Paul Benedict
Encyclopedia
Paul Benedict was an American
actor
who made numerous appearances in television and movies beginning in the 1960s. He was known for his roles as The Number Painter
on the popular PBS children's show Sesame Street
, and as the quirky English
neighbor Harry Bentley on the CBS
sitcom The Jeffersons
.
, the son of Alma Marie (née Loring), a journalist
, and Mitchell M. Benedict, a doctor. He grew up in Massachusetts. As a young man, he suffered from acromegalia, a pituitary disorder that affects the extremities
and face, which accounted for his slightly oversized jaw and large nose.
. He played this role from 1975 when the show began until 1981, and then returned in 1983 and remained until the end of the show in 1985. His character was an Englishman who lived in the apartment next door to George and Louise Jefferson. He worked at the United Nations as a translator and was a bachelor. He was liked by all of the other characters on the show except for George Jefferson, who found him annoying, but they became more friendly as the show progressed. Harry was also known for telling long, and often boring stories, about his past, particularly about his childhood and relatives in England.
Benedict also played the recurring character The Number Painter
on the long-running children's PBS show, Sesame Street.
In the movie The Goodbye Girl
(1977) starring Richard Dreyfuss
, Benedict played the stage director of a production of Richard III
in which Richard III was to be portrayed in the play as a stereotypical gay man. He was in a short scene in the mockumentary
This Is Spinal Tap
(1984), playing Tucker Smitty Brown, the awkward desk clerk who checks in the band. Called a "twisted old fruit" by the band's manager Ian, he replies, "I'm just as God made me, sir." In the 1990 film The Freshman
, he played the condescending NYU film school professor of Matthew Broderick
's main character. He also made an appearance as the incorrectly assumed title character in the 1996 film Waiting for Guffman
, another mockumentary involving many of the same writers and actors as This Is Spinal Tap.
Benedict also played the role of a slave trader in Dino De Laurentiis
' Mandingo
opposite James Mason and Perry King in 1975. Perhaps his best known movie role was of the Reverend Lindquist in the 1972 Sydney Pollack
film Jeremiah Johnson. He also appeared on one episode of Seinfeld as a magazine editor with The New Yorker
who was questioned by Elaine about a cartoon in the newspaper.
multiple times, notably in Eugene O'Neill
's 2-character play Hughie
in 1996 (performing with Al Pacino
) at Circle in the Square, and more recently in The Music Man
in 2000–2001.
In 2007, Benedict performed as "Hirst" in Harold Pinter
's No Man's Land
at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
As a director, 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
and Mo Gaffney
's The Kathy and Mo Show, which won an Obie Award
.
He was awarded a posthumous Elliot Norton Award by the Boston Theater Critics Assn. in 2009.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
who made numerous appearances in television and movies beginning in the 1960s. He was known for his roles as The Number Painter
The Number Painter
The Number Painter, also known as The Mad Painter, was the title character of a series of comedy live-action films produced for the children's television program Sesame Street...
on the popular PBS children's show Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, and as the quirky English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
neighbor Harry Bentley on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
sitcom The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
.
Early life
Benedict was born in Silver City, New MexicoSilver City, New Mexico
Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 10,545. It is the county seat of Grant County. The city is the home of Western New Mexico University.-History:...
, the son of Alma Marie (née Loring), a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, and Mitchell M. Benedict, a doctor. He grew up in Massachusetts. As a young man, he suffered from acromegalia, a pituitary disorder that affects the extremities
Extremities
Extremities may refer to:* Extremities , a play by William Mastrosimone* Extremities , a film based on the play* limbs of the body, in medical terminology...
and face, which accounted for his slightly oversized jaw and large nose.
Film & TV work
Benedict was best known for his role as Harry Bentley on the television show The JeffersonsThe Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
. He played this role from 1975 when the show began until 1981, and then returned in 1983 and remained until the end of the show in 1985. His character was an Englishman who lived in the apartment next door to George and Louise Jefferson. He worked at the United Nations as a translator and was a bachelor. He was liked by all of the other characters on the show except for George Jefferson, who found him annoying, but they became more friendly as the show progressed. Harry was also known for telling long, and often boring stories, about his past, particularly about his childhood and relatives in England.
Benedict also played the recurring character The Number Painter
The Number Painter
The Number Painter, also known as The Mad Painter, was the title character of a series of comedy live-action films produced for the children's television program Sesame Street...
on the long-running children's PBS show, Sesame Street.
