Arye Gross (; born March 17, 1960) is an American actor, who has appeared on a variety of television shows in numerous roles, most notably Adam Greene in the ABC sitcom
''Ellen''.
Personal life
Gross was born on March 17, 1960, in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California, the son of Sheri and Joseph Gross, who was an aerospace engineer and later worked in business.
He and Lisa Schulz married in 1999 and have one daughter born in 2006.
Education and training
Gross attended public school and in 1977 was accepted to the University of California Irvine to study theater.
Robert Cohen, then head of UCI's Drama Department later said, "I remember him as an undergrad student actor and knew he was quite good." The following summer he was accepted in the Professional Conservatory program at
South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory (SCR) is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.
Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson, is led by Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Direc ...
(SCR) in neighboring Costa Mesa, where
Lee Shallat-Chemel
Lee Shallat Chemel (born June 15, 1943, in Los Angeles, California), sometimes credited as Lee Shallat, is an American film and television director and television producer.
She began her professional directorial career at the South Coast Reperto ...
was then the program director. She remembered how he handled Edgar's "nonsensical" passages in ''
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
'' during scene study. "Arye found a visceral reality and the scene became filled with pathos and meaning. And it just blew me away. I had never seen, really, any actor do that."
Career
Stage
Gross was part of SCR's acting company for three years, which culminated in his role in the world premiere of L.J. Schneiderman's ''Screwball''. Director
Frank Condon
Frank Condon, MA, MFA, (b. Derbyshire, England, 1943) is a playwright and theatrical production director, the founding Artistic Director of River Stage, in Sacramento, California, and a professor of theatre at Cosumnes River College. Condon is ...
invited Gross to work with
Teatro Campesino El Teatro Campesino (Spanish for "The Farmworker's Theater") is a Chicano theatre company in California. Performing in both English and Spanish, El Teatro Campesino was founded in 1965 as the cultural arm of the United Farm Workers and the Chicano M ...
under the direction of Luis Valdez, which he did for a year.
Gross appeared in a number of stage productions with a variety of companies in the Los Angeles area, including LATC, Pasadena Playhouse, Odyssey Theater Ensemble, MET Theater and Stages Theater Center. Gross' stage credits include ''La Bete'' for the Stages Theatre Center, ''Room Service'' for the Pasadena Playhouse, ''Three Sisters'' for the Los Angeles Theatre Center, ''Taming of the Shrew'' and ''Much Ado About Nothing'' for the Grove Shakespeare Festival, ''Troillus and Cressida'' for the
Globe Playhouse
Robert Thaddeus Taylor (1925–2006) was an American producer, director and founder of the Shakespeare Society of America.
Taylor
Robert Thaddeus Taylor was born August 29, 1925, in Wendell, Idaho.
Known as Thad Taylor, he was a founder of the ...
. He performed in Georges Feydeau's ''Sleep, I Want You to Sleep'' at the
Stages Theatre Company
Stage or stages may refer to:
Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper
* St ...
,
where he served as Managing Director.
He is a member of the
Antaeus Theatre Company,
where he appeared in ''Mrs. Warren's Profession'' and as the title character in ''Uncle Vanya''. His South Coast Repertory credits also include the world premieres of Richard Greenberg's ''Our Mother's Brief Affair'', and
Donald Margulies
Donald Margulies (born September 2, 1954) is an American playwright and academic. In 2000, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ''Dinner with Friends''.
Background and education
Margulies attended John Dewey High School in Brookly ...
' ''
Brooklyn Boy
''Brooklyn Boy'' is a play by American playwright Donald Margulies. The play premiered in 2004 at South Coast Repertory and then on Broadway in 2005.
Plot
Novelist Eric Weiss, critically celebrated but unsuccessful, "arrives" when his new, autobi ...
'', which marked Gross' Broadway debut when it moved to New York. He also was in the 2016 world premiere of Eliza Clark's ''Future Thinking''.
Television
Gross's best-known television role was on the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
series ''
Ellen
Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004.
People named Ellen include:
* Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress
* Elle ...
'' as Adam Green for the program's first three seasons. Gross also starred in the short-lived series ''
Citizen Baines
''Citizen Baines'' is an American drama series television series created by Emmy Award-winning producer Lydia Woodward, that stars James Cromwell. The series premiered on CBS September 29, 2001 and ended on November 3, 2001.
Synopsis
Cromwell s ...
'' with
James Cromwell
James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor and activist. Some of his best-known films include ''Babe'' (1995), '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), '' The Green Mile'' (1999), ''The Queen'' ...
. Arye has made numerous guest appearances on a wide variety of television series, such as ''
Diff'rent Strokes
''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, r ...
'', ''
Knight Rider
''Knight Rider'' is an American entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three television series: the original ''Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequel series ''Team Knight Rider'' (1997–1998) ...
'', ''
The Outer Limits'', ''
Six Feet Under'', ''
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,
Diagnosis: Murder,
Friends
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
'' and ''
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...
''. He also had a recurring role as Dr. Sidney Perlmutter on ''
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
''.
Gross also played the adult voice of Kevin Arnold on the
pilot episode
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
of ''
The Wonder Years
''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age story, coming-of-age situation comedy, comedy/Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol L. Black, Carol Black. It ran on American Broadcasting Company ...
'' when it first aired after
Super Bowl XXII
Super Bowl XXII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...
. However, the narration was re-recorded using
Daniel Stern's voice for the pilot when it subsequently re-aired, and Stern remained the narrator through the entire run of the series.
Directing
In 1999, Gross acted in and directed ''
The Prince and the Surfer''; this was his film directorial debut.
[Deming, Mar]
''The Prince and the Surfer''
review. AllRovi.com. (All Movie Guide).
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Arye
1960 births
American male film actors
American male television actors
Male actors from Los Angeles
Living people