Ralph Seymour (born May 4, 1956) is an American film, stage, and television actor. He began his career in theater, starring on

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 ...

in a production of

Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (; 15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He wrote numerous award-winning plays, of which several were adapted into films. Early life Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in L ...

's '' Equus''. His early film credits include ''

Underground Aces ''Underground Aces'' is a 1981 film directed by Robert Butler and starring Dirk Benedict and Melanie Griffith.http://www.allrovi.com/movies/movie/underground-aces-v51753 The plot revolves around a group of misfits who park cars in a hotel's unde ...

'', ''Longshot'', '' Back Roads'', '' Just Before Dawn'' (all 1981). Seymour also had supporting roles in ''

Killer Party ''Killer Party'' is a 1986 Canadian comedic supernatural slasher film directed by William Fruet, and starring Martin Hewitt, Ralph Seymour, Elaine Wilkes, Joanna Johnson, Sherry Willis-Burch, and Paul Bartel. It follows a trio of female sorori ...

'' (1986), ''

Empire of the Sun ''Empire of the Sun'' is a 1984 novel by English writer J. G. Ballard; it was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Like Ballard's earlier short story "The Dead Time" (published in the anthology '' ...

'' (1987), and ''

Rain Man ''Rain Man'' is a 1988 American road movie, road Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass. It tells the story of abrasive, selfish young wikt:wheeler-dealer, wheeler-dealer C ...

'' (1988).

Biography

Seymour was born in

Lansing, Illinois Lansing is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Lansing is a south suburb of Chicago. The population was 29,076 at the 2020 census. Geography Lansing is located at (41.565785, -87.545791). It is south of the Chicago city limits a ...

, the third of five children. He graduated from

Thornton Fractional South High School Thornton Fractional Township South High School (TF South, TFS) is a high school located in Suburban Cook County, Illinois, located from the city limits of Chicago. The school serves an area of approximately , & serves over 2,000 students in gr ...

in Lansing in 1974, and was active performing in school plays and community theater. Seymour relocated to New York City, where he appeared on

as Alan Strang in a production of

's '' Equus'' between 1976 and 1977. He appeared in the short-lived sitcom '' Makin' It'' (1979) before making his film debut in ''

'' (1981). Next, he co-starred with

Leif Garrett Leif Garrett (born Leif Per Nervik; November 8, 1961) is an American singer, actor, and television personality. He worked as a child actor, then in the 1970s became famous as a teen idol in music. He later received much publicity for his drug ...

and

Linda Manz Linda Manz (August 20, 1961 – August 14, 2020) was an American actress. She made her feature film debut at age 15 in Terrence Malick's acclaimed period drama ''Days of Heaven'' (1978), playing an adolescent girl growing up in rural Texas in 19 ...

in the television film ''Longshot'' (1981), about a group of teenage

foosball Table football, also known as foosball, table soccer, futbolito in Mexico, Taca Taca in Chile and Metegol in Argentina is a table-top game that is loosely based on association football. The aim of the game is to move the ball into the opponen ...

players. Seymour subsequently appeared in the comedy '' Back Roads'' (1981) with

Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film F ...

and

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' The ...

, and had roles in the

slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a ...

'' Just Before Dawn'' (also 1981) and the comedies ''

Surf II ''Surf II'' is a 1984 American comedy film written and directed by Randall M. Badat and starring Eddie Deezen, Linda Kerridge, Eric Stoltz and Jeffrey Rogers. The plot follows two dim-witted surfers attempting to thwart the plans of a mad scien ...

'' (1983) and ''

Meatballs Part II ''Meatballs Part II'' is a 1984 American comedy film and the in-name only sequel to the 1979 film ''Meatballs''. The film stars Richard Mulligan, Hamilton Camp, John Mengatti, Kim Richards, Archie Hahn, Misty Rowe, and John Larroquette, and was ...

'' (1984). Other film roles include in the horror-comedies ''

Ghoulies ''Ghoulies'' is a 1985 American horror comedy film directed by Luca Bercovici in his directorial debut, and co-written with producer Jefery Levy. It stars Peter Liapis, Lisa Pelikan, Michael Des Barres, Jack Nance, Scott Thomson, and Mariska H ...

'' (1985) and ''

'' (1986), the drama ''

'' (1987), and the comedy-drama ''

'' (1988).

Filmography

Film

Select television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seymour, Ralph Living people 1956 births Actors from Illinois American film actors American male stage actors American male television actors People from Lansing, Illinois 20th-century American male actors