Stephen Robert Macht (born May 1, 1942) is an American television and film actor. As the father of actor

Gabriel Macht Gabriel Swann Macht (born January 22, 1972) is an American actor and film producer, known for portraying Harvey Specter in the USA Network series '' Suits'' (2011–2019) and the title character in the 2008 superhero film ''The Spirit''. Early ...

, he portrayed Henry Gerard, a

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

professor in the US legal drama '' Suits'', alongside his son.

Early life

Macht was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. He was raised in

Brooklyn Heights, New York Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, an ...

until, at age nine, his father died and he moved with his mother, Janette, and older brother, to live with his maternal grandfather, a

haberdasher In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a retailer who sells men's clothing, ...

, in

Mystic, Connecticut Mystic is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Groton, Connecticut, Groton and Stonington, Connecticut, United States. Historically, Mystic was a significant Connecticut seaport with more than 600 ships built over 135 years starting in ...

Career

Spotted by a

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

talent scout while starring at the

Stratford Shakespeare Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson (theatre producer), Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was fo ...

in Canada in 1975, Macht was signed to a contract and by the mid-1970s had left teaching and was making frequent appearances in TV episodes and movies. In '' Raid on Entebbe'' (1977), he portrayed

Yoni Netanyahu Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu ( he, יונתן נתניהו; March 13, 1946 – July 4, 1976) was an American-born Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer who commanded the elite commando unit Sayeret Matkal during Operation Entebbe, an operation to rescu ...

, the Israeli officer killed in the rescue of hostages in Uganda. In 1978, he had a lead role in ''

The Immigrants ''The Immigrants'' (1977) is a historical novel written by Howard Fast. Set in San Francisco during the early 20th century, it tells the story of Daniel Lavette, a self-described "roughneck" who rises from the ashes of the 1906 San Francisco ear ...

'', a syndicated miniseries about the rise of the son of Italian immigrants in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. The successful television movie ''American Dream'' (ABC, 1981) led to a critically acclaimed short-lived series which cast Macht in the role of a family man who chucks the suburban life to set up home in the inner city of Chicago. The following season, he landed the role of Joe Cooper, brother of Karen MacKenzie (

Michele Lee Michele Lee is an American actress, singer, dancer, producer, and director. She is known for her role as Karen Fairgate MacKenzie on the prime-time soap opera ''Knots Landing'' (1979–1993), for which she was nominated for a 1982 Emmy Award ...

), on ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives of ...

'' (CBS, 1982–83). Other notable roles included playing

Nancy McKeon Nancy Justine McKeon (born April 4, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as List of The Facts of Life characters#Jo Polniaczek, Jo Polniaczek on the NBC sitcom ''The Facts of Life (TV series), The Facts of Life'' and Jinny Exs ...

's father in ''

Strange Voices ''Strange Voices'' is a 1987 American made-for-television drama film about schizophrenia directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman and written by Wayne and Donna Powers. It was one of the ten highest rated made for TV movies that year with a 33 share in ...

'' (NBC, 1987). He was

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

in the miniseries ''

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

'' (1984) and played one of the survivors of an air crash in '' Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac'' (NBC, 1984). He spent three seasons (1985–88) as David Keeler, love interest to Cagney (

Sharon Gless Sharon Marguerite Gless (born May 31, 1943) is an American actress and author, who is known for her television roles as Maggie Philbin on ''Switch'' (1975–78), Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series ''Cagney & Lacey'' (198 ...

), on ''

Cagney & Lacey ''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very dif ...

'' (CBS). During his run on the show, he moved behind the cameras to make his directorial debut. In 1993, Macht played Krim Aldos in "

The Siege ''The Siege'' is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by Edward Zwick. The film is about a fictional situation in which terrorist cells have made several attacks in New York City. The film stars Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Tony ...

", an early Season 2 episode of ''

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from ...

''. Macht had been

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...

's first choice to play Captain

Jean-Luc Picard Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, most often seen as the captain of the Federation starship . Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''T ...

in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', but the role eventually went to

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actor ...

in 1986. More recent credits have included playing an Austrian Jew who must be baptized along with his wife and daughter in order to escape the Nazis in ''

A Friendship in Vienna ''A Friendship in Vienna'' is a 1988 Disney Channel film based on Doris Orgel's popular children's book ''The Devil in Vienna''. The film starred Jane Alexander, Stephen Macht and Edward Asner and premiered on August 27, 1988. Plot Lise Mueller ...

