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 Revered character actor Fred Melamed was born in New York City. His birth-parents were unmarried; an American actress and British psychoanalyst. He was adopted as an infant by Manhattanites Lou and Syma Melamed (nee Krichefsky). His adoptive father was an early television producer, having contributed such watershed programs as Car 54, Where Are You?, Sergeant Bilko and Let's Pretend.Fred received his theatrical training at Hampshire College and the Yale School of Drama. While still at Hampshire, he began working with playwrights Jean-Claude Van Itallie and John Guare. He was also influenced by members of The Living Theatre, and Tina Packer and Kristin Linklater, with whom he became a founding member of Shakespeare & Company. For his work with Packer, he was nominated for the Irene Ryan Award, a prize for the most promising young actors in the United States. At Yale, he was a Samuel F. B. Morse Graduate Fellow, and was much influenced by resident artists James Earl Jones, John Madden, Athol Fugard and George Roy Hill. Immediately after graduation, he became a company member of Minneapolis' famed Guthrie Theater, also performing at The Kennedy Center, The Yale Repertory Theater, and New York's West Bank Cafe. In 1983, he made his Broadway debut in the Tony Award-Winning Amadeus.On television, Melamed stars on the Marvel blockbuster WandaVision, the Netflix original series Medical Police, and the Apple+ hit The Morning Show. Past starring parts have included benighted manager Bruce Ben-Bacharach in Lady Dynamite, errant father Charles Cole on the Golden Globe-nominated Casual, and major roles in Emmy-winning programs Fargo, Girls, Brooklyn Nine Nine, New Girl, The Good Wife, and Adventure Time. Other memorable turns have included Larry David's name-dropping psychiatrist Arthur Thurgood from Curb Your Enthusiasm, Ben's father on Superstore, conman Harvey Oberholt on House of Lies, Sir Patrick Stewart's high-strung therapist Dr. Mendelson on Starz's Blunt Talk, sports casting legend Glen Klose on Now We're Talking, philandering professor Donald Holt on Married, blind physician Leonard Hillman on Childrens Hospital, and irascible voiceover legend Fred Melamed opposite Robin Williams on The Crazy Ones.In film, Melamed has had a long association with Woody Allen. He has appeared in 7 Allen films, (more than any other actor besides Mia Farrow and Diane Keaton), including the Oscar-winning Hannah and Her Sisters, Another Woman, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Radio Days, Husbands & Wives, Hollywood Ending, and Shadows and Fog. But it was for his portrayal of "sensitive" villain Sy Ableman, in Joel and Ethan Coen's movie A Serious Man, nominated for Best Picture at the 2010 Academy Awards, that Melamed became most widely known. For his performance, he won the Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award, New York Magazine listed his as among the Best Performances of The Decade, and Empire called Sy Ableman "One of The Best Coen Bros. Characters of All Time." Melamed appeared on the Best Supporting Actor Oscar ballot of several American critics, including A.O. Scott of The New York Times, Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times, and Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune. He was named by Harry Domenico Rossi as among The 25 Greatest Screen Villains of All Time.His slate of upcoming films includes Togetherish, where he plays lead Ed Helms's father opposite Nora Dunn; Shiva Baby, in which he portrays an Orthodox Jew who sells medical equipment out of the back of a van; Marzipan, a hallucinogenic look into the life of a washed-up, alcoholic spy; and Rumble, the first feature from Paramount's new animation department, with Will Arnett and Terry Crews.In 2021, Melamed is slated to star in S. Craig Zahler's Hug Chickenpenny, opposite Vince Vaughn. This will be his fourth collaboration with Zahler - previous works have included Dragged Across Concrete, Brawl in Cell Block 99 and Bone Tomahawk.In the past, he starred opposite Lake Bell as voiceover legend Sam Sotto in Bell's Sundance Award-winning debut, In a World...; in The Spy Who Dumped Me with Kate McKinnon and Mila Kunis; the Coen brothers' Hail Caesar, with George Clooney; Lying and Stealing, opposite Emily Ratajkowski and Theo James; Silver Lake, with Martin Starr; the James Brown biopic Get On Up; The Dictator, with Sacha Baron Cohen and Sir Ben Kingsley; Peter Yates' Suspect, with Cher, Dennis Quaid and Liam Neeson; The Good Mother, with Diane Keaton and Jason Robards; The Mission, with Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons; The Pickup Artist, with Robert Downey, Jr. and Dennis Hopper; and Marshall Brickman's Lovesick, with Dudley Moore and Sir Alec Guinness.As a writer, he has produced screenplays including Girl of the Perfume River, A Jones for Gash, and is at work on The Preservationist, a television series inspired by the case of Melamed's college friend, Edward Forbes Smiley III, a renowned cartographic expert and dealer, who admitted to having been the most brazen and prolific map thief of all time.He lives with his wife, Leslee, and twin sons in Los Angeles. Both Melamed children were born with autism, and he and his wife have been involved in advocacy for persons living with autism spectrum disorder and their families.
