Paul Benedict

• Name — Paul Benedict • Birth Name — Paul Bernard Benedict • Birthplace — Silver City, New Mexico, U.S. • Born — 17 September 1938 • Died — 1 December 2008 • Place of death — Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, U.S. • Education — Suffolk University • Known for — The Jeffersons Sesame Street • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1965–2008

Benedict was born in Silver City, New Mexico, the son of Alma Marie (née Loring), a journalist, and Mitchell M. Benedict, a doctor, and grew up in Massachusetts, where he graduated from Boston College High School and Suffolk University. Benedict served a tour of duty in the U.S. Marine Corps. His oversized jaw and large nose were partially attributed to acromegaly; he was first diagnosed with it by an endocrinologist who saw Benedict in a theatrical production.

Following his graduation from Suffolk University in his hometown of Boston, Benedict began acting at the Theatre Company of Boston and performed with Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino. In addition to his varied film and television roles, Benedict was an accomplished theater actor, having appeared on Broadway multiple times, notably in Eugene O'Neill's two-character play Hughie in 1996 (performing with Al Pacino) at the Circle in the Square Theater, and more recently in The Music Man in 2000–2001. He appeared Off-Broadway in 1986 in Terrence McNally's It's Only a Play. He had directed a production of the work Off-off-Broadway several years before. In 2007, Benedict performed as "Hirst" in Harold Pinter's No Man's Land at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Benedict directed Frank D. Gilroy's Any Given Day on Broadway. Off-Broadway, he directed the original production of Terrence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, and Kathy Najimy's and Mo Gaffney's The Kathy and Mo Show, which won an Obie Award.

On December 1, 2008, Benedict was found dead of a brain hemorrhage at his home in Aquinnah, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. He was 70 years old. Benedict was awarded a posthumous Elliot Norton Award by the Boston Theater Critics Association in 2009.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1965 — The Double-Barrelled Detective Story — Wells Fargo Ferguson • 1969 — The Virgin President — Rutherford Melon • 1971 — Cold Turkey — Zen Buddhist • 1971 — Taking Off — Ben Lockston • 1971 — They Might Be Giants — Chestnut Man • 1971 — The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight — Shots O'Toole • 1972 — Deadhead Miles — Hitchhiker • 1972 — Jeremiah Johnson — Reverend Lindquist • 1972 — Up the Sandbox — Dr. Beineke • 1974 — The Front Page — Plunkett • 1975 — Mandingo — Brownlee • 1975 — Smile — Orren Brooks • 1977 — The Goodbye Girl — Mark • 1977 — Billy in the Lowlands — Billy's Father • 1981 — Steigler and Steigler — Cosmo • 1982 — The Electric Grandmother — Guido Fantoccini • 1983 — The Man with Two Brains — Butler • 1984 — The Lonely Guy — Dr. Zook — Voice, Uncredited • 1984 — This Is Spinal Tap — Tucker 'Smitty' Brown • 1988 — Arthur 2: On the Rocks — Fairchild • 1988 — Cocktail — Finance Teacher • 1988 — The Chair — Warden Edward Dwyer • 1990 — The Freshman — Arthur Fleeber • 1990 — Sibling Rivalry — Dr. Plotner • 1991 — The Addams Family — Judge Womack • 1993 — Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman — Dr. Victor Loeb • 1995 — Guns and Lipstick — Mickey • 1996 — Waiting for Guffman — Roy Loomis • 1997 — The Devil's Advocate — Walter Krasna — Uncredited • 1998 — A Fish in the Bathtub — Milo • 2000 — Isn't She Great — Prof. Brainiac • 2003 — A Mighty Wind — Martin Berg • 2004 — After the Sunset — Night Shift Guard • 2008 — Side by Each — Chief Rodrocks — (final film role)

Paul Benedict is recorded as actor and theatre director.