# Michael Lembeck

Michael Lembeck (born June 25, 1948) is an American actor and television and film director. He is best known as Max Horvath in One Day at a Time (1979–1984).

## Life and career

Lembeck was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Caroline Dubs and Harvey Lembeck, an actor and comedian. His parents practiced the Jewish faith. He began acting in the late 1960s and directing in the 1970s.
His most notable acting role was as Julie Cooper (Mackenzie Phillips)'s husband, Max Horvath, on the sitcom One Day at a Time. He played newscaster Clete Meizenheimer on the series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.
In 1975, he appeared on Barney Miller in the episode "Hair" as Officer Guardeno. He also played Kaptain Kool of the fictional band Kaptain Kool and the Kongs on The Krofft Supershow from 1976 to 1978. He is also known for his role as Vinnie Fazio in The Boys in Company C in 1978. He was a member of the cast of the 1985–1986 situation comedy Foley Square. He appeared with his father, actor Harvey Lembeck, in an episode of The Partridge Family in 1971.
Lembeck has had collaborations with actor Peter Boyle (with whom he had previously appeared as an actor in Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8) in both The Santa Clause 2 and its sequel The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. Lembeck also directed Boyle in a number of episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond.
Lembeck's first film appearance came in the 1968 film Hang 'Em High where he portrays “Marvin,” a store clerk with two spoken lines, in which he asks the proprietor where to store blankets. He later acted in The In-Laws. He directed The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, as well as the Nia Vardalos film Connie and Carla and Tooth Fairy.
Lembeck now works as a full-time film and TV director. He won an Emmy for his work on the Friends episode "The One After the Superbowl". He also directed 20 other episodes of the series.

## Personal life

Lembeck is married to his second wife, retired actress Lorna Patterson. They raised two children.

## Awards

Lembeck's work has received recognition from the Directors Guild of America, and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (also known as the ATAS).
* 1996 WON - Primetime Emmy award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series ("The One After the Superbowl") (Friends)
* 1999 Nominated - Primetime Emmy award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series ("The One Where Everybody Finds Out") (Friends)
* 2000 Nominated - Primetime Emmy award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series ("The One That Could Have Been (Part 1 & 2)") (Friends)
* 2012 Nominated - Directors Guild award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs (Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure)
* 2017 Nominated - Directors Guild award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs (A Nutcracker Christmas)

## Filmography
### Film

* The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
* Connie and Carla (2004)
* The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)
* Tooth Fairy (2010)
* Queen Bees (2021)
* The J Team (2021)
Direct-to-video
* The Clique (2008)
* Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure (2011) (Also co-producer)

#### Acting roles

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1968 | Hang 'Em High | Store Clerk | uncredited |
| 1969 | Gidget Grows Up | Arnold | TV movie |
| 1972 | Haunts of the Very Rich | Johnny Delmonico | TV movie |
| 1973 | A Summer Without Boys | Burt | TV movie |
| 1973 | Blood Sport | Rueben | TV movie |
| 1975 | It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman | Joe | TV movie |
| 1976 | Flannery and Quilt | Quilt's Grandson | TV movie |
| 1976 | ABC's Saturday Sneak Peek | Kaptain Kool | TV movie |
| 1977 | Kaptain Kool and the Kongs Present ABC All-Star Saturday | Kaptain Kool | TV movie |
| 1978 | The Boys in Company C | Vinnie Fazio | |
| 1978 | Having Babies III | Russ Bridges | TV movie |
| 1978 | The Krofft Comedy Hour | Kaptain Kool | TV movie |
| 1978 | The Bay City Rollers Met the Saturday Superstars | Kaptain Kool | TV movie |
| 1979 | The In-Laws | Tommy Ricardo | |
| 1980 | The Comeback Kid | Tony | TV movie |
| 1980 | Gorp | Kavell | |
| 1980 | Dan August: Once Is Never Enough | | TV movie |
| 1981 | On the Right Track | Frank Biscardi | |
| 1982 | Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever | Elliott Garfield | TV movie |
| 1987 | Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8 | Abbie Hoffman | TV movie |
| 1987 | Ultraman: The Adventure Begins | Scott Masterson (voice role) | TV movie |
| 1988 | Side by Side (1988 film) | Tony Mercer | TV movie |
| 1988 | Lady Mobster | unknown | TV movie |
| 1989 | The Dream Team | Ed | |
| 1990 | Joseph and His Brothers | | Voice role, Short Film |
| 1993 | Heartbeat | Ted | TV movie |

### Television

TV movies
* Acting Sheriff (1991)
* Boys & Girls (1996)
* Carly (1998)
* True Love (1999)
* The Peter Principle (2000)
* From Where I Sit (2000)
* Loomis (2001)
* Untitled Oakley & Weinstein Project (2005)
* So Here's What Happened (2006)
* The Bling Ring (2011)
* Homeboys (2013)
* A Nutcracker Christmas (2016)
* Snow Day (2022)
TV series
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1989 | Doctor Doctor | 2 episodes |
| 1989 | My Two Dads | Episode "I'm Dreaming of a Holiday Episode" |
| 1989 | Coming of Age | 3 episodes |
| 1989-1990 | Coach | 7 episodes |
| 1990 | Sugar and Spice | Episode "Breaking in Is Hard to Do" |
| 1990 | The Marshall Chronicles | 2 episodes |
| 1992 | Flying Blind | 5 episodes |
| 1990-1993 | Major Dad | 67 episodes |
| 1993-1994 | Love & War | 16 episodes |
| 1994 | Good Advice | 4 episodes |
| 1994-1999 | Mad About You | 23 episodes |
| 1995 | Pride & Joe | Episode "Terror at 30,000 Feet" |
| 1995 | High Society | Episode "Family Val's" |
| 1995 | NewsRadio | 3 episodes |
| 1995 | Double Rush | 13 episodes |
| 1995-2000 | Friends | 24 episodes |
| 1995-1996 | Hope & Gloria | 8 episodes |
| 1996 | The Naked Truth | Episode "Man Loses Load While Woman Can't Dump!" |
| 1996 | Party Girl | |
| 1996 | Caroline in the City | Episode "Caroline and the Cat Dancer" |
| 1996 | Ellen | Episode "Harold and Ellen" |
| 1996-1997 | Everybody Loves Raymond | 5 episodes |
| 1997 | Men Behaving Badly | Episode "It's Good to Be Dead" |
| 1997 | Chicago Sons | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Over the Top | 10 episodes |
| 1997-1999 | Veronica's Closet | 4 episodes |
| 1998 | House Rules | Episode "Pilot" |
| 1998 | That's Life | Episode "The First One" |
| 1998 | Encore! Encore! | Episode "The French Connection" |
| 1998-2001 | Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place | 22 episodes |
| 1999 | Jesse | 2 episodes |
| 1999-2000 | Stark Raving Mad | 2 episodes |
| 2000 | The Weber Show | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | What About Joan | 4 episodes |
| 2001 | Inside Schwartz | Episode "Event Night" |
| 2001 | Off Centre | Episode "A Stroke of Genius" |
| 2001 | According to Jim | Episode "Cheryl's Old Flame" |
| 2003 | The 5 Coolest Things | Documentary miniseries |
| 2007 | Greek | Episode "Liquid Courage" |
| 2007 | Californication | Episode "Fear and Loathing at the Fundraiser" |
| 2010 | Hot in Cleveland | Episode "Pilot" |
| 2012-2013 | Guys with Kids | 5 episodes |
| 2012-2017 | Baby Daddy | 97 episodes (director); 35 episodes (executive producer) |
| 2014 | Mystery Girls | 4 episodes |
| 2015 | Mr. Robinson | Episode "Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog" |
| 2017 | One Day at a Time | Episode "Sex Talk" |

#### Acting roles

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1970 | The Young Lovers | Student | Episode "A Simple Thing Called Justice" |
| 1970-1974 | Room 222 | Mickey Kaufman | 3 episodes |
| 1971 | Dan August | Ron | Episode "Death Chain" |
| 1971 | The Partridge Family | Marc | Episode "To Play or Not to Play?" |
| 1971 | Make Room for Granddaddy | Peter | Episode "The Greatest Ear in the Business" |
| 1971 | The Funny Side | Teenage Husband | 6 episodes |
| 1973 | Love, American Style | Bob | Segment "Love and the Mind Reader" |
| 1975 | Happy Days | Dooley | Episode "Crusin' " |
| 1975 | Baretta | Phil | Episode "The Coppelli Oath" |
| 1975 | Barney Miller | Detective Paul Gardeno | Episode "Hair" |
| 1975 | The Rookies | Gene/Maury | 2 episodes |
| 1976 | The Krofft Supershow | Kaptain Kool | |
| 1976-1977 | Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman | Clete Meizenheimer | 39 episodes |
| 1977 | The Brady Bunch Variety Hour | Kaptain Kool | Episode "#1.1" |
| 1978 | What Really Happened to the Class of '65? | Nick Romansky | Episode "Class Clown" |
| 1978 | The Bay City Roller Show | Kaptain Kool | Episode "#1.1" |
| 1979-1983 | The Love Boat | Joey/ Bill Burgess | 5 episodes/S6 E7 "Too Many Dads" (1982) |
| 1979-1984 | One Day at a Time | Max Horvath | 49 episodes |
| 1981 | Aloha Paradise | Josh | Episode "Best of Friends/Success/Nine Karats" |
| 1982 | Darkroom | Barry | Episode "Who's There?" |
| 1982 | Insight | J. Walter | Episode "For Love or Money" |
| 1983-1984 | Fantasy Island | Joe Manning/Dr. Russ Nicholas | 2 episodes |
| 1985 | The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible | | Episode "Joseph and His Brothers" |
| 1985 | Crazy Like a Fox | Andy Farr | Episode "Is There a Fox in the House?" |
| 1985-1986 | Foley Square | Peter Newman | 14 episodes |
| 1987 | Murder, She Wrote | Arnie Wakeman | Episode "When Thieves Fall Out" |
| 1987 | Pound Puppies | Various Characters (voice role) | 4 episodes |
| 1987-1988 | The Smurfs | Additional Voices | 2 episodes |
| 1988-1989 | Fantastic Max | Additional Voices | 3 episodes |
| 1989 | The Famous Teddy Z | Landon Tarmac | Episode "Bobby the Chimp" |
| 1992 | Fish Police | | Episode "The Two Gils" |
| 1993 | L.A. Law | Mitchell Schein | Episode "Come Rain or Schein" |
| 1994-1999 | Mad About You | Mr. Shapiro | Episode "Two Tickets to Paradise" |
| 1995 | Double Rush | Angus Black" | Episode "Snowings and Goings" |
| 2012-2017 | Baby Daddy | Director | Episode "Over My Dead Bonnie" |