Bio:
Revered character actor Fred Melamed was born in New York City. His birth-parents were unmarried; an American actress and British psychoanalyst. He was adopted as an infant by Manhattanites Lou and Syma Melamed (nee Krichefsky). His adoptive father was an early television producer, having contributed such watershed programs as Car 54, Where Are You?, Sergeant Bilko and Let's Pretend.Fred received his theatrical training at Hampshire College and the Yale School of Drama. While still at Hampshire, he began working with playwrights Jean-Claude Van Itallie and John Guare. He was also influenced by members of The Living Theatre, and Tina Packer and Kristin Linklater, with whom he became a founding member of Shakespeare & Company. For his work with Packer, he was nominated for the Irene Ryan Award, a prize for the most promising young actors in the United States. At Yale, he was a Samuel F. B. Morse Graduate Fellow, and was much influenced by resident artists James Earl Jones, John Madden, Athol Fugard and George Roy Hill. Immediately after graduation, he became a company member of Minneapolis' famed Guthrie Theater, also performing at The Kennedy Center, The Yale Repertory Theater, and New York's West Bank Cafe. In 1983, he made his Broadway debut in the Tony Award-Winning Amadeus.On television, Melamed stars on the Marvel blockbuster WandaVision, the Netflix original series Medical Police, and the Apple+ hit The Morning Show. Past starring parts have included benighted manager Bruce Ben-Bacharach in Lady Dynamite, errant father Charles Cole on the Golden Globe-nominated Casual, and major roles in Emmy-winning programs Fargo, Girls, Brooklyn Nine Nine, New Girl, The Good Wife, and Adventure Time. Other memorable turns have included Larry David's name-dropping psychiatrist Arthur Thurgood from Curb Your Enthusiasm, Ben's father on Superstore, conman Harvey Oberholt on House of Lies, Sir Patrick Stewart's high-strung therapist Dr. Mendelson on Starz's Blunt Talk, sports casting legend Glen Klose on Now We're Talking, philandering professor Donald Holt on Married, blind physician Leonard Hillman on Childrens Hospital, and irascible voiceover legend Fred Melamed opposite Robin Williams on The Crazy Ones.In film, Melamed has had a long association with Woody Allen. He has appeared in 7 Allen films, (more than any other actor besides Mia Farrow and Diane Keaton), including the Oscar-winning Hannah and Her Sisters, Another Woman, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Radio Days, Husbands & Wives, Hollywood Ending, and Shadows and Fog. But it was for his portrayal of "sensitive" villain Sy Ableman, in Joel and Ethan Coen's movie A Serious Man, nominated for Best Picture at the 2010 Academy Awards, that Melamed became most widely known. For his performance, he won the Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award, New York Magazine listed his as among the Best Performances of The Decade, and Empire called Sy Ableman "One of The Best Coen Bros. Characters of All Time." Melamed appeared on the Best Supporting Actor Oscar ballot of several American critics, including A.O. Scott of The New York Times, Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times, and Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune. He was named by Harry Domenico Rossi as among The 25 Greatest Screen Villains of All Time.His slate of upcoming films includes Togetherish, where he plays lead Ed Helms's father opposite Nora Dunn; Shiva Baby, in which he portrays an Orthodox Jew who sells medical equipment out of the back of a van; Marzipan, a hallucinogenic look into the life of a washed-up, alcoholic spy; and Rumble, the first feature from Paramount's new animation department, with Will Arnett and Terry Crews.In 2021, Melamed is slated to star in S. Craig Zahler's Hug Chickenpenny, opposite Vince Vaughn. This will be his fourth collaboration with Zahler - previous