# Michael Jeter

Michael Jeter (/ˈdʒiːtər/; August 26, 1952 – March 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his career on stage and screen, Jeter played diverse characters. He won a Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. He portrayed Herman Stiles on the sitcom Evening Shade from 1990 until 1994.
Jeter was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. He studied at Memphis State University and later pursued a career in acting. He made his Broadway debut acting in the musical Once in a Lifetime (1979), followed by G. R. Point. For his role as Otto Kringelein in the musical Grand Hotel (1989) he received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Jeter also portrayed Giuseppe Zangara in the musical Assassins (1989).
Jeter gained fame for his roles in The Fisher King (1991) and The Green Mile (1999). His other notable film roles include in Zelig (1983), Miller's Crossing (1990), Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), Air Bud (1997), Mouse Hunt (1997), Patch Adams (1998), Jurassic Park III (2001), Open Range (2003), and The Polar Express (2004). He also appeared on Sesame Street's Elmo's World as the other Mister Noodle from 2000 to 2003.

## Early life and education

Jeter was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee on August 26, 1952. His mother, Virginia (née Raines; May 6, 1927 – May 21, 2019), was a housewife. His father, William Claud Jeter (March 10, 1922 – March 1, 2010), was a dentist. Jeter had one brother, William, and four sisters, Virginia, Amanda, Emily, and Lori. Jeter was a student at Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis) when his interests changed from medicine to acting. He performed in several plays and musicals at the Circuit Theatre and its sister theatre, the Playhouse on the Square, in midtown Memphis. He left Memphis to further pursue his stage career in Baltimore, Maryland.

## Career

Jeter's woebegone look, extreme flexibility, and high energy led Tommy Tune to cast him in the off-Broadway play Cloud 9 in 1981. Much of his work specialised in playing eccentric, pretentious, or wimpy characters, as in The Fisher King, Waterworld, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Green Mile and Drop Zone. Occasionally, Jeter was able to stray from type for more diverse characters, such as those he portrayed in Jurassic Park III, Air Bud, and Open Range. Jeter is perhaps most known for his role as convicted felon Eduard Delacroix in The Green Mile, a role for which he was nominated along with the rest of the cast for a Screen Actors Guild Award.
In The Fisher King, Jeter portrayed "an unnamed homeless cabaret singer", and "shimmies across the screen with boundless confidence, turning what might have been a grotesque, or at least merely humorous, part into something noble, even indomitable... In a film unafraid of big acting, Jeter goes bigger than anyone."
He also played Mr. Noodle's brother, Mister Noodle, on Sesame Street from 2000 to 2003. He appeared in an episode of Touched by an Angel in 1999 as Gus, an insurance salesman who arrives in Las Vegas, in the episode "The Man Upstairs". His last two appearances were in the films Open Range and The Polar Express. Both films were in post-production at the time of his death and, when released, contained a dedication to his memory. The season 35 premiere of Sesame Street, a special entitled "The Street We Live On", was similarly dedicated to Jeter.

## Personal life and death

Jeter was gay and met his partner Sean Blue in 1995; they were together until Jeter's death in 2003.
Jeter was HIV-positive and disclosed his diagnosis in a 1997 interview on Entertainment Tonight. Despite this, he remained healthy for many years. Jeter also announced while accepting his 1990 Tony that he had recovered from substance abuse.
On March 30, 2003, Jeter was found dead by Blue at his home in Hollywood Hills, California. He was 50 years old. Blue said that Jeter died of complications after an epileptic seizure. Jeter was cremated, and his ashes were given to charity.

