Allen Garfield
Encyclopedia
Allen Garfield, born and sometimes credited as Allen Goorwitz (born November 22, 1939), is an American film
and television
actor
.
, the son of Alice (née
Lavroff) and Philip Goorwitz. A graduate of Weequahic High School
, he was a sports reporter and Golden Gloves
boxer before becoming an actor. He studied acting at The Actors Studio in New York City, studying with both Lee Strasberg
and Elia Kazan
, and worked in stage before film. Garfield is a quirky and prolific actor who has appeared in over 100 films and television shows. He is known for playing nervous villains, corrupt businessmen and politicians. In addition he has appeared in two art film
s by German director Wim Wenders
, Der Stand der Dinge
and Bis ans Ende der Welt
. Garfield has one sister, Lois.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Biography
Garfield was born in Newark, New JerseyNewark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, the son of Alice (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Lavroff) and Philip Goorwitz. A graduate of Weequahic High School
Weequahic High School
Weequahic High School is a public high school in Newark in Essex County, New Jersey. The school is operated by the Newark Public Schools and is located at 279 Chancellor Avenue....
, he was a sports reporter and Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...
boxer before becoming an actor. He studied acting at The Actors Studio in New York City, studying with both Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg was an American actor, director and acting teacher. He cofounded, with directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as "America's first true theatrical collective"...
and Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
, and worked in stage before film. Garfield is a quirky and prolific actor who has appeared in over 100 films and television shows. He is known for playing nervous villains, corrupt businessmen and politicians. In addition he has appeared in two art film
Art film
An art film is the result of filmmaking which is typically a serious, independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience...
s by German director Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
, Der Stand der Dinge
The State of Things (film)
The State of Things is a 1982 road movie directed by Wim Wenders. It tells the story of a film director travelling from Portugal to Los Angeles in search of his missing producer....
and Bis ans Ende der Welt
Until the End of the World
Until the End of the World is a 1991 film by the German film director Wim Wenders; the screenplay was written by Wenders and Peter Carey, from a story by Wenders and Solveig Dommartin. An initial draft of the screenplay was written by American filmmaker Michael Almereyda...
. Garfield has one sister, Lois.
Selected filmography
- Putney SwopePutney SwopePutney Swope, a 1969 film written and directed by Robert Downey Sr. and starring Arnold Johnson as Swope, is a comedy satirizing the advertising world, the portrayal of race in Hollywood films, the white power structure, and nature of corporate corruption....
(1969) - BananasBananas (film)Bananas is a 1971 comedy film written by Mickey Rose and Woody Allen, directed by Allen, and starring himself and Louise Lasser. Parts of the plot were based on the book Don Quixote, U.S.A. by Richard P. Powell. It was filmed on location in New York City, Lima , and various locations in Puerto...
(1971) - Cry Uncle!Cry Uncle!Cry Uncle! is a 1971 film in the Troma library. It is directed by John G. Avildsen and stars Allen Garfield. The story, based on the Michael Brett novel Lie A Little, Die A Little, follows the misadventures of a slobbish private detective who is hired by a millionaire to investigate a murder...
(1971) - Top of the HeapTop of the Heap (film)Top of the Heap is a 1972 American drama film directed by and starring Christopher St. John. It was entered into the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Christopher St. John - George Lattimer* Paula Kelly - Black Chick* Florence St...
(1972) - Get to Know Your RabbitGet to Know Your RabbitGet to Know Your Rabbit is a 1972 American comedy film written by Jordan Crittenden and directed by Brian De Palma.-Synopsis:Corporate executive Donald Beeman, fed up with the rat race, impulsively quits his job and takes to the road as a traveling tap dancing magician under the tutelage of Mr....
(1972) - The CandidateThe Candidate (1972 film)The Candidate is a 1972 American film starring Robert Redford. Its themes include how the political machine corrupts. There are many parallels between the then-recent 1970 California Senate election between John V. Tunney and George Murphy; however, Redford's character Bill McKay is a political...
(1972) - The Front PageThe Front Page (1974 film)The Front Page is a 1974 American comedy-drama film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on the 1928 play of the same title by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, which was previously adapted for the screen under its...
(1974) - The ConversationThe ConversationThe Conversation is a 1974 American psychological thriller film written, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman...
