Matthew Douglas Salinger (; born February 13, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for his appearances in the films ''

Revenge of the Nerds ''Revenge of the Nerds'' is a 1984 American comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Ted McGinley, and Bernie Casey. The film's plot chronicles a group of nerds at the fictional Adams College tryi ...

'' and ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

''.

Early life

Salinger was born February 13, 1960, in

Windsor, Vermont Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As the "Birthplace of Vermont", the town is where the Constitution of Vermont was adopted in 1777, thus marking the founding of the Vermont Republic, a sovereign state until 1791, when ...

, the son of author

J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger (; January 1, 1919 January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel ''The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger got his start in 1940, before serving in World War II, by publishing several short stories in '' ...

and psychologist Alison Claire Douglas. Salinger's maternal grandfather was British art critic

Robert Langton Douglas Robert Langton Douglas (1864–1951) was a British art critic, lecturer, and author, and director of the National Gallery of Ireland. Biography Douglas was born in Davenham, Cheshire, and educated at New College, Oxford, New College, University o ...

. He has a sister, Margaret Salinger.Finkle, David (February 15, 2001).
"Produced by Matt Salinger"
. Theater Mania. Retrieved February 3, 2018. His father was of paternal

Lithuanian-Jewish Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent area ...

descent. Salinger graduated from

Phillips Academy Andover ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

and attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

before graduating 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 ...

with a degree in art history and drama.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video

Theatre

Career

Salinger made his film debut in 1984's ''

''. He played

in the 1990 film ''

''. Salinger subsequently appeared in films including '' What Dreams May Come'' and episodes of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and '' 24''. Salinger has produced several independent films, including ''

Let the Devil Wear Black ''Let the Devil Wear Black'' is a 1999 crime thriller film directed by Stacy Title, co-written by Title and her husband, actor Jonathan Penner. The film is a modern retelling of the classic play ''Hamlet''. Background The film is a modern-day ve ...

'' and ''

Mojave Moon ''Mojave Moon'' is a 1996 American road movie. It stars Danny Aiello, Anne Archer, Michael Biehn, Angelina Jolie and Jack Noseworthy. The film was written by Leonard Glasser and directed by Kevin Dowling. Plot Al McCord is hanging out at his f ...

''. Salinger made his Broadway debut in 1985, in Bill C. Davis' short-lived ''Dancing in the End Zone,'' performing at the Ritz Theater alongside veteran actresses

Pat Carroll Patricia Ann Carroll (May 5, 1927 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress and comedian. She was known for voicing Ursula in ''The Little Mermaid'' and for appearances in CBS's ''The Danny Thomas Show'', ABC's '' Laverne & Shirley'', and NB ...

and

Dorothy Lyman Dorothy Lyman is an American television actress, director and producer. She is most known for her work as Gwen Frame on '' Another World'' and on ''All My Children'' as Opal Sue Gardner, as Rebecca Whitmore on ''Generations'', and on the sitcom ...

. In 2000, he produced the off-Broadway play ''

The Syringa Tree ''The Syringa Tree'' is a solo performance memory play of a childhood under apartheid, written and often performed by Pamela Gien, and directed by Larry Moss. It was produced by Matt Salinger, son of writer, J. D. Salinger. It centers on the ...

'', which won a

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 ...

, the Drama League Award, the Outer Critic's Circle Award, and the Village Voice Obie Award for Best Play of the Year in 2001.

Unpublished works by J. D. Salinger

J. D. Salinger continued to write throughout his life, although he did not publish any works after 1965. His widow, Colleen O'Neill, and Matt Salinger prepared this work for publication after his death, announcing in 2019 that "all of what he wrote will at some point be shared", but that it was a big job and not yet ready.

Personal life

Salinger married jewelry designer Betsy Jane Becker in 1985. They live in

Fairfield County, Connecticut Fairfield County is a County (United States), county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the List of counties in Connecticut, most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. A ...

, and have sons Gannon and Avery. In contrast to his sister, Margaret, who wrote a 1999 memoir about her childhood titled ''Dream Catcher'', Salinger is a devoted protector of his father's privacy. A few weeks after Margaret's book was published, Salinger wrote a letter to ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...

,'' disparaging his sister's "gothic tales of our supposed childhood."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salinger, Matt 1960 births Living people American male film actors American male stage actors American people of German descent American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American people of Scottish descent Columbia College (New York) alumni J. D. Salinger People from Windsor, Vermont Phillips Academy alumni Princeton University alumni 20th-century American writers Male actors from Vermont 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors