George Dzundza ( ; born July 19, 1945) is an American television and film actor.

Early life and education

Dzundza was born in

Rosenheim Rosenheim is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is an independent city located in the centre of the district of Rosenheim (Upper Bavaria), and is also the seat of its administration. It is located on the west bank of the Inn at the confluence of th ...

, Germany, to a Ukrainian-Jewish father, Roman Dzundza, originally from

Kalush, Ukraine Kalush ( uk, Ка́луш, ) is a city set in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (Oblast, province) of western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Kalush Raion (Raion, district) and hosts the administrati ...

, and a Polish-Jewish mother, Maria Humenecka, originally from

Lviv, Ukraine Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

. His parents were forced into factory labour by the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s. He spent the first few years of his life in

displaced persons Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...

camps with his parents and one brother. The family moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

in 1949, then moved to the US in 1956, settling in the Lower East Side of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

in New York City. He attended

Xavier High School A multitude of schools and universities have been named after St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Roman Catholic saint and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. This page lists notable educational institutions named after St. Xavier, arranged by country a ...

. He attended St. Johns University and also studied under

Stella Adler Stella Adler (February 10, 1901 – December 21, 1992) was an American actress and acting teacher.
''

Harold Clurman Harold Edgar Clurman (September 18, 1901 – September 9, 1980) was an American theatre director and drama critic. In 2003, he was named one of the most influential figures in U.S. theater by PBS.

Career

Dzundza began acting in his freshman year of college at the insistence of another student. However, his professional stage debut was in a 1973

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions ar ...

production of ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...

''. Dzundza starred in a short-lived 1981 sitcom series '' Open All Night'', about the owner of a "Store 364" convenience store in Inglewood, California. He portrayed American Nazi leader Frank Collin in the 1981

made-for-television 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 fo ...

movie '' Skokie''. In 1987, Dzundza played Sam Hesselman, a disabled man in a wheelchair, in '' No Way Out'' and Commander Daskal in '' The Beast''. Other major film roles of his include ''

The Deer Hunter ''The Deer Hunter'' is a 1978 war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Slavic-American steelworkers whose lives were upended after fighting in the Vietnam War. The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro, ...

'', ''

White Hunter Black Heart ''White Hunter Black Heart'' is a 1990 American adventure drama film produced, directed by, and starring Clint Eastwood and based on the 1953 book of the same name by Peter Viertel. Viertel also co-wrote the script with James Bridges and Burt Ken ...

'', '' Streamers'', ''

Basic Instinct ''Basic Instinct'' is a 1992 neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. The film follows San Francisco police detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas), who is investigating the brutal murder of a wea ...

'', '' Crimson Tide'', and ''

Dangerous Minds ''Dangerous Minds'' is a 1995 American drama film directed by John N. Smith and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It is based on the autobiography ''My Posse Don't Do Homework'' by retired U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, who in 1989 to ...

''. He was an original cast member of the long-running

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

drama '' Law & Order'', playing

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

Sergeant Max Greevey in the first season only. He was disappointed when he realized that ''Law & Order'' would be more of an ensemble show rather than a show starring him. Though his castmates liked his portrayal of Greevey, they increasingly felt uncomfortable around Dzundza, who was also under stress from the commute between New York City and his home in Los Angeles. Dzundza quit after the first season of the show, making his last full appearance in the season finale, " The Blue Wall". His character (portrayed by an extra with his back to the camera) was murdered in the second season premiere episode, "Confession". His other acting work includes an appearance on ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book '' Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 fil ...

'' (1975), playing the

Archie Bunker Archie is a masculine given name, a diminutive of Archibald. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Archie Alexander (1888–1958), African-American mathematician, engineer and governor of the US Virgin Islands * Archie Blake (mathemati ...

-like father in the short-lived

Christina Applegate Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. As a child actress, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film a ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

Jesse Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' ( ...

'', and voicing supervillain the

Ventriloquist Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ve ...

in '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and

Perry White Perry White is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the editor-in-chief of the Metropolis newspaper the ''Daily Planet''. The character maintains very high ethical and journalistic standards and ...

in '' Superman: The Animated Series'', as well as numerous minor roles such as G. Carl Francis and Dr. Gregory Belson, within both shows. His

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

credits include

Terrence McNally Terrence McNally (November 3, 1938 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," ...

's '' The Ritz''. In 2005, he played

Anubis Anubis (; grc, Ἄνουβις), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian () is the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depict ...

(aka "Jim") in the ''

Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, ...

'' Season 8 episode " Threads". Dzundza portrayed

George O'Malley George O'Malley, M.D. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series producer Shonda Rhimes, a ...

's father Harold on ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

''.

Personal life

Dzundza has been married since 1982 to Mary Jo Vermeulen. They have three daughters as well as two grandchildren. He is a naturalized US citizen.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dzundza, George 1945 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors German emigrants to the United States People from Rosenheim Male actors from Bavaria Naturalized citizens of the United States Volpi Cup for Best Actor winners American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors St. John's University (New York City) alumni American Ashkenazi Jews Jewish American male actors