works have included Dragged Across Concrete, Brawl in Cell Block 99 and Bone Tomahawk.In the past, he starred opposite Lake Bell as voiceover legend Sam Sotto in Bell's Sundance Award-winning debut, In a World...; in The Spy Who Dumped Me with Kate McKinnon and Mila Kunis; the Coen brothers' Hail Caesar, with George Clooney; Lying and Stealing, opposite Emily Ratajkowski and Theo James; Silver Lake, with Martin Starr; the James Brown biopic Get On Up; The Dictator, with Sacha Baron Cohen and Sir Ben Kingsley; Peter Yates' Suspect, with Cher, Dennis Quaid and Liam Neeson; The Good Mother, with Diane Keaton and Jason Robards; The Mission, with Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons; The Pickup Artist, with Robert Downey, Jr. and Dennis Hopper; and Marshall Brickman's Lovesick, with Dudley Moore and Sir Alec Guinness.As a writer, he has produced screenplays including Girl of the Perfume River, A Jones for Gash, and is at work on The Preservationist, a television series inspired by the case of Melamed's college friend, Edward Forbes Smiley III, a renowned cartographic expert and dealer, who admitted to having been the most brazen and prolific map thief of all time.He lives with his wife, Leslee, and twin sons in Los Angeles. Both Melamed children were born with autism, and he and his wife have been involved in advocacy for persons living with autism spectrum disorder and their families.
Tivia:
Has twin sons with autism. Active, with wife Leslee, as an advocate for families whose lives are affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder.When Ethan Coen was asked which of the many characters he has created he was proudest of, he responded, "Sy Ableman, Fred Melamed's character from A Serious Man (2009). The best movie monster ever".He was adopted. His biological mother is actor/director Nancy Zala, and, by his biological father, a psychoanalyst, he is related to renowned acting family the Adlers, including Luther Adler & Stella Adler.Is a prominent voice actor. Has dubbed several other actors' entire performances, including villain Don Cabeza, in Roland Joffe's 1986 movie The Mission with Robert De Niro.The first person to have graduated from both Hampshire College and the Yale School of Drama. The second was Liev Schreiber, and the third was Lupita Nyong'o.Had a severe fear of flying which prevented him from setting foot on a airplane for 20 years. In 1998, he was able to overcome the phobia and fly to Japan to be the voice of the Winter Olympics for CBS.The two films he agreed to do for the least amount of money in his career were both nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars - Hannah & Her Sisters (1986) and A Serious Man (2010).Son of producer Louis Melamed. Father was right-hand-man to television pioneer Nat Hiken and producer of many early shows, including Car 54, Where Are You? (1961), Sgt. Bilko a.k.a. The Phil Silvers Show (1955) and others.Has never held any job in his adult life other than being an actor, and occasionally, a writer.While still in high school, played lead guitar on record of hit song Puppet On A String.He has appeared in seven films directed by Woody Allen: Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days (1987), Another Woman (1988), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Shadows and Fog (1991), Husbands and Wives (1992) and Hollywood Ending (2002).Graduate of Yale Drama School.Appeared on Broadway in Amadeus.His character of Sy Ableman from A Serious Man (2009) was named by Empire Magazine as "One of the best Coen Bros. characters of all time".In a Hollywood Reporter piece titled "The Best And The Brightest Choose The Best And The Brightest", 2010 Best Actor Oscar winner Jeff Bridges was asked to name his personal favorite performance of the year. His reply: "I got a kick out of Fred Melamed who played Sy Ableman, the guy who steals the wife in A Serious Man...".He