Daniel Goldman (October 30, 1939 – April 12, 2020) was an American actor and casting director. He was most widely recognized as the voice of Brainy Smurf in

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

's ''

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...

'' (1981–1989).

Early life

Goldman graduated from

Far Rockaway High School Far Rockaway High School was a public high school in New York City, at 821 Bay 25th Street in Far Rockaway in the borough of Queens. It operated from 1897 to 2011. Its alumni include three Nobel Prize laureates and convicted fraudster Bernard M ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York City, in 1957. He subsequently attended and graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, in 1961.

Career

One of his first roles was that of Nick Dutton, the son of an industrialist who knew the truth about his family's new butler and housekeeper, and helped them get acquainted in their new jobs in the 1971 situation comedy '' The Good Life''. Among his other early roles on television were appearances in the TV shows ''

That Girl ''That Girl'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966 to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who moves from her hometown of Brewster ...

''; ''

Room 222 ''Room 222'' is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television that aired on ABC for 112 episodes, from September 17, 1969 until January 11, 1974. The show was broadcast on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 ( EST) fo ...

''; ''

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from Se ...

''; ''

Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup ...

''; '' Needles and Pins''; ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...

''; ''

Baretta ''Baretta'' is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a revised and milder version of a 1973–1974 ABC series, '' Toma'', starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey pol ...

'' and ''

Chico and the Man ''Chico and the Man'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for four seasons from September 13, 1974, to July 21, 1978. It stars Jack Albertson as Ed Brown (the Man), the cantankerous owner of a run-down garage in an East Los ...

''. He was a regular member of the cast of the situation comedy '' Busting Loose'' in 1977. Goldman was also featured as Ozzie the Answer in the 1980s detective drama '' Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer'' and as Dr. Denton on ''

Get Smart, Again! ''Get Smart, Again!'' is a 1989 American made-for-television comedy film based on the 1965–1970 NBC/ CBS sitcom ''Get Smart!'' starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon reprising their characters of Maxwell Smart and Agent 99. It originally aired ...

'' He acted in the episode "I'll Kill 'Em Again" of police drama ''

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

'' and in the episodes "Brain Child" and "42" in ''

Trapper John, M.D. ''Trapper John, M.D.'' is an American medical drama television series and spin-off of the film ''M*A*S*H'' (1970). Pernell Roberts portrayed the title character, a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, Californ ...

'' Goldman appeared as a panelist on the ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

'' TV program during its syndicated run, and on the live stage version in Hollywood several years later. In 2005, he appeared in an episode of the sitcom ''

The King of Queens ''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, a total of nine seasons and 207 episodes. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who also served as the show ...

''. His feature film debut was in '' MASH'' (1970). Other credits included a small role as a persistent medical student who asks Dr. Frankenstein (

Gene Wilder Jerome Silberman (June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016), known professionally as Gene Wilder, was an American actor, comedian, writer and filmmaker. He is known mainly for his comedic roles, but also for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Won ...

) about his grandfather in ''

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor F ...

'' (1974), and roles in ''

Busting ''Busting'' is a 1974 American crime film directed by Peter Hyams in his theatrical directorial debut, starring Elliott Gould and Robert Blake as Los Angeles police detectives. It was the main inspiration for the cop series ''Starsky & Hutch'', ...

'' (1974), ''

Linda Lovelace for President ''Linda Lovelace for President'', also known as ''Hot Neon'', is a 1975 American comedy film directed by Claudio Guzmán and starring Linda Lovelace, who achieved notoriety as the central character in the most profitable X-rated film of all time, ...

'' (1975), ''

Tunnel Vision Tunnel vision is the loss of peripheral vision with retention of central vision, resulting in a constricted circular tunnel-like field of vision. Causes Tunnel vision can be caused by: Eyeglass users Eyeglass users experience tunnel vision t ...

'' (1976), ''

The Missouri Breaks ''The Missouri Breaks'' is a 1976 American Western film starring Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. The film was directed by Arthur Penn, with supporting performances by Randy Quaid, Harry Dean Stanton, Frederic Forrest, John McLiam, and Kath ...

'' (1976), ''

Swap Meet A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

'' (1979), ''

Wholly Moses! ''Wholly Moses!'' is a 1980 American Biblical spoof film written by Guy Thomas and directed by Gary Weis. Dudley Moore plays Old Testament-era idol maker Herschel, whose life and adventures seem to parallel that of the more famous Moses, all the w ...

