 | Adventure Time | Gumbald | Voice; 7 episodes |
2018 | Life in Pieces | Dr. Dave Collins | Episode: "Parents Ancestry Coupon Chaperone" |
Please Understand Me | Dr. Rick | Episode: "Dr. Rick" | |
2018–2020 | Superstore | Richard Simms | 2 episodes |
2019 | Black Monday | Not Michael Milken #2 | Episode: "Not the Predator's Ball" |
Summer Camp Island | Monk Receptionist Additional characters |
Voice; Episode: "Radio Silence" | |
Room 104 | Narrator | Voice; Episode: "Drywall Guys" | |
The Morning Show | Neal Altman | 2 episodes | |
2020 | Medical Police | Dr. Richard Waters | 6 episodes |
2020–2021 | Viral Vignettes | Neal | 3 episodes |
2021 | WandaVision | Todd Davis / "Arthur Hart" | Episode: "Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience" |
Impeachment: American Crime Story | Bill Ginsburg | 3 episodes | |
The Harper House | Roderick Shipdown | Voice; Episode: "Making the Lie Real" | |
F Is for Family | Dr. Erwin Goldman | Voice; 5 episodes | |
2022–2023 | Barry | Tom Posorro | 9 episodes |
2022 | The Mysterious Benedict Society | Captain Noland | 2 episodes |
Reboot | Alan | 5 episodes | |
2023 | The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib | Russ Tisdale | Voice; 4 episodes |
Theatre
Year | Title | Role | Playwright | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|
1981–1983 | Amadeus | Priest Count Orsini-Rosenberg |
Peter Shaffer | Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway |
2011 | Relatively Speaking | The Father | Ethan Coen |
Brooks Atkinson Theatre , Broadway
|
2012 | Uncle Vanya | Vanya | Anton Chekhov | John Drew Theatre at Guild Hall |
Video games
Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998–2003 | NCAA Football series
|
Announcer | |
1999 | The Multipath Adventures of Superman | Lex Luthor | |
2004 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Cris Formage | |
2013 | Grand Theft Auto V | Cris Formage | |
2013 | Grand Theft Auto Online | Cris Formage | |
2014 | Diablo III: Reaper of Souls | Male Atarias | |
2018 | Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion | Gumbald | |
2018 | Fallout 76 | Senator Joel Chambers, Red | Nuclear Winter DLC |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | Village Voice Film Poll | Best Supporting Actor | A Serious Man | Nominated | |
Gotham Awards | Best Ensemble Performance | Nominated | |||
Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Ensemble Cast | Nominated | |||
2010 | Independent Spirit Awards | Robert Altman Award | Won | ||
2014 | Voice Awards | Lifetime Achievement Award | Body of work | Won | |
2021 | Studio City Film Festival | Best Ensemble Cast | Barking Mad | Won | |
New York International Film Festival | Best Acting (Duo) | Jack's Inferno | Won | ||
2022 | Crown Point International Film Festival | Best Ensemble | Viral Vignettes | Won | |
2023 | Riverside International Film Festival | Best Ensemble | Deadly Draw | Won | |
Vegas Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Deadly Draw | Won | ||
2024 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Barry | Pending | [7] |
References
- ^ "The 32 Greatest Character Actors Working Today". Vulture. 22 March 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ "SYMA MELAMED Obituary". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- ^ The JC.
Unlike the Coens, I was raised by non-believers who found most of Judaism either incomprehensible or off-putting. They had a certain nostalgia for family holidays, but we never went to temple except to attend the bar mitzvah of a cousin, and when I was asked if I wanted to attend Hebrew School, I said no, and thus had no religious training.
- ^ Feinberg, Scott (March 29, 2010). "2009 Unsung hero: Fred Melamed (aka Sy Ableman)". Archived from the original on 2016-06-22. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- ^ Gross, Terry (2013-08-08). "In 'A World,' All Voice-Overs Are Not Created Equal". Fresh Air. WHYY Radio. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- ^ Harvey, Dennis (12 July 2019). "Film Review: 'Lying and Stealing'". Variety.
- ^ "Nominations Announced for the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®" (Press release). Screen Actors Guild. January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
External links
- Fred Melamed at IMDb
- Fred Melamed at the Internet Broadway Database