# Josef Sommer

Maximilian Josef Sommer (born June 26, 1934) is a German-American retired stage, television, and film actor.

## Early life

He was born in Greifswald, Germany, and raised in North Carolina, the son of Elisabeth and Clemens Sommer, a professor of Art History at the University of North Carolina. He studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He has a daughter, Maria.

## Career

Sommer made his acting debut at the age of nine in a North Carolina production of Watch on the Rhine. He made his film debut in Dirty Harry (1971) and appeared in films such as The Stepford Wives (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Still of the Night (1982), Silkwood (1983), Peter Weir's thriller Witness (1985) opposite Harrison Ford (where he played a dirty cop), Target (1985), Malice (1993), Patch Adams (1998), and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). He appeared as President Gerald Ford opposite Gena Rowlands in the TV movie The Betty Ford Story (1987). In 1992 he played his most impactful role as the eponymous Gerald Ducksworth in The Mighty Ducks. A kind-hearted benefactor of inner city youth hockey, he not only sends one of his best lawyers to coach the team but also donates the necessary funds for rink time, safe equipment and proper uniforms. Indeed, Gerald Ducksworth is the true founder of both the fictional District 5 Ducks and NHL Anaheim Ducks teams.
In 1974, he appeared in the role of Roy Mills on The Guiding Light, and played George Barton in the 1983 TV version of Agatha Christie's Sparkling Cyanide. He had starring roles in two short-lived series: Hothouse (1988) and Under Cover (1991). As of 2007, he had appeared in almost 100 films. He lent his talents as the poignant narrator in Sophie's Choice (1982). He played a rare leading role opposite Sylvia Kristel, as the film noir-esque detective in the quirky horror comedy Dracula's Widow (1988).

## Filmography

* 1971 Dirty Harry as District Attorney William T. Rothko
* 1972 The Witches of Salem: The Horror and the Hope (short film)
* 1973 The Doctors as Dave Davis
* 1974 The Guiding Light as Roy Mills
* 1974 Man on a Swing as Pete Russell
* 1975 The Stepford Wives as Ted Van Sant
* 1975 Valley Forge (TV) as Brigadier General 'Dusty' Varnum
* 1976 The Adams Chronicles (TV) as Charles Lee
* 1977 Close Encounters of the Third Kind as Larry Butler
* 1978 Oliver's Story as Dr. Dienhart
* 1980 Hide in Plain Sight as Jason R. Reid
* 1981 Absence of Malice as McAdam
* 1981 Reds as State Department Official
* 1981 Rollover as Roy Lefcourt
* 1982 Hanky Panky as Adrian Pruitt
* 1982 Still of the Night as George Bynum
* 1982 Sophie's Choice as Narrator (voice)
* 1983 Independence Day as Sam Taylor
* 1983 Silkwood as Max Richter
* 1983 Sparkling Cyanide as George Barton
* 1984 Iceman as Whitman
* 1985 Witness as Chief Paul Schaeffer
* 1985 D.A.R.Y.L. as Dr. Jeffrey Stewart
* 1985 Target as Taber
* 1986 Scarecrow and Mrs. King (TV) as Raoul Nesbitt
* 1987 The Rosary Murders as Lieutenant Koznicki
* 1988 Dracula's Widow as Lannon
* 1989 Chances Are as Judge Fenwick
* 1989 Forced March as Father
* 1989 Bloodhounds of Broadway as Waldo Winchester
* 1990 The Kennedys of Massachusetts (TV) as Franklin D. Roosevelt
* 1991 Shadows and Fog as Priest
* 1992 Citizen Cohn (TV) as Albert Cohn
* 1992 The Mighty Ducks as Gerald Ducksworth
* 1993 Malice as Lester Adams
* 1993 The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (TV) as President Woodrow Wilson
* 1994 Nobody's Fool as Clive Peoples Jr.
* 1995 Strange Days as LAPD Commissioner Palmer Strickland
* 1995 Moonlight and Valentino as Thomas Trager
* 1996 The Chamber as Phelps Bowen
* 1996-2000 Law & Order (TV) as Judge Hellman / Defence Attorney Patrick Rumsey
* 1997 Early Edition as John Dobbs
* 1998 The Proposition as Father Dryer
* 1998 Bulworth as Doctor (uncredited)
* 1998 Lulu on the Bridge as Peter Shine (deleted scene) (uncredited)
* 1998 Patch Adams as Dr. Eaton
* 2000 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV) as Defence Attorney Patrick Rumsey
* 2000 The Next Best Thing as Richard Whittaker
* 2000 Shaft as Curt Fleming
* 2000 The Family Man as Peter Lassiter
* 2002 The Sum of All Fears as Senator Jessup
* 2002 Searching for Paradise as Carl Greenslate
* 2002 Benjamin Franklin (TV) as Cotton Mather
* 2003 Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Spencer Durning
* 2004 The West Wing as Steve Gaines
* 2006 The Elephant King as Bill Hunt
* 2006 X-Men: The Last Stand as The President
* 2007 The Invasion as Dr. Henryk Belicec
* 2008 Stop-Loss as Senator Orton Worrell
* 2010 The Other Guys (2010) as District Attorney Radford (uncredited)