## Acting credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1979 | Hair | Woodrow Sheldon | |
| 1981 | Ragtime | Special Reporter | |
| 1982 | Soup for One | Mr. Kelp | |
| 1983 | Zelig | Freshman No. 2 | |
| 1986 | The Money Pit | Arnie | |
| 1989 | Dead Bang | Dr. Alexander Krantz | |
| 1989 | Tango & Cash | Floyd Skinner | |
| 1990 | Just Like in the Movies | Vernon | |
| 1990 | Miller's Crossing | Adolph | |
| 1991 | The Fisher King | Homeless Cabaret Singer | |
| 1993 | Bank Robber | Night Clerk No. 1 | |
| 1993 | Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit | Father Ignatius | |
| 1994 | Drop Zone | Earl Leedy | |
| 1995 | Waterworld | Gregor | |
| 1997 | Air Bud | Norm Snively | |
| 1997 | Mouse Hunt | Quincy Thorpe | |
| 1998 | Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas | Dr. L. Ron Bumquist | Drug expert / guest speaker |
| 1998 | The Naked Man | 'Sticks' Varona | |
| 1998 | Thursday | Dr. Jarvis | |
| 1998 | Zack and Reba | Oras | |
| 1998 | Patch Adams | Rudy | |
| 1999 | True Crime | Dale Porterhouse | |
| 1999 | Jakob the Liar | Avron | |
| 1999 | The Green Mile | Eduard Delacroix | |
| 2000 | South of Heaven, West of Hell | Uncle Jude | |
| 2000 | The Gift | Gerald Weems | |
| 2001 | Jurassic Park III | Udesky | |
| 2002 | Welcome to Collinwood | 'Toto' | |
| 2003 | Open Range | Percy | Posthumous release Dedicated in memory |
| 2004 | The Polar Express | Smokey / Steamer | Voice Posthumous release; final film role Dedicated in memory |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1979 | My Old Man | George Gardner | Television film |
| 1980 | Another World | Arnie Gallo | Unknown episodes |
| 1980 | From Here to Eternity | Private Ridgley | Unknown episodes |
| 1980 | Lou Grant | Max Galt | Episode: "Dogs" |
| 1981 | Alice at the Palace | Caterpillar / Dormouse | Television film |
| 1986 | Night Court | Confessing Crook | Episode: "The Night Off" |
| 1987 | Designing Women | Calvin Klein | Episode: "Old Spouses Never Die – Part 1" |
| 1988 | Crime Story | Senator Michael Gaspari | Episode: "The Hearings" |
| 1988 | Hothouse | Dr. Art Makter | 7 episodes |
| 1990–1994 | Evening Shade | Herman Stiles | 98 episodes |
| 1993–1995 | Picket Fences | Peter Lebeck | 3 episodes |
| 1993 | Tales of the City | Carson Callas | 3 episodes |
| 1993 | Gypsy | Goldstone | Television film |
| 1994 | Aladdin | Runtar | Voice Episode: "StinkerBelle" |
| 1995 | Chicago Hope | Bob Ryan | Episode: "A Coupla Stiffs" |
| 1996 | Dream On | Dr. Enoch | Episode: "Finale with a Vengeance" |
| 1996 | Suddenly Susan | Lawrence Rosewood | Episode: "Dr. No" |
| 1996 | Mrs. Santa Claus | Arvo | Television film |
| 1996 | The Boys Next Door | Arnold Wiggins | Television film |
| 1997 | Duckman | Dr. William Blay | Voice Episode: "Ajax & Ajaxer" |
| 1997 | Second Noah | The Chicken Man | Episode: "Diving In" |
| 1997 | Murphy Brown | Vic | Episode: "You Don't Know Jackal" |
| 1997 | Johnny Bravo | Lawrence the Camel | Voice Episode: "Blarney Buddies/Over the Hump/Johnny Meets Farrah Fawcett" |
| 1998–1999 | The Wild Thornberrys | Biederman | Voice 4 episodes |
| 1998 | Veronica's Closet | Edwin Murloff | Episode: "Veronica's Blackout" |
| 1998 | The Ransom of Red Chief | Bill Driscoll | Television film |
| 1999 | Touched by an Angel | Gus Zimmerman | Episode: "The Man Upstairs" |
| 2000–2003 | Sesame Street | Mr. Noodle's Brother, Mister Noodle | Elmo's World segments |
| 2002 | Taken | William Jeffries | Episode: "Taken" |
| 2002 | Hey Arnold! | Nate Horowitz | Voice Episode: "Gerald's Game/The Fishing Trip" |

### Theater

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1978 | Once in a Lifetime | Jolson / Bellboy | Circle in the Square |
| 1979 | G.R. Point | Straw | Playhouse Theatre, Broadway |
| 1980 | Alice in Concert | Ensemble | The Public Theatre |
| 1981 | Cloud 9 | Betty / Gerry | Lucille Lortel's Theatre de Lys |
| 1982 | Greater Tuna | Performer | Circle in the Square Downtown |
| 1989 | Grand Hotel | Otto Kringelein | Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway |
| 1989 | Assassins | Giuseppe Zangara | Playwrights Horizons |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Project | Result |
| 1991 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Evening Shade | Nominated |
| 1992 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Evening Shade | Won |
| 1993 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Evening Shade | Nominated |
| 1993 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | Picket Fences | Nominated |
| 1995 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | Chicago Hope | Nominated |
| 1992 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Television | Evening Shade | Nominated |
| 1999 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Ensemble in a Motion Picture | The Green Mile | Nominated |
| 1990 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actor in a Musical | Grand Hotel | Won |
| 1990 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Grand Hotel | Won |
| 1990 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Grand Hotel | Won |
| 1990 | Clarence Derwent Prize | Clarence Derwent Prize | Grand Hotel | Won |
| 1979 | Theatre World Award | Theatre World Award | G.R. Point | Won |