John Lithgow

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John Lithgow

John Arthur Lithgow (pronounced "lith-go") (born October 19, 1945, in Rochester, New York) is an actor perhaps best-known for his starring role as Dick Solomon in the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun. He has also acted on stage, film, and radio. He has earned multiple Emmy Awards and Tony Awards, as well as other honors. He has also recorded music for children.

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[edit] Personal life

Lithgow's mother, Sarah Jane Price, was a retired actress. His father, Arthur Washington Lithgow [1] ,was a theatrical producer and director; because of his father's job, the family moved frequently during Lithgow's childhood.

Lithgow won a scholarship to Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1967. He was in the same dorm as former Vice President Al Gore and actor Tommy Lee Jones. (He later served on its Board of Overseers.) Lithgow credits a performance at Harvard of Gilbert and Sullivan's Utopia Limited with making him decide to be an actor. [2]

Lithgow currently resides in Los Angeles. He has been married twice, to Jean Taynton from 1966 to 1980, and Mary Yeager since 1981. He is the father of three children, Ian (born in 1972) from his marriage to Taynton and Phoebe McCurtain (born in 1982) and Nathan George (born in 1983) from his marriage to Yeager. Ian made regular appearances on Third Rock from the Sun as a particularly slow student in Prof. Solomon's class.

[edit] Stage career

In 1973, Lithgow debuted on Broadway in David Storey's "The Changing Room", for which he received a Tony Award as "Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic)".

He was nominated for two "Best Actor (Play)" Tonys for "Requiem for a Heavyweight" (1985) and "M. Butterfly" (1988).

In 2002, Lithgow won a Tony Award for "Best Leading Actor in a Musical" for his portrayal of J.J. Hunsecker in the Broadway adaptation of the 1957 film Sweet Smell of Success.

In 2005, Lithgow was elected into the American Theatre Hall of Fame for his work on Broadway. He was also nominated for a "Best Leading Actor in a Musical" Tony for "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."

[edit] Film career

In 1983 and 1984, Lithgow was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances as Roberta Muldoon in The World According to Garp and as Sam Burns in Terms of Endearment. Both films were screen adaptations of popular novels.

Lithgow originated the character of Dr. Emilio Lizardo/Lord John Whorfin, a psychotic Italian physicist inhabited by an evil alien, which he played in the 1984 cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.

In 1983, Lithgow played John Valentine in a remake of the classic Twilight Zone episode Nightmare at 20,000 Feet in the Twilight Zone: The Movie as the paranoid passenger once made famous on the television show by William Shatner. (This was made reference to in an episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun in which William Shatner portrayed the Big Giant Head, the overseer of the Solomons' expedition to Earth.)

In 1993, he starred as Eric Qualen in the Stallone movie Cliffhanger.

[edit] Television career

Lithgow is probably most widely known for his starring role as Dick Solomon in the 1996-2001 NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the category "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" in each of the program's six seasons and won three times, in 1996, 1997, and 1999.

In 1986, Lithgow received a Primetime Emmy Award in the category "Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series" for his appearance in an episode of the Amazing Stories anthology show.

Additionally, Lithgow has been nominated for an "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special" Emmy for The Day After (1984), two "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special" Emmys for "Resting Place" (1986) and "My Brother's Keeper" (1995).

Lithgow currently stars with Jeffrey Tambor in the NBC sitcom Twenty Good Years.

[edit] Music career

Lithgow launched into a career as a recording artist with the 1999 album Singin' in the Bathtub.

In June of 2002, Lithgow released his second children's album Farkle and Friends. It was the musical companion to his book The Remarkable Farkle McBride, which tells the story of a young musical genius. Farkle and Friends features the vocal talents of Lithgow and Bebe Neuwirth backed by the Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra.

In August of 2006, Lithgow released The Sunny Side of the Street, his third children's album and first with Razor & Tie. This album features versions of classic songs from The Great American Songbook including “Getting to Know You” and “Ya Gotta Have Pep,” with decidedly animated performances geared towards children. Produced by JC Hopkins (Victoria Williams, JC Hopkins Biggish Band featuring Norah Jones), the album features guest appearances by Madeleine Peyroux, Wayne Knight (Seinfeld’s Newman), Broadway’s Sherie Rene Scott (Aida, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and cabaret star Maude Maggart.

Lithgow also makes occasional appearances on stage and television singing children's songs and accompanying himself on guitar.

Lithgow is also a published children's book author. Some of his titles are Marsupial Sue, Marsupial Sue Presents "The Runaway Pancake", Lithgow Party Paloozas!: 52 Unexpected Ways to Make a Birthday, Holiday, or any Day a Celebration for Kids, The Carnivale of Animals, A Lithgow Palooza: 101 Ways to Entertain and Inspire Your Kids, I'm a Manatee, Micawber, The Remarkable Farkle McBride,and Mahalia Mouse Goes to College (published 2007).

[edit] Other appearances

Lithgow voiced the character of Yoda in the National Public Radio adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

He hosts Paloozaville, a children's Video on Demand program on Mag Rack based on his best-selling children's books.

He appeared in the most recent Campbell's Select™Soups commercials, portraying a restaurant waiter serving 'customers' in their own household.

[edit] Filmography


[edit] Performances on Broadway

[edit] Discography

[edit] External links

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