'' (1988 The Disney Channel); a doctor helping

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

in the syndicated miniseries ''Sidney Sheldon's Memories of Midnight'' (1991), and as cult member

Joan Van Ark Joan Van Ark (born June 16, 1943) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Valene Ewing on the primetime soap opera ''Knots Landing.'' A life member of The Actors Studio, she made her Broadway debut in 1966 in ''Barefoot in the P ...

's suffering husband in '' Moment of Truth: A Mother's Deception'' (1994 NBC). Macht appeared in the 1995 third season ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...

'' episode "

A Day in the Strife ''Babylon 5'' is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on the Babylon 5 space station: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the ye ...

" as the character 'Na'Far'. Retrieved June 3, 2015. Na'Far was the new official Narn representative, replacing G'Kar, after the Centauri's invasion of the

Narn The list of ''Babylon 5'' characters contains characters from the entire ''Babylon 5'' universe. The Babylon station was conceived as a political and cultural meeting place. As such, one of the show's many themes is the cultural and social intera ...

homeworld. In 1996 he did a six-month stint on the ABC daytime drama ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'' as Elliot Durban. From August 24, 2007 to February 13, 2009 he portrayed

Trevor Lansing ''General Hospital'' is the longest-running American television serial drama, airing on ABC. Created by Frank and Doris Hursley, who originally set it in a general hospital (hence the title), in an unnamed fictional city. In the 1970s, the city ...

, attorney of organized crime boss Anthony Zacchara and father of attorney

Ric Lansing Ric Lansing is a fictional character from the ABC daytime soap opera ''General Hospital''. The role has been portrayed by Rick Hearst, who joined the series on November 8, 2002 and exited the series on June 25, 2009. Following a five-year absence ...

, in the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'' for which ''

Soap Opera Digest ''Soap Opera Digest'' is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional in ...

'' nominated him Best Villain of 2007. In 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2019, Macht guest starred opposite his son, actor

, in '' Suits''. Macht's work in feature films has included '' The Choirboys'' (1977). He also had roles in ''

Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character has appeared in various incarnations; the identity was adopted by Dick Grayson when he left his role as Batman's vigilante partner Robin. Although ...

'' (1979), ''

The Mountain Men ''The Mountain Men'' is a 1980 American Adventure Western film directed by Richard Lang and starring Charlton Heston and Brian Keith. Heston's son, Fraser Clarke Heston authored the screenplay. Plot Bill Tyler is an argumentative, curmudgeon ...

'' (1980), ''

Galaxina ''Galaxina'' is a low-budget 1980 American science fantasy-comedy film written and directed by William Sachs. The film stars 1980 ''Playboy'' Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her husband shortly after the film's rele ...

'' (1980), '' The Last Winter'' (1984), ''

The Monster Squad ''The Monster Squad'' is a 1987 American black comedy horror film directed by Fred Dekker, and written by Dekker and Shane Black, who met as classmates at UCLA. Peter Hyams and Rob Cohen served as executive producers. It was released by TriSta ...

'' (1987), '' Stephen King's Graveyard Shift'' (1990), '' Amityville: It's About Time'' (1992), '' The Legend of Galgameth'' (1996), and ''

Watchers Reborn ''Watchers Reborn'' (also known as ''Watchers 4'') is the 1998 sequel to the 1988 horror film '' Watchers''. Directed by John Carl Buechler and starring Mark Hamill, the film is loosely based on the 1987 novel '' Watchers'' by Dean Koontz. Plo ...

'' (1998). Macht has also played Dr. Harris in three installments of the ''

Trancers ''Trancers'' (also released as ''Future Cop'') is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by Charles Band and starring Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt, and Art LaFleur. It is the first film in the ''Trancers'' series. Thomerson plays Jack ...

'' series of films.

Personal life

Macht has been married to Suzanne Victoria Pulier, an archivist and museum curator since 1964. They have four children: Julie, Ari Serbin, actor

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

and Jesse, a musician. Macht is also an ordained

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

; and his book ''Moral Change: a Tragedy or a Return?: How Aristotle’s Tragic Reversal Illuminates Maimonides’ Teshuva'' was published on Amazon.com in October 2016.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macht, Stephen 1942 births American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Connecticut Dartmouth College alumni Indiana University alumni Jewish American male actors Living people Male actors from New York (state) Male actors from Philadelphia Tufts University alumni People from Mystic, Connecticut People from Brooklyn Heights 21st-century American Jews