Larry Bryggman
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Larry Bryggman (born December 21, 1938) is an American actor. He is known for ''Spy Game'' (2001), ''Die Hard: With a Vengeance'' (1995) and ''As the World Turns'' (1956).


Early life

Bryggman was born in
Concord, California Concord ( ) is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 129,295 in 2019 making it the eighth largest city in the San Francisco Ba ...
on December 21, 1938 of Swedish descent; his father worked for a
neon sign In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in Decem ...
company and his mother was a
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
teacher. Bryggman attended the
City College of San Francisco City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a State school#United States, public community college in San Francisco, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local ...
as well as the
American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He made his
off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
debut in 1962, with ''A Summer Ghost''.


Career

Bryggman is known for his role as Dr. John Dixon in the
soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...
'' ''(ATWT)'', a role he played from July 18, 1969, to December 14, 2004. Originally the role was a minor background part, which only required Bryggman to work two episodes, but he was later hired to a contract in 1970. For his role as Dr. Dixon, Bryggman received two
Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
s for Outstanding Actor in a Drama, in 1984 and 1987. He has also made several notable appearances in major films, most notably '' ...And Justice for All'', ''
Die Hard with a Vengeance ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by John McTiernan (who directed the first installment). It was written by Jonathan Hensleigh, based on the screenplay ''Simon Says'' by Hensleigh and on the charact ...
'' and ''
Spy Game ''Spy Game'' is a 2001 American action thriller film directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. The film grossed $62 million in the United States and $143 million worldwide on a $115 million budget, and received mostly po ...
''. In December 2004, Bryggman's picture suddenly stopped appearing in the opening credits of ''As the World Turns''. Although many actors were rarely seen on the show, ''ATWT'' had a history of keeping its veteran actors under contract. After a few weeks of not appearing in the opening credits, it was revealed that Bryggman decided to quit after being offered a large pay cut. Though no onscreen attempt was made to explain the character's absence—his character simply stopped appearing—vintage clips of Bryggman were featured in ''ATWT''s fiftieth anniversary show in April 2006. Beginning on August 27, 2010, Bryggman returned to ''ATWT'' for 12 of the final 16 episodes, as the show finished its run on September 17, 2010. For these final episodes of the series, it was explained that Dixon had been working at
Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...
for an undisclosed period of time, but had been asked by Dr.
Reid Oliver Dr. Reid Oliver is a fictional character from CBS's daytime drama ''As the World Turns''. He was portrayed by Eric Sheffer Stevens and made his first appearance on January 19, 2010. Reid Oliver revealed himself to be gay on ''ATWT'', adding to a ...
to return to Oakdale Memorial to consult on the ailing Christopher Hughes. In 2005, Bryggman starred as the Judge in the
Atlantic Theater Company Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by David Mamet, William H. Macy, and 30 of their actin ...
's off-Broadway and Los Angeles productions of the
David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...
farce ''
Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...
'', for which he received universal rave reviews and a nomination for the 2005
Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...
for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. James C. Taylor of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' called Bryggman's performance "one of the finest comedic performances seen on an American stage this decade". Bryggman has twice been nominated for the
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
for Best Featured Actor in a Play; in 1994 for ''Picnic'', and in 2001 for ''Proof''. He also appeared in the original 1976 Broadway cast of '' Checking Out''.


Personal life

Bryggman married his ''As the World Turns'' co-star, Jacqueline Schultz, in 1992. In two separate relationships, he had three children: sons Jeffrey and Michael and daughter Heidi. Michael died in 1993. He married Tracey Hanley Bryggman, an assistant director on ''
Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...
'' when their son Ryan was born; they had their second child, daughter Riley, in 2003.''


Partial Filmography


References


External links

* * *
SoapCentral actors page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryggman, Larry 1938 births Living people American people of Swedish descent American male stage actors American male film actors American male television actors American male soap opera actors Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winners Male actors from California