(1974) - Nashville (1975)
- Mother, Jugs, and Speed (1976)
- Gable and LombardGable and LombardGable and Lombard is a 1976 American biographical film directed by Sidney J. Furie. The screenplay by Barry Sandler is based on the romance and consequent marriage of legendary screen stars Clark Gable and Carole Lombard...
(1976) - The Brink's JobThe Brink's JobThe Brink's Job is a 1978 film directed by William Friedkin and starring Peter Falk, Peter Boyle, Allen Garfield, Warren Oates, Gena Rowlands, and Paul Sorvino. It is based on the Brink's robbery in Boston, where almost 3 million dollars were stolen....
(1978) - Skateboard: The Movie (1978)
- One Trick Pony (1980)
- The Stunt ManThe Stunt ManThe Stunt Man is a 1980 American film directed by Richard Rush, starring Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, and Barbara Hershey. The movie was adapted by Lawrence B. Marcus and Rush from the novel by Paul Brodeur...
(1980) - Continental DivideContinental Divide (film)Continental Divide is a 1981 American romantic comedy. It was directed by Michael Apted from an original screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and produced by Steven Spielberg and stars John Belushi and Blair Brown; the latter was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.An attempt was made during...
(1981) - Der Stand der DingeThe State of Things (film)The State of Things is a 1982 road movie directed by Wim Wenders. It tells the story of a film director travelling from Portugal to Los Angeles in search of his missing producer....
(1982) - One from the HeartOne from the HeartOne from the Heart is a 1982 musical film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The characters themselves do not actually sing but the powerful score dominates the movie. It is set entirely in Las Vegas, on the Las Vegas Strip and the desert surrounding the city...
(1982) - Get CrazyGet CrazyGet Crazy is a 1983 film directed by Allan Arkush and starring Malcolm McDowell, Allen Garfield, Daniel Stern, Gail Edwards, and Ed Begley, Jr.-Premise:...
(1983) - The Cotton ClubThe Cotton Club (film)The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime-drama, centered on a famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s, the Cotton Club.The movie was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, choreographed by Henry LeTang, and starred Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines...
(1984) - Irreconcilable DifferencesIrreconcilable differencesThe concept of irreconcilable differences provides a possible ground for divorce in a number of jurisdictions.In Australian family law with no-fault divorce it is the sole ground, adequate proof being that the estranged couple have been separated more than 12 months.In the United States it can be...
(1984) - TeachersTeachers (film)# "Teacher, Teacher" - 38 Special# "Cheap Sunglasses" - ZZ Top# "Foolin' Around" - Freddie Mercury# "I Can't Stop the Fire" - Eric Martin# "Edge of a Dream" - Joe Cocker# " Teacher" - Ian Hunter# "One Foot Back in Your Door" - Roman Holliday...
(1984) - Desert BloomDesert BloomDesert Bloom is a 1986 American drama film directed by Eugene Corr and starring an ensemble cast led by Jon Voight and JoBeth Williams. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival and funded through the Sundance Film Festival Institute.-Plot:World War II has...
(1986) - Beverly Hills Cop IIBeverly Hills Cop IIBeverly Hills Cop II is a 1987 action-comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and directed by Tony Scott. It is the first sequel in the Beverly Hills Cop series. Murphy returns as Detroit police detective Axel Foley, who returns to Beverly Hills, California to track down a joint robbery/gun-running ring...
(1987) - Let It RideLet It Ride (film)Let It Ride is a 1989 comedy film. It stars Richard Dreyfuss as a normally unsuccessful habitual gambler who experiences a day in which he wins every bet he places...
(1989) - Dick Tracy (1990)
- Club Fed (1990)
- Until the End of the WorldUntil the End of the WorldUntil the End of the World is a 1991 film by the German film director Wim Wenders; the screenplay was written by Wenders and Peter Carey, from a story by Wenders and Solveig Dommartin. An initial draft of the screenplay was written by American filmmaker Michael Almereyda...
(1991) - Citizen CohnCitizen CohnCitizen Cohn is a 1992 cable film covering the life of Joseph McCarthy's controversial chief counsel Roy Cohn. James Woods, who starred as Cohn, was nominated for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance...
(1992) - Miracle BeachMiracle BeachMiracle Beach is a 1992 fantasy/comedy film starring Dean Cameron, Ami Dolenz, and Pat Morita.-Synopsis:Scotty McKay is just an every day beach-bum who used to have it all, when he finds a genie called Jeannie who just happens to be attractive. Her mission is to assist Scott...
(1992) - The Majestic (2001)