Wally Ward
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James Wallace Langham II (born March 11, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Phil the Head Writer on ''
The Larry Sanders Show ''The Larry Sanders Show'' is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. The series was created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein and aired from August 15, 1992, to May 31, 1998, on the HBO ...
''. He has also played the roles of David Hodges on the crime drama
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...
'' and its sequel, '' CSI: Vegas'' and
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
Administrator Harold Weisner in the
Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...
original science fiction space drama series '' For All Mankind.''


Film career

Formerly billed as Wally Ward, Langham got his start in the John Hughes film '' Weird Science'' (1985), as well as in ''
The Invisible Kid ''The Invisible Kid'' is a 1988 American teen science fiction comedy film written and directed by Avery Crounse. The film stars Jay Underwood, Wally Ward, Chynna Phillips, Brother Theodore, and Karen Black. Plot Following in his deceased fathe ...
'' and the
ABC Afterschool Special ''ABC Afterschool Special'' is an American television anthology series that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 4, 1972, to January 23, 1997, usually in the late afternoon on weekdays. Most episodes were dramatically presen ...
entitled ''Just a Regular Kid: An AIDS Story'', but later moved to roles as a young bigot in '' Soul Man'' and as a gang leader in ''
The Chocolate War ''The Chocolate War'' is a 1974 young adult literature, young adult novel by American author Robert Cormier. It was adapted into a film in 1988. Although it received mixed reviews at the time of its publication, some reviewers have argued it is o ...
''. He appeared in the
Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...
comedy ''
Daddy Day Care ''Daddy Day Care'' is a 2003 American Children's film, family comedy film starring Eddie Murphy in the lead role, Jeff Garlin, Steve Zahn, Regina King, and Anjelica Huston. Written by Geoff Rodkey and directed by Steve Carr, it marks Murphy and ...
'', and the critically acclaimed ''
Little Miss Sunshine ''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film and the feature film directorial debut of the husband–wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer Michael Arndt. The film sta ...
'' and ''
The Social Network ''The Social Network'' is a 2010 American biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, based on the 2009 book ''The Accidental Billionaires'' by Ben Mezrich. It portrays the founding of social networking web ...
''.


Television career

Langham dropped the Ward moniker in the 1990s as he moved to more adult roles, appearing as a regular in the much-hyped but short-lived
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
series '' WIOU''. His big breakthrough came when he was cast as Phil, the cynical staff and then head writer for insecure talk show host Larry Sanders, in
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
's sitcom ''
The Larry Sanders Show ''The Larry Sanders Show'' is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. The series was created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein and aired from August 15, 1992, to May 31, 1998, on the HBO ...
''. Langham then took on a role in
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
's ''
Veronica's Closet ''Veronica's Closet'' is an American sitcom television series created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, that aired on NBC for three seasons, from September 25, 1997, to December 7, 2000. The show stars Kirstie Alley as Veronica "Ronnie" Chase, ...
'', playing
Kirstie Alley Kirstie Louise Alley (January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022) was an American actress. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1997 ...
's
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 ...
assistant Josh. He then appeared on the
Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack (; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama ''Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In & Out'' (1997) ...
sitcom ''
What About Joan? ''What About Joan?'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC for two seasons in 2001. It starred Joan Cusack as Joan Gallagher, a Chicago schoolteacher and the comedy of her day-to-day life. It co-starred Kyle Chandler. It was produced by James L ...
'' He has guest-starred on many series including, ''
Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for ''FYI'', a ...
'', ''
NewsRadio ''NewsRadio'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from March 21, 1995 to May 4, 1999, focusing on the work lives of the staff of a New York City AM news radio station. It had an ensemble cast featuring Dave Foley, Stephen ...
'', '' ER'', ''
Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...
'', ''
Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...
'', ''
21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...
'', ''
Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...
'', both the
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
and the
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
versions of ''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
'', '' The Outer Limits'', '' Star Trek: Voyager'', ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televisio ...
'', ''
Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
'', '' Shameless (US)'', and ''
Grace Under Fire ''Grace Under Fire'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 29, 1993, to February 17, 1998. The show starred Brett Butler as a single mother learning how to cope with raising her three children alone after finally divorcing her ...
''. He was the voice of Andy French on the animated series '' Mission Hill'', as well as the Care-Bots and Smoltz in ''
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command ''Buzz Lightyear of Star Command'' is an American animated science fiction action-adventure comedy television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and co-produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It serves as a spin-off of the ''Toy Sto ...
'', Basil Karlo/Clayface II in ''
The Batman Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman or The Batman may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Characters * Batman (Terry McGinnis) * Batman (Thomas Wayne) * Batman (Earth-Two) * Bat ...
'', Orm/Ocean Master in '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'', and
Anarky Anarky is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Co-created by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle, he first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #608 (November 1989), as an adversary of Batman. Anarky is introduced as ...
in ''
Beware the Batman ''Beware the Batman'' is an American computer-animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. The series premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network on July 13, 2013, as part of their DC Nation block, replacing ''Batman: ...
''. Langham played lab technician
David Hodges David Hall Hodges (born December 5, 1978) is an American songwriter and record producer from Little Rock, Arkansas. He was a studio contributor to the rock band Evanescence from 2000–2002. He has since had success co-writing and co–produci ...
on the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
series ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...
''. Starting with the eighth-season premiere, Langham was listed in the main titles.


Other work

Langham plays Dr. Grant Seeker in the preshow of the theme park attraction ''Dinosaur'' at
Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...
's Animal Kingdom, in which his character attempts to send guests back in time to retrieve a live ''Iguanadon''; his voice is also heard in the ride vehicle throughout the attraction.


Personal life

Langham was born in
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, the son of Sunni, a costume designer, and James Langham, an elevator repairman. In March 2000, Langham pleaded
no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal Trial (law), trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the def ...
to
battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
charges after beating a gay tabloid reporter (who had allegedly made accusations against Langham's girlfriend's tattoos; the reporter in turn claimed that Langham yelled
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
slurs at him while he was being beaten) and was ordered to serve three years'
probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...
and to serve 450 hours of community service for gay and
lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
charities, and to donate $10,000 to the
Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center The Los Angeles LGBT Center (previously known as the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center) is a provider of programs and services for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The organization's work spans four categories, including health, soc ...
. In exchange for pleading no contest, prosecutors dropped a
hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
charge that had been filed against him. In a statement, Langham said he supports
gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...
"and would have never attacked anyone had I not first been provoked".


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Langham, Wallace 1965 births American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Living people Male actors from Fort Worth, Texas 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors