Paul Michael Glaser

Paul Michael Glaser
Paul Michael Glaser at F.I.S.T premiere (1978)
Born	Paul Manfred Glaser (1943-03-25) March 25, 1943 Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Other names	Paul M. Glaser Paul Glaser Michael Glaser Mike Glaser P.M. Glaser
Years active	1966 - Present
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Glaser (1980-1994) (her death) Tracy Barone (1996-2007)
Children	Ariel Glaser (1981-1988) Jake Glaser (1984-) Zoe Glaser (1997-)
Website
http://www.paulmichaelglaser.org/

Paul Michael Glaser (born March 25, 1943) is an American actor and director, perhaps best known for his role as Detective David Starsky on the 1970s television series Starsky and Hutch; he also appeared as Captain Jack Steeper on the 1999 to 2005 NBC series Third Watch.

Biography

Early life

Glaser, the youngest of three children, was born Paul Manfred Glaser in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of Dorothy and Samuel Glaser, who was an architect.^[1] Glaser attended the Buckingham Browne & Nichols School. He then transferred to the Cambridge School of Weston, and went to Tulane University, where he was roommates with film director Bruce Paltrow, and earned a Master's degree in English and theater in 1966. He was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. He earned a second master's degree from Boston University in acting and directing in 1967.

Career

After appearing in several Broadway productions, Glaser appeared in his first feature film in 1971, playing Perchik in the film version of Fiddler on the Roof. He first gained notice on television playing Dr. Peter Chernak on the daytime series Love is a Many Splendored Thing, and made guest appearances on shows such as The Waltons, The Streets of San Francisco and The Rockford Files, but found fame playing Detective David Starsky opposite David Soul in the television show Starsky and Hutch, of which he directed several episodes. It ran for four seasons (1975–1979) on ABC.

After the series, Glaser continued to act on television and in films, and directed the 1987 movie The Running Man starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as well as the 1992 movie The Cutting Edge. He also directed episodes of several well-known TV series, including Miami Vice, Robbery Homicide Division and Judging Amy. Glaser returned to the big screen in 2003 in Something's Gotta Give, as Diane Keaton's ex-husband, and with a brief cameo in the 2004 film version of Starsky & Hutch, where his old role was reprised by Ben Stiller. He also directed the children's film Kazaam starring Shaquille O'Neal. On November 30, 2007, Glaser starred as Captain Hook in a pantomime version of Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley, Kent, England. He took the lead role in the 2008 pantomime season at Sunderland's Empire Theatre. He guest starred in CBS's The Mentalist on Thursday, Oct 1, 2009; episode "The Scarlet Letter." In 2013, Glaser revisited Fiddler on the Roof in a UK stage production on national tour, this time playing the lead character Tevye.

In addition to television, film, and theater, Glaser is an avid photographer, writes poetry^[2] and is currently working on several children's novels.^[3] He has been on several radio programs interviewing about his latest book, for the children in all of us, "Chrystallia and the Source of Light" and recently featured on Get Focused Radio with Kate Hennessy.

Personal life

Glaser has been married twice. He married his first wife, Elizabeth (Meyer) Glaser, in 1980. In August 1981, Elizabeth contracted HIV through a blood transfusion while giving birth to the couple's first child, Ariel. Elizabeth did not find out about the virus until four years later, at which time both Ariel and son Jake (born October 1984) were also found to be HIV positive. Ariel Glaser died in August 1988; Elizabeth Glaser died in 1994, after founding the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. After Elizabeth's death, Glaser served as chairman of the foundation until 2002 and remains Honorary Chairman, roles in which he has testified before the United States Congress and met with national leaders, as well as headlining annual fundraisers for the organization.

Glaser married producer Tracy Barone in 1996; the couple had a daughter, Zoe, on 7 October 1997. Glaser filed for divorce in June 2007, citing "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for ending his 10-year marriage. He was seeking joint legal and physical custody of their daughter.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

• Paul Michael Glaser official web site
• Paul Michael Glaser at the Internet Movie Database
• Paul Michael Glaser at the Internet Broadway Database
• Paul Michael Glaser at Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation