George Grizzard R.I.P.

Tony winning actor George Grizzard passed yesterday at the age of 79 after a long battle with lung cancer. He had an extensive career on Broadway, as well as in television and on film.

George Grizzard was born in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina on April 1, 1928. He grew up in Washington D.C. He had planned to go into radio, but elected to be an actor instead. He appeared on the stage in various venues before breaking onto Broadway with the play The Desperate Hours in 1955. Throughout the years Grizzard would appear in many major plays, among them Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the 1965 revival of The Glass Menagerie, California Suite, the 1978 revival of Man and Superman, the 1996 revival of The Delicate Balance, and the 2001 revival of Judgement at Nuremberg. He won the Tony Award in 1996 for his role in The Delicate Balance. He was nominated for Tony Awards for The Disenchanted in 1959 and 1961 for Big Fish, Little Fish.

Grizzard also appeared extensively on television. He made his debut in television in an episode of the TV series Appointment with Adventure. He would go onto to appear in such shows as The Kaiser Aluminum Hour, Goodyear Television Playhouse, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, One Step Beyond, The Twilight Zone, Thriller, Rawhide, and Murder She Wrote. As Arthur Gold he was a semi-regular on Law and Order from 1992 to 2000. He won an Emmy for his role in the live teleplay The Oldest Living Graduate.

Grizzard also appeared in several feature films. He made his big screen debut in 1960 in the film From the Terrace. He would go onto appear in such films as Advise and Consent, Warning Shot, Wonder Boys, and Small Time Crooks.

Grizzard was a gifted actor who play a multitude of roles. from the pushy senator in Advise and Consent to the frightened husband in A Delicate Balance. He was versatile in a way that actors these days rarely are. It is this for which he will be remembered.