Terry Kiser (born August 1, 1939) is an American actor. While he has more than 140 acting credits to his name, with a career spanning more than 50 years, he is best known for portraying the deceased title character Bernie Lomax in the comedy '' Weekend at Bernie's'' and its sequel, '' Weekend at Bernie's II''. He is the co-founder of the now defunct acting school The Actors Arena in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

Early life and education

Terry Kiser was born on August 1, 1939, in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. He attended the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

on both football and dramatic scholarships. He graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering and worked for three years in this profession in Omaha.

Career

After college, Kiser returned to his hometown Omaha and worked as an engineer for three years while acting in amateur productions; more than fifty plays. His first two years in New York City included an array of small parts, ranging from theater to television to commercials. By 1967, Kiser gained significant recognition for his work, winning both an

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...

and Theatre World Award for '' Fortune and Men's Eyes''. Becoming a life member of The Actors Studio, Kiser was a regular on several

soap operas A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originated from radio dramas original ...

, ''

The Secret Storm ''The Secret Storm'' is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974. It was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas '' Search for Tomorrow'' and '' Love of Life''. ...

'' and '' The Doctors''. In 1978, he starred on the short-lived sitcoms '' The Roller Girls'', and '' Sugar Time!''. It was during the 1970s and early 1980s that Kiser appeared in '' Three's Company'', '' Hardcastle and McCormick'', '' One Day at a Time'', ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'', '' Night Court'', '' 227'', '' Maude'' and ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

''. One of his roles was on the TV drama '' Hill Street Blues'', playing comedian Vic Hitler ("Vic the Narcoleptic Comic"). He was a cast member on the syndicated sketch comedy show ''Off the Wall'' and a part of the ensemble on Carol Burnett's '' Carol & Company'', which aired in 1990. In the 1990s, he appeared on ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action fiction, action Crime drama, crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both the film and the series starring Chuck Norr ...

'', ''

'', '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (as

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

) and '' Will & Grace''. His film appearances include '' Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider'' (1979), '' Rich Kids'' (1979), ''

Steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

'' (1979), '' An Eye for an Eye'' (1981), ''

Making Love ''Making Love'' is a 1982 American drama (film and television), drama film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Kate Jackson, Harry Hamlin and Michael Ontkean. The film tells the story of a married man coming to terms with his homosexuality an ...

'' (1982), '' Six Pack'' (1982), '' Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land'' (1983), '' Surf II'' (1984), '' From a Whisper to a Scream'' (1987) and '' Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood'' (1988). Kiser starred in '' Weekend at Bernie's'' (1989), in the title role of Bernie Lomax, a corrupt insurance executive who is dead for most of the film. Bernie's young employees Richard Parker and Larry Wilson, played by Jonathan Silverman and Andrew McCarthy, attempt to convince people that Bernie is still alive. He reprised the role in '' Weekend at Bernie's II'' (1993). Since 2012, several

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

videos featuring "The Bernie Dance" generated more than 17 million views collectively by April 2016. Other film appearances include '' Mannequin Two: On the Move'' (1991), '' Into the Sun'' (1992), ''The Pledge'' (2011), and '' A Christmas Tree Miracle'' (2013). In 2013, Kiser moved to

, where he founded an acting school, The Actors Arena, which closed in 2016.

Filmography

Movies

* '' Rachel Rachel'' (1968) as Preacher * ''Lapin 360'' (1972) as Bernard Lapin * '' Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider'' (1979) as Lester Neal * '' Rich Kids'' (1979) as Ralph Harris * ''

'' (1979) as Valentino * '' Seven'' (1979) as Senator * '' All Night Long'' (1981) as Ultra-Save day manager * '' An Eye for an Eye'' (1981) as Dave Pierce * '' Looker'' (1981) as Commercial Director * ''

'' (1982) as Harrington * '' Six Pack'' (1982) as Terk Logan Starflight One (1983) Név: Freddy * '' Surf II'' (1984) as Mr. O'Finlay * '' Young Lust'' (1984) * '' From a Whisper to a Scream'' (1987) as Jesse Hardwick * '' Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood'' (1988) as Dr. Crews * '' Weekend at Bernie's'' (1989) as Bernie Lomax * '' Side Out'' (1990) as Uncle Max * '' Mannequin Two: On the Move'' (1991) as Count Gunther Spretzle / Sorcerer * '' Into the Sun'' (1992) as Mitchell Burton * '' Weekend at Bernie's II'' (1993) as Bernie Lomax * '' Tammy and the T-Rex'' (1994) as Dr. Wachenstein * '' Pet Shop'' (1994) as Joe Yeagher * ''Loving Deadly'' (1994) as Walter * '' Forest Warrior'' (1996) as Travis Thorne * ''Divorce: A Contemporary Western'' (1998) as Gary * ''Flamingo Dreams'' (2000) as Gus * ''See Jane Run'' (2001) * ''Dead Start'' (2009) as Mort Maxwell * ''Maskerade'' (2011) as Mr. Peck * ''The Pledge'' (2011) as Joe * ''Speed Demons'' (2012) * '' A Christmas Tree Miracle'' (2013) as Henry Banks * ''Spoilers: The Movie'' (2014) as Mr. Stoyanovich * ''Almosting It'' (2016) as Mort

Television

* '' The Doctors'' (1967-1968) as Dr. John Rice * ''

'' (1970-1971) as Cory Boucher * '' Emergency!'' (1976) "Fair Fight" - Wes Hubbard * '' Barnaby Jones'' (1976) "Eyes of Terror" - Arlie * ''

The Bionic Woman ''The Bionic Woman'' is an American science fiction film, science fiction Action-adventure fiction, action-adventure television series created by Kenneth Johnson (producer), Kenneth Johnson based on the 1972 novel Cyborg (novel), ''Cyborg'' by ...

'' (1976) "Mirror Image" - Matthews * ''

Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which originally aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and ...

'' (1976) "Rashomon II" - Burglar * '' Hawaii Five-O'' (1977) "Blood Money is Hard to Wash" - Augie * ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...

'' (1978) "Stale Mates" as Bob * '' Maude'' (1978) as Reggie * ''

WKRP in Cincinnati ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' is an American sitcom television series about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional AM radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson. It was based upon his experiences obs ...

'' (1979) as Jason Realli * '' One Day at a Time'' (1979) as Parsons * ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American primetime television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially cente ...

'' (1981) as Teddy Becker * '' Three's Company'' (1981-1982) as Mr. Canon/Max * '' The Fall Guy'' (1982) as Nick Trainer * '' Tucker's Witch'' (1983) as Andrew Brenn * '' Hardcastle and McCormick'' (1983) as Larry Singer * '' Hill Street Blues'' (1983) as Vic Hitler * '' Scarecrow & Mrs. King'' (1984) as Keene * '' Night Court'' (1984) as Al Craven * ''

'' (1986) as Santa Claus/Don * '' Knight Rider'' (1986) as Royal Davis * ''Off The Wall'' (1986-1987) as various characters * ''

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 ...

'' (1988) as Wally Bryce * '' Carol & Company'' (1990-1991) as various characters * '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' (1993) as Mr. Hosek * '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (1995-1996) as

* '' Caroline in the City'' (1997) as Taxicab Driver * ''

'' (1997) as Charlie Brooks / Maxwell 'Iceman' Kronert * '' Will & Grace'' (1999) as Carl * '' The Norm Show'' (2000) as Councilman Wilkinson

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiser, Terry 1939 births American male film actors American male television actors Living people Male actors from Omaha, Nebraska 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors University of Kansas alumni