ALAN ALDA
Alan Alda has recently had the distinction of being nominated for an
Oscar, a Tony, and an EMMY -- as well as publishing a bestselling
book -- all in the same year.
His memoir, entitled Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, and Other Things
I’ve Learned, became a New York Times bestseller.
His 2005 EMMY nomination was for his role as Arnold Vinick,
Republican candidate for the presidency on "The West Wing" (which
brought him two SAG Award nominations in the same year, Best Actor
and Best Ensemble in a Drama Series). He also received a Tony
nomination for his role in the Broadway revival of David Mamet's
"Glengarry Glen Ross." On film that year, he appeared in Martin
Scorsese’s "The Aviator," for which he received a nomination for an
Academy Award and was also nominated for a British Academy Award.
2006 honors include his 32nd Emmy nomination and winning his sixth
Emmy for his appearance on "West Wing" (Best Supporting Actor in a
Drama Series) as well as the National Science Board’s Public Service
Award, and his induction into the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences.
He has earned international recognition as an actor, writer and
director. In addition to "The Aviator," Films include "Crimes and
Misdemeanors," "Everyone Says I Love You," "Flirting With Disaster,"
"Manhattan Murder Mystery," "And The Band Played On," "Same Time,
Next Year" and "California Suite," as well as "The Seduction of Joe
Tynan," which he wrote, and also "The Four Seasons," "Sweet
Liberty," "A New Life," and "Betsy’s Wedding," all of which he wrote
and directed.
For his role in Woody Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors" he won the
D.W. Griffith Award, the NY Film Critics Award, and was nominated
for a British Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor.
On Broadway, he has appeared as the physicist Richard Feynman in the
play "QED." He starred in the first American production of the
international hit play "ART." In addition to his nomination for
"Glengarry," he was also nominated for the Tony Award for his
performances in Neil Simon's "Jake’s Women" and the musical "The
Apple Tree." Other appearances on Broadway include "The Owl and the
Pussycat", "Purlie Victorious" and "Fair Game for Lovers" for which
he received a Theatre World Award.
On television, he hosted the award winning series "Scientific
American Frontiers" on PBS for eleven years, interviewing leading
scientists from around the world.
He played Hawkeye Pierce on the classic television series "M*A*S*H,"
and also wrote and directed many of the episodes. Alda is the only
person to be honored by the TV Academy as top performer, writer and
director. His 32 Emmy nominations include one in 1999 for his
performance on "ER." In 1994 he was inducted into the Television
Hall of Fame.
Other Television performances include "Truman Capote's The Glass
House" and "Kill Me If You Can," for which he received an Emmy
nomination for his portrayal of Caryl Chessman, the inmate who spent
12 years on death row.
He has won the Director’s Guild Award three times for his work on
television, and has received six Golden Globes from the Hollywood
Foreign Press Association, and seven People's Choice Awards, and has
been nominated for two Writer's Guild Awards.
Alan Alda was born in New York City, the son of the distinguished
actor, Robert Alda. He began acting in the theater at the age of 16
in summer stock in Barnesville, Pennsylvania.
During his junior year at Fordham University, he studied in Europe
where he performed on the stage in Rome and on television in
Amsterdam with his father.
After college, he acted at the Cleveland Playhouse on a Ford
Foundation grant. On his return to New York, he was seen on
Broadway, off-Broadway and on television. He later acquired
improvisational training with "Second City" in New York and
"Compass" at Hyannisport. That background in political and social
satire led to his work as a regular on television's "That Was the
Week That Was."
For twenty years he was a member of the Board of the Museum of
Television & Radio, and for ten years, from 1989 to 1999, he was a
Trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation.
His wife, Arlene, is the author of fourteen children's books. An
award winning professional photographer, her work has appeared in a
number of magazines and books. They have three daughters and seven
grandchildren.
Alan Alda has recently had the distinction of being nominated for an
Oscar, a Tony, and an EMMY -- as well as publishing a bestselling
book -- all in the same year.
His memoir, entitled Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, and Other Things
I’ve Learned, became a New York Times bestseller.
His 2005 EMMY nomination was for his role as Arnold Vinick,
Republican candidate for the presidency on "The West Wing" (which
brought him two SAG Award nominations in the same year, Best Actor
and Best Ensemble in a Drama Series). He also received a Tony
nomination for his role in the Broadway revival of David Mamet's
"Glengarry Glen Ross." On film that year, he appeared in Martin
Scorsese’s "The Aviator," for which he received a nomination for an
Academy Award and was also nominated for a British Academy Award.
2006 honors include his 32nd Emmy nomination and winning his sixth
Emmy for his appearance on "West Wing" (Best Supporting Actor in a
Drama Series) as well as the National Science Board’s Public Service
Award, and his induction into the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences.
He has earned international recognition as an actor, writer and
director. In addition to "The Aviator," Films include "Crimes and
Misdemeanors," "Everyone Says I Love You," "Flirting With Disaster,"
"Manhattan Murder Mystery," "And The Band Played On," "Same Time,
Next Year" and "California Suite," as well as "The Seduction of Joe
Tynan," which he wrote, and also "The Four Seasons," "Sweet
Liberty," "A New Life," and "Betsy’s Wedding," all of which he wrote
and directed.
For his role in Woody Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors" he won the
D.W. Griffith Award, the NY Film Critics Award, and was nominated
for a British Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor.
On Broadway, he has appeared as the physicist Richard Feynman in the
play "QED." He starred in the first American production of the
international hit play "ART." In addition to his nomination for
"Glengarry," he was also nominated for the Tony Award for his
performances in Neil Simon's "Jake’s Women" and the musical "The
Apple Tree." Other appearances on Broadway include "The Owl and the
Pussycat", "Purlie Victorious" and "Fair Game for Lovers" for which
he received a Theatre World Award.
On television, he hosted the award winning series "Scientific
American Frontiers" on PBS for eleven years, interviewing leading
scientists from around the world.
He played Hawkeye Pierce on the classic television series "M*A*S*H,"
and also wrote and directed many of the episodes. Alda is the only
person to be honored by the TV Academy as top performer, writer and
director. His 32 Emmy nominations include one in 1999 for his
performance on "ER." In 1994 he was inducted into the Television
Hall of Fame.
Other Television performances include "Truman Capote's The Glass
House" and "Kill Me If You Can," for which he received an Emmy
nomination for his portrayal of Caryl Chessman, the inmate who spent
12 years on death row.
He has won the Director’s Guild Award three times for his work on
television, and has received six Golden Globes from the Hollywood
Foreign Press Association, and seven People's Choice Awards, and has
been nominated for two Writer's Guild Awards.
Alan Alda was born in New York City, the son of the distinguished
actor, Robert Alda. He began acting in the theater at the age of 16
in summer stock in Barnesville, Pennsylvania.
During his junior year at Fordham University, he studied in Europe
where he performed on the stage in Rome and on television in
Amsterdam with his father.
After college, he acted at the Cleveland Playhouse on a Ford
Foundation grant. On his return to New York, he was seen on
Broadway, off-Broadway and on television. He later acquired
improvisational training with "Second City" in New York and
"Compass" at Hyannisport. That background in political and social
satire led to his work as a regular on television's "That Was the
Week That Was."
For twenty years he was a member of the Board of the Museum of
Television & Radio, and for ten years, from 1989 to 1999, he was a
Trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation.
His wife, Arlene, is the author of fourteen children's books. An
award winning professional photographer, her work has appeared in a
number of magazines and books. They have three daughters and seven
grandchildren.