parodied himself as a commercial pitchman and voiceover artist in two episodes of The Crazy Ones (2013).Was an original member of Western Massachusetts' Shakespeare & Co.Was an instructor at legendary performing arts camp, Stagedoor Manor.New York, NY, USA: Appearing on Broadway in Relatively Speaking, 3 comic one-acts by Ethan Coen, Elaine May and Woody Allen. (August 2011)East Hampton, NY, USA: Playing Vanya in the Guild Hall Production of Uncle Vanya. (April 2012)The signature voice of Boar's Head Brand, Mercedes-Benz, USA Network, MCI, The Olympics, The Superbowl and CBS Sports, among others.Was presented with The 2014 Voice Award "for extraordinary talent in a body of work, and outstanding service to the voiceover community".Fred is a first cousin of the Countess Sondes, the former Phyllis Kane Schmertz (firstly the widow of Robert Schmertz, 1972-1975 principal owner of the NBA Boston Celtics). Eleven years after Robert Schmertz died, The 5th Earl Sondes of Lees Court in the County of Kent (England, UK) married the widowed Phyllis Kane Schmertz in 1986, who thereby became Countess Sondes. When The Earl Sondes died in 1996, the Dowager Countess Sondes inherited Lees Court, the seat of the Barons and Earls Sondes, when both the Earldom and Barony became extinct due to no male heirs.Immediately after drama school, became an actor in Minneapolis' famed Guthrie Theatre Company.Listed by Harry Domenico Rossi as among "The 25 Greatest Screen Villains of All Time".Was named by by a host of leading critics and film professionals in Vulture/New York Magazine as one of "The 32 Greatest Character Actors Working Today". |
| Name: |
Fred Melamed |
Type: |
Actor,Producer,Writer (IMDB) |
| Area: |
All World |
Platform: |
IMDB |
| Category: |
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Business scope: |
Actor,Producer,Writer |
| Products for sale: |
Actor,Producer,Writer |
| Last update: |
2024-07-01 05:12:23 |
| Height: |
6' 1' (1.85 m) |
| Biography: |
Revered character actor Fred Melamed was born in New York City. His birth-parents were unmarried; an American actress and British psychoanalyst. He was adopted as an infant by Manhattanites Lou and Syma Melamed (nee Krichefsky). His adoptive father w |
| Trivia: |
Has twin sons with autism. Active, with wife Leslee, as an advocate for families whose lives are affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder.When Ethan Coen was asked which of the many characters he has created he was proudest of, he responded, "Sy Ableman, Fred Melamed's character from A Serious Man (2009). The best movie monster ever".He was adopted. His biological mother is actor/director Nancy Zala, and, by his biological father, a psychoanalyst, he is related to renowned acting family the Adlers, including Luther Adler & Stella Adler.Is a prominent voice actor. Has dubbed several other actors' entire performances, including villain Don Cabeza, in Roland Joffe's 1986 movie The Mission with Robert De Niro.The first person to have graduated from both Hampshire College and the Yale School of Drama. The second was Liev Schreiber, and the third was Lupita Nyong'o.Had a severe fear of flying which prevented him from setting foot on a airplane for 20 years. In 1998, he was able to overcome the phobia and fly to Japan to be the voice of the Winter Olympics for CBS.The two films he agreed to do for the least amount of money in his career were both nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars - Hannah & Her Sisters (1986) and A Serious Man (2010).Son of producer Louis Melamed. Father was right-hand-man to television pioneer Nat Hiken and producer of many early shows, including Car 54, Where Are You? (1961), Sgt. Bilko a.k.a. The Phil Silvers Show (1955) and others.Has never held any job in his adult life other than being an actor, and occasionally, a writer.While still in high school, played lead guitar on record of hit song