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George Dzundza ( ; born July 19, 1945) is an American television and film actor.


Early life and education

Dzundza was born in
Rosenheim Rosenheim is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is an independent city located in the centre of the district of Rosenheim (Upper Bavaria), and is also the seat of its administration. It is located on the west bank of the Inn at the confluence of th ...
, Germany, to a Ukrainian-Jewish father, Roman Dzundza, originally from
Kalush, Ukraine Kalush ( uk, Ка́луш, ) is a city set in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast ( province) of western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Kalush Raion (district) and hosts the administration of Kalus ...
, and a Polish-Jewish mother, Maria Humenecka, originally from
Lviv, Ukraine Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
. His parents were forced into factory labour by the Nazis. He spent the first few years of his life in
displaced persons Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, ...
camps with his parents and one brother. The family moved to Amsterdam in 1949, then moved to the US in 1956, settling in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He attended
Xavier High School A multitude of schools and universities have been named after St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Roman Catholic saint and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. This page lists notable educational institutions named after St. Xavier, arranged by country a ...
in Manhattan. He attended St. Johns University and also studied under Stella Adler and Harold Clurman.


Career

Dzundza began acting in his freshman year of college at the insistence of another student. However, his professional stage debut was in a 1973
New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions are ...
production of '' King Lear''. Dzundza starred in a short-lived 1981 sitcom series '' Open All Night'', about the owner of a "Store 364" convenience store in Inglewood, California. He portrayed American Nazi leader
Frank Collin Francis Joseph Collin (born November 3, 1944) is an American former political activist and Midwest coordinator with the American Nazi Party, later known as the National Socialist White People's Party. After being ousted for being partly Jewish (w ...
in the 1981 made-for-television movie '' Skokie''. In 1987, Dzundza played Sam Hesselman, a disabled man in a wheelchair, in '' No Way Out'' and Commander Daskal in '' The Beast''. Other major film roles of his include ''
The Deer Hunter ''The Deer Hunter'' is a 1978 war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Slavic-American steelworkers whose lives were upended after fighting in the Vietnam War. The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro ...
'', ''
White Hunter Black Heart ''White Hunter Black Heart'' is a 1990 American adventure drama film produced, directed by, and starring Clint Eastwood and based on the 1953 book of the same name by Peter Viertel. Viertel also co-wrote the script with James Bridges and Burt Kenn ...
'', '' Streamers'', ''
Basic Instinct ''Basic Instinct'' is a 1992 neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. The film follows San Francisco police detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas), who is investigating the brutal murder of a wealth ...
'', '' Crimson Tide'', and '' Dangerous Minds''. He was an original cast member of the long-running
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
drama ''
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
'', playing NYPD Sergeant Max Greevey in the first season only. He was disappointed when he realized that ''Law & Order'' would be more of an ensemble show rather than a show starring him. Though his castmates liked his portrayal of Greevey, they increasingly felt uncomfortable around Dzundza, who was also under stress from the commute between New York City and his home in Los Angeles. Dzundza quit after the first season of the show, making his last full appearance in the season finale, " The Blue Wall". His character (portrayed by an extra with his back to the camera) was murdered in the second season premiere episode, "Confession". His other acting work includes an appearance on '' The Waltons'' (1975), playing the
Archie Bunker Archie is a masculine given name, a diminutive of Archibald. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Archie Alexander (1888–1958), African-American mathematician, engineer and governor of the US Virgin Islands * Archie Blake (mathemati ...
-like father in the short-lived
Christina Applegate Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. As a child actress, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film a ...
sitcom ''
Jesse Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' ( ...
'', and voicing supervillain the Ventriloquist in '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and
Perry White Perry White is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the editor-in-chief of the Metropolis newspaper the ''Daily Planet''. The character maintains very high ethical and journalistic standards and is ...
in '' Superman: The Animated Series'', as well as numerous minor roles such as G. Carl Francis and Dr. Gregory Belson, within both shows. His
Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''T ...
credits include Terrence McNally's '' The Ritz''. In 2005, he played
Anubis Anubis (; grc, Ἄνουβις), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian () is the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depict ...
(aka "Jim") in the ''
Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, i ...
'' Season 8 episode " Threads". Dzundza portrayed George O'Malley's father Harold on '' Grey's Anatomy''.


Personal life

Dzundza has been married since 1982 to Mary Jo Vermeulen. They have three daughters as well as two grandchildren. He is a naturalized US citizen.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dzundza, George 1945 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors German emigrants to the United States People from Rosenheim Male actors from Bavaria Naturalized citizens of the United States Volpi Cup for Best Actor winners American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors St. John's University (New York City) alumni American Ashkenazi Jews Jewish American male actors