Albert Paul Shenar (February 12, 1936 − October 11, 1989) was an American actor and theater director, known for portraying the

Bolivian Bolivian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Bolivia ** Bolivian people ** Demographics of Bolivia ** Culture of Bolivia * SS ''Bolivian'', a British-built standard cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries ...

drug lord

Alejandro Sosa Alejandro "Alex" Sosa is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1983 American crime film '' Scarface'' and the 2006 video game '' Scarface: The World Is Yours''. He is an international Bolivian drug lord and the chief supplier of c ...

, in '' Scarface'' (1983). A veteran

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and

Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

actor, he was one of the twenty-seven founding members of the

American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The Ameri ...

Early life

Shenar was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, the second of four boys (one older brother John, two younger brothers Michael and Marc), born from Mary Rosella (née Puhek) and Eugene Joseph Shenar. He was of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

and

Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Sloven ...

descent.

Career

Shenar became involved in theater at an early age, working in Milwaukee playhouse productions. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. Following his military career he began acting again. Shenar gained attention playing larger-than-life entertainment legends in 1970s

television films A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

—

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

in ''

The Night That Panicked America '' The Night That Panicked America'' is an American television film, made-for-television drama (film and television), drama film that was originally broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network on October 31, 1975. The telefilm dram ...

'' and

Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also p ...

, in ''Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women''. He portrayed the character John Carrington in Part II of the miniseries ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

''. In 1983, Shenar also portrayed

Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leading ...

's '' Scarface'' and later portrayed Paulo Rocca in '' Raw Deal''. A founding member, actor, director and teacher of the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in San Francisco, he played more than forty roles there, including ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', ''

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...

'' and Brother Julian in ''

Tiny Alice ''Tiny Alice'' is a three-act play written by Edward Albee that premiered on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theatre in 1964. Synopsis Powerful widow Miss Alice and her lawyer offer a generous grant to the church on the condition that the cardinal's ...

''. In 1982, He portrayed Jenner in

Don Bluth Donald Virgil Bluth (; born September 13, 1937) is an American film director, animator, production designer, and animation instructor, best known for his animated films, including ''The Secret of NIMH'' (1982), ''An American Tail'' (1986), ''Th ...

's ''

The Secret of NIMH ''The Secret of NIMH'' is a 1982 American animated fantasy adventure film directed by Don Bluth in his directorial debut and based on Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 children's novel, '' Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH''. The film features the voices ...

''; his performance in the film impressed Bluth so much that he wanted Shenar to also portray Borf in ''

Space Ace ''Space Ace'' is a LaserDisc video game produced by Bluth Group, Cinematronics and Advanced Microcomputer Systems (later renamed RDI Video Systems). It was unveiled in October 1983, just four months after the ''Dragon's Lair'' game, followed b ...

'', but was unable to do so due to budget issues and the role ultimately went to Bluth himself. Shenar continued to act during the late 1980s. He did a stage version of ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' in Los Angeles and appeared in films like ''

Best Seller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

'' (1987), '' The Bedroom Window'' (1987), ''

The Big Blue ''The Big Blue'' (released in some countries under the French title ''Le Grand Bleu'') is a 1988 film in the French '' Cinéma du look'' visual style, made by French director Luc Besson. It is a heavily fictionalized and dramatized story of ...

'' (1988), plus the TV film ''Rage of Angels: The Story Continues''.

Personal life

Shenar was

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

, and was romantically involved with the British actor

Jeremy Brett Peter Jeremy William Huggins (3 November 1933 – 12 September 1995), known professionally as Jeremy Brett, was an English actor. He played fictional detective Sherlock Holmes in four Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series), Granada TV series from 1984 ...

during the 1970s; they were in a relationship that reportedly lasted from 1973 to 1978. After the couple separated, they remained close friends until Shenar's death in 1989.

Death

Shenar died from

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

on October 11, 1989.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shenar, Paul 1936 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century LGBT people Male actors from Milwaukee AIDS-related deaths in California American male film actors American male television actors American people of Polish descent American people of Slovenian descent United States Air Force airmen American gay actors LGBT people from Wisconsin