Puppet On A String.He has appeared in seven films directed by Woody Allen: Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days (1987), Another Woman (1988), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Shadows and Fog (1991), Husbands and Wives (1992) and Hollywood Ending (2002).Graduate of Yale Drama School.Appeared on Broadway in Amadeus.His character of Sy Ableman from A Serious Man (2009) was named by Empire Magazine as "One of the best Coen Bros. characters of all time".In a Hollywood Reporter piece titled "The Best And The Brightest Choose The Best And The Brightest", 2010 Best Actor Oscar winner Jeff Bridges was asked to name his personal favorite performance of the year. His reply: "I got a kick out of Fred Melamed who played Sy Ableman, the guy who steals the wife in A Serious Man...".He parodied himself as a commercial pitchman and voiceover artist in two episodes of The Crazy Ones (2013).Was an original member of Western Massachusetts' Shakespeare & Co.Was an instructor at legendary performing arts camp, Stagedoor Manor.New York, NY, USA: Appearing on Broadway in Relatively Speaking, 3 comic one-acts by Ethan Coen, Elaine May and Woody Allen. (August 2011)East Hampton, NY, USA: Playing Vanya in the Guild Hall Production of Uncle Vanya. (April 2012)The signature voice of Boar's Head Brand, Mercedes-Benz, USA Network, MCI, The Olympics, The Superbowl and CBS Sports, among others.Was presented with The 2014 Voice Award "for extraordinary talent in a body of work, and outstanding service to the voiceover community".Fred is a first cousin of the Countess Sondes, the former Phyllis Kane Schmertz (firstly the widow of Robert Schmertz, 1972-1975 principal owner of the NBA Boston Celtics). Eleven years after Robert Schmertz died, The 5th Earl Sondes of Lees Court in the County of Kent (England, UK) married the widowed Phyllis Kane Schmertz in 1986, who thereby became Countess Sondes. When The Earl Sondes died in 1996, the Dowager Countess Sondes inherited Lees Court, the seat of the Barons and Earls Sondes, when both the Earldom and Barony became extinct due to no male heirs.Immediately after drama school, became an actor in Minneapolis' famed Guthrie Theatre Company.Listed by Harry Domenico Rossi as among "The 25 Greatest Screen Villains of All Time".Was named by by a host of leading critics and film professionals in Vulture/New York Magazine as one of "The 32 Greatest Character Actors Working Today". |
| Quotes: |
On Looks And Casting In Films: I have a secret aspiration to be considered for a part where it doesn't matter what you look like to play it. Most of the time when I receive a script, it says something like 'Rosenberg is the fat, slovenly Mayor, who doesn't want the kids to use the Skateboard Park', or 'Stein is a pompous, rotund attorney, imposing to all.' It would be so freeing to get a script where my character is simply described as 'A Man'....
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On Stage Acting: I'm one of relatively few stage-trained actors who doesn't much like acting on stage. It feels kind of like riding the Cyclone at Coney Island, which I did when I was eight. When it was all over, I was glad I had done it, but most of the time when it was actually happening, I was just kind of hanging on for dear life.
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I think of myself as a student of acting. I regard it like poker. You can learn the rules in an afternoon, but it takes a lifetime to master. |
| Job title: |
Actor,Producer,Writer |
| Others works: |
(2014) TV commercial, "Our Masterpiece," for Boar's Head Brand's Oven Gold turkey (voiceover).
(2014) TV commercial, "From the Swiss Alps to You," for Boar's Head Brand Swiss cheese (voiceover).
(2012) TV commercial, & |
| Spouse: |
Leslee Spieler (January 17, 1999 - July 9, 2021) (divorced, 2 children) |
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