George Grizzard

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George Cooper Grizzard (born April 1, 1928 in Roanoke Rapids , North Carolina , † October 2, 2007 in Manhattan , New York City , New York ) was an American film and stage actor .

Life

George Grizzard, son of an accountant , grew up in Washington, DC , from the age of seven , but later returned to the University of North Carolina as a student . Here he obtained his bachelor's degree in 1949 . Grizzard gained his first experience as an actor in 1945 at a small theater in Surry County in the US state of Virginia , when he took on a supporting role in the play The Corn is Green by the Welsh playwright Emlyn Williams . Under the guidance of the actor Sanford Meisner , Grizzard took acting lessons in New York and in 1955 got his first engagements in theater and film almost simultaneously.

Grizzard soon became a sought-after stage actor who appeared on stage not only on Broadway but also in smaller houses, including in Minnesota . His most famous play was Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? which performed 664 times at the Billy Rose Theater on Broadway between October 1962 and May 1964 . Between March and May 2001 he also played Judge Haywood in the Nuremberg judgment . Grizzard's awards included the 1957 Theater Wold Award - for his performance in The Happiest Millionaire - and the Tony Award for Best Actor, which he received in 1996 for his role in A Delicate Balance .

Grizzard was also in demand as a film and television actor. Until the mid-1960s he was still in front of the camera as a guest actor in television series, but now more and more film offers have followed. One of his first film successes was the drama Storm over Washington , in which Grizzard played a fictional US senator in 1962. In 2000, he appeared in a small role in The WonderBoys , and in 2006, shortly before his death, in Clint Eastwood's war drama Flags of Our Fathers . The most important film award Grizzard received was the 1980 Emmy Award , which he received for his role in the television film The Oldest Living Graduate , as well as a nomination in 1976 for his portrayal of the second US President John Adams in the miniseries The Adams Chronicles .

Privately, Grizzard lived in seclusion in Litchfield County , Connecticut, and had a homosexual relationship with William Tynan that lasted almost 40 years . He died of lung cancer in October 2007 at the age of 79 .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Grizzard, George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Grizzard, George Cooper (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH April 1, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Roanoke Rapids , North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH October 2, 2007
Place of death Manhattan , New York City, United States