In the movie The Goodbye Girl
The Goodbye Girl
The Goodbye Girl is a 1977 American romantic comedy-drama film. Directed by Herbert Ross, the film stars Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings, and Paul Benedict...
(1977) starring Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
, Benedict played the stage director of a production of Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
in which Richard III was to be portrayed in the play as a stereotypical gay man. He was in a short scene in the mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
(1984), playing Tucker Smitty Brown, the awkward desk clerk who checks in the band. Called a "twisted old fruit" by the band's manager Ian, he replies, "I'm just as God made me, sir." In the 1990 film The Freshman
The Freshman (1990 film)
The Freshman is a 1990 American crime comedy film starring Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick, in which Brando parodies his portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Godfather....
, he played the condescending NYU film school professor of Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his...
's main character. He also made an appearance as the incorrectly assumed title character in the 1996 film Waiting for Guffman
Waiting for Guffman
Waiting for Guffman is a mockumentary starring, co-written and directed by Christopher Guest that was released in 1997. Its cast included Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Parker Posey and others who would appear in several of the subsequent mockumentaries directed by Guest.The title of...
, another mockumentary involving many of the same writers and actors as This Is Spinal Tap.
Benedict also played the role of a slave trader in Dino De Laurentiis
Dino De Laurentiis
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis was an Italian film producer.-Early life:He was born at Torre Annunziata in the province of Naples, and grew up selling spaghetti produced by his father...
' Mandingo
Mandingo (film)
Mandingo is a 1975 film, based on the novel Mandingo by Kyle Onstott and upon the play based thereon by Jack Kirkland. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and featured James Mason, Susan George, Perry King, Lillian Hayman, boxer-turned-actor Ken Norton, and bodybuilder and pro...
opposite James Mason and Perry King in 1975. Perhaps his best known movie role was of the Reverend Lindquist in the 1972 Sydney Pollack
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he later taught acting...
film Jeremiah Johnson. He also appeared on one episode of Seinfeld as a magazine editor with The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
who was questioned by Elaine about a cartoon in the newspaper.
Theater
In addition to his varied film and television roles, Benedict was an accomplished theater actor as well, having appeared on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
multiple times, notably in Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
's 2-character play Hughie
Hughie
Hughie is a short two-character play by Eugene O’Neill set in the lobby of a small hotel on a West Side street in midtown New York during the summer of 1928. The play is essentially a long monologue delivered by a small time hustler named Erie Smith to the hotel’s new night clerk Charlie Hughes,...
in 1996 (performing with Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
) at Circle in the Square, and more recently in The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
in 2000–2001.
In 2007, Benedict performed as "Hirst" in Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
's No Man's Land
No Man's Land (play)
No Man's Land is a play by Harold Pinter written in 1974 and first produced and published in 1975. Its original production was at the Old Vic Theatre in London by the National Theatre on 23 April 1975, and it later transferred to Wyndhams Theatre, July 1975 - January 1976, the Lyttelton Theatre...
at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
As a director, Benedict directed Frank D. Gilroy
Frank D. Gilroy
Frank Daniel Gilroy is an American playwright, screenwriter, and film producer and director. He received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play The Subject Was Roses in 1965.-Early life:...
's Any Given Day on Broadway. Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
, he directed the original production of Terrence McNally
Terrence McNally
Terrence McNally is an American playwright who has received four Tony Awards, an Emmy, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Hull-Warriner Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has been a member of the Council of the...
's Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, and Kathy Najimy
Kathy Najimy
Kathy Ann Najimy is an American actress, most notable as Olive Massery on the television series Veronica's Closet, Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act and the voice of Peggy Hill on the animated television series King of the Hill. Prior to her film work, she was best known for two Off Broadway shows...
and Mo Gaffney
Mo Gaffney
Maureen E. "Mo" Gaffney is an American actress, comedian, writer and activist.-Biography:She hosted two of her own television talk shows: Women Aloud! and The Mo Show...
's The Kathy and Mo Show, which won an Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
.
Death
On December 1, 2008, Benedict was found dead at his home in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. He was 70 years old.He was awarded a posthumous Elliot Norton Award by the Boston Theater Critics Assn. in 2009.
External links
- Paul Benedict article at Somerville, MA "Wicked Local" Off-Broadway weblink about No Man's LandNo Man's Land (play)No Man's Land is a play by Harold Pinter written in 1974 and first produced and published in 1975. Its original production was at the Old Vic Theatre in London by the National Theatre on 23 April 1975, and it later transferred to Wyndhams Theatre, July 1975 - January 1976, the Lyttelton Theatre...