'' (1980) and ''

My Man Adam ''My Man Adam'' is a 1985 American comedy film directed by Roger L. Simon and co-written by Simon and Renée Missel. Plot High schooler Adam Swit (Raphael Sbarge) constantly daydreams about the same beautiful girl. Soon new student Sabrina McKa ...

'' (1985). He also portrayed Porter in ''

Where the Buffalo Roam ''Where the Buffalo Roam'' is a 1980 American semi-biographical comedy film which loosely depicts author Hunter S. Thompson's rise to fame in the 1970s and his relationship with Chicano attorney and activist Oscar "Zeta" Acosta. The film was p ...

'' (1980). Goldman voiced the pedantic Brainy Smurf (1981–1989) on the animated series ''

''. He returned to the voice of Brainy Smurf for the television show ''

Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, ...

'' in a segment titled "Murder in Smurf Town X" that parodied the movie '' Se7en''. The show's creators remarked that of all the casting coups on their show, of which there are many, their greatest was getting Goldman to voice Brainy Smurf in ''The Smurfs''. He would reprise the role several more times on ''Robot Chicken'', whenever Brainy Smurf appears in a sketch, up until the sketch "House of Smurfs" (a parody of ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a structu ...

''). For nearly 30 years, Goldman was a casting director of television commercials in Hollywood.

Death

Goldman died in his home in Los Angeles on 12 April 2020, from complications of two strokes.

Filmography

*'' MASH'' (1970) as Capt. Murrhardt *''

The Strawberry Statement ''The Strawberry Statement'' is a non-fiction book by James Simon Kunen, written when he was 19, which chronicled his experiences at Columbia University from 1966–1968, particularly the April 1968 protests and takeover of the office of the dean ...

'' (1970) as Charlie *''

Beware! The Blob ''Beware! The Blob'' (also known as ''Beware the Blob'', ''Son of Blob'', ''The Blob II'' or ''The Blob Returns'') is a 1972 American independent science fiction comedy horror film directed by Larry Hagman. It is a sequel to ''The Blob'' (1958). ...

'' (1972) as Bearded Teenager *''

The World's Greatest Athlete ''The World's Greatest Athlete'' is a 1973 American sports comedy film directed by Robert Scheerer and starring John Amos, Roscoe Lee Browne, Tim Conway, Dayle Haddon, and Jan-Michael Vincent. Released by Walt Disney Productions, it is one of t ...

'' (1973) as Leopold Maxwell *'' The Long Goodbye'' (1973) as Bartender (uncredited) *''Why'' (1973) as The Businessman *''

'' (1974) as Mr. Crosby *''Win, Place or Steal'' (1974) as Froggy *''

'' (1974) as Medical Student *''

'' (1975) as Bruce Whippoorwill *''

'' (1976) as Barry Flanken *''

'' (1976) as Baggage Clerk *''Beyond Death's Door'' (1979) *''

'' (1979) as Ziggy *''

'' (1980) as Porter *''

'' (1980) as Scribs *''

'' (1981–1989, TV series) as Brainy Smurf (voice) *'' Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer'' (1984–1987, TV series) as Ozzie "The Answer" *''

'' (1985) as Dr. Blaustein *''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'' (1991, TV series) as Clarence Darrow *''

Capitol Critters ''Capitol Critters'' is an American animated sitcom about the lives of mice, rats and roaches who reside in the basement and walls of the White House in Washington, D.C. The series was produced by Steven Bochco Productions and Hanna-Barbera in ...

'' (1992, TV series) as Opie the Squirrel (voice) *'' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1993, TV series) as Sam Giddell (voice) *'' Mighty Max'' (1994, TV series) as Marlin Curt / Cyberskull (voice) *'' Free'' (2001) as Dr. Franklin Gibbles *''

'' (2005) as Jacob *''

'' (2005–2011, TV series) as Brainy Smurf (voice) *''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

'' (2011–2012, TV series) as Detective Bob Zablonsky (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldman, Danny 1939 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American casting directors American male comedy actors American male television actors American male voice actors Columbia University alumni Far Rockaway High School alumni Male actors from New York City