Michael Pataki

Michael Pataki (born January 16, 1938) is an American actor. Pataki was born in Youngstown, Ohio. He attended the University of Southern California with a double major in Political Science and Drama. His career was launched at a summer stock festival in Edinburgh in 1966, with a review that read, "Michael Pataki went beyond the bounds of mere nationality in his tense and moving interpretation of "Jerry" in Zoo Story.^{[citation needed]} Pataki was so well loved that at a reception for the theatre group acclaimed British actor Lawrence Harvey, whom Pataki had never met, said he was magnificent and gave him a kiss on the mouth.

[edit] Television career

Pataki's career spans 35 years. He has appeared in numerous television productions, from the black and white days of Playhouse 90, The Twilight Zone, and My Favorite Martian, to early color shows like The Flying Nun, Bonanza and The Green Hornet. Pataki was also a regular on the The Amazing Spider-Man series, and had a re-occurring role on McCloud as well. One of his most famous roles was as "Korax", the Klingon who started the fight in "The Trouble with Tribbles" episode of Star Trek. He also played Governor Karnas in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Too Short A Season".

In the Happy Days, "Pinky Loves Fonzie" saga, Pataki played the diabolical "Count Malachi."

Pataki's film credits include Rocky IV, in which he played Nicoli Koloff, the sports administrator for the Russian team. He played one of the mimes in Easy Rider. His first role was in 10 North Fredrick. He was also the district attorney in The Onion Field, and was the operator of "The Hands" in The Andromeda Strain. Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, American Anthem, Airport '77, and Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers are a few other notable titles.

Pataki has also had his fair share of B-movie roles. In Dracula's Dog, he played opposite Reggie Nalder and José Ferrer as a descendant of Dracula who is stalked by a vampiric Doberman Pinscher. Other horror titles include Grave of the Vampire, Return of Count Yorga, Dead and Buried, Terror at Alcatraz, Graduation Day, and The Bat People. He also directed Richard Basehart in Mansion of the Doomed. Pataki has appeared in three films that have been lampooned on the cult show Mystery Science Theater 3000: Superdome (ep. K15), Sidehackers (ep. 202), and It Lives By Night (ep. 1010)

Pataki directed the 1977 film version of Cinderella. He also co-produced the filming of the stage presentation of Pippin with David Sheehan, starring William Katt. Pataki is also an accomplished voice over artist, playing the part of the Sewer King in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series. Currently, he is the voice of George Liquor for Ren and Stimpy production house Spümcø, voicing in in The Goddamn George Liquor Program.