Paul Shenar was an American

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...

.

Career

Shenar became involved in theater at an early age, partaking in the local Milwaukee playhouse productions. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

. Following his military career he began acting again. Shenar gained attention playing larger-than-life entertainment legends on 1970s television. He portrayed Orson Welles

Orson Welles

George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...

 in the TV movie The Night That Panicked America

The Night That Panicked America

The Night That Panicked America is an American made-for-television movie that was originally broadcast on the ABC network on October 31, 1975. The movie dramatizes events surrounding Orson Welles' famous - and infamous - War of the Worlds radio broadcast The Night That Panicked America is an...

(1975) (TV) and Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.

Florenz Ziegfeld

Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. , , was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies , inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris. He also produced the musical Show Boat...

 in Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women (1978) (TV). He also portrayed the murderous Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

n drug lord

Drug lord

A drug lord, drug baron or kingpin is the term used to describe a person who controls a sizable network of persons involved in the illegal drugs trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they might never be directly in possession of something illegal, but are insulated from...

 Alejandro Sosa in Brian De Palma

Brian De Palma

Brian Russell De Palma is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as the horror film Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission:...

's 1983 version of Scarface

Scarface (1983 film)

Scarface is a 1983 American epic crime drama movie directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana...

.

A founding member, actor, director and teacher of the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in San Francisco, he played more than forty roles there, including "Hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

", "Oedipus Rex" and "Tiny Alice

Tiny Alice

Tiny Alice, a three act play written by Edward Albee, premiered on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theatre on December 29, 1964.- Billy Rose Theatre production :...

". Known for his unsympathetic portrayals, he voiced the evil rat Jenner in the animated feature The Secret of NIMH

The Secret of NIMH

The Secret of NIMH is a 1982 animated film directed by Don Bluth in his directorial debut. It is an adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 children's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. The film was produced by Aurora Pictures and released by United Artists. While released to critical acclaim,...

(1982).

Later roles and death

Shenar continued to act during the 1980s. He did a stage version of Macbeth

Macbeth

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...

in Los Angeles and appeared in movies like Best Seller

Best Seller

Best Seller is a 1987 film written by Larry Cohen, directed by John Flynn and starring Brian Dennehy and James Woods. The plot concerns a career hitman, played by Woods, who wants to turn his life story into a book, to be written by Dennehy's character, a veteran police officer turned...

, The Bedroom Window, The Big Blue

The Big Blue

The Big Blue is a 1988 English-language film made by French director Luc Besson. The film stars Jean-Marc Barr, Rosanna Arquette, Jean Reno and depicts a fictionalized account of the sporting rivalry between two famed free divers.-Background:...

, and Raw Deal

Raw Deal (1986 film)

Raw Deal is 1986 action film directed by John Irvin and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is the story of an elderly and embittered high-ranking FBI agent who wants to get revenge against a Mafia organization, and sends a former FBI agent played by Schwarzenegger to destroy the organization from...

, plus the TV movie Rage of Angels: The Story Continues. He died on October 11, 1989 at age 53 from complications of AIDS.

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