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Alan
Alda
as Senator Arnold Vinick |
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Multiple Emmy Award winner Alan Alda has earned international recognition as an actor, writer and director in films. These include his portrayals in "Crimes and Misdemeanors," "Everyone Says I Love You," "Flirting with Disaster," "Manhattan Murder Mystery," "And The Band Played On," "Same Time, Next Year," "California Suite," "The Seduction of Joe Tynan" (which he wrote), "The Four Seasons," "Sweet Liberty," "A New Life," and "Betsy’s Wedding" (which he wrote and directed). He recently appeared in “The Aviator,” directed by Martin Scorsese.
On television this season, Alda joins the cast of “The West Wing” as a Republican senator, Arnold Vinick. He is also the host of the award-winning series "Scientific American Frontiers" on PBS.
On the Broadway stage, Alda recently appeared as the physicist Richard Feynman in “QED.” He starred in the first American production of the international hit play "ART." He was nominated for the Tony Award for his performances in Neil Simon’s "Jake’s Women" and the musical "The Apple Tree." In the coming year, he will appear on Broadway in a revival of David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross.”
Alda also appeared in "The Owl and the Pussycat," "Purlie Victorious" and "Fair Game for Lovers" for which he received a Theatre World Award.
Alda played Hawkeye Pierce on the classic television series "M*A*S*H," and also wrote and directed many of the episodes. In 11 years on "M*A*S*H," Alda won the Emmy Award five times and is the only person to be honored by the TV Academy as top performer, writer and director. In all, he has been nominated for 30 Emmys -- including a nomination in 1999 for his performance on “ER.” In 1994 he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. In addition, he has won three Directors Guild Awards, six Golden Globes from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, seven People’s Choice Awards, and has been nominated for two Writers Guild Awards.
For his role in Woody Allen’s "Crimes and Misdemeanors," he won the D.W. Griffith Award, the New York Film Critics Award, and was nominated for a British Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor.
Alda was born in New York City, the son of the distinguished actor Robert Alda. His introduction to the theater came at the age of 16 in summer stock at Barnesville, Pennsylvania.
During his junior year at Fordham University, Alda studied in Europe where he performed on the stage in Rome and on television in Amsterdam with his father.
After college, Alda acted at the Cleveland Playhouse on a Ford Foundation grant. On his return to New York, he was seen on Broadway, off-Broadway and on television. He later acquired improvisational training with "Second City" in New York and "Compass" at Hyannisport. That background in political and social satire led to his work as a regular on television’s classic "That Was the Week That Was."
Alda’s first motion picture part came in "Gone Are the Days," in which he recreated his stage role from "Purlie Victorious." He later appeared in "The Moonshine War," "Jenny," "The Mephisto Waltz," and "Paper Lion." His television performances include Truman Capote’s "The Glass House" and "Kill Me If You Can" (for which he received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Caryl Chessman).
For 20 years Alda was a member of the board of the Museum of Television & Radio, and from 1989-99, was a trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation.
Alda’s wife, Arlene, is the author of 11 children’s books. An award-winning professional photographer, her work has appeared in a number of magazines and books. They have three daughters and seven grandchildren. His birth date is January 28.
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