# Michael Lerner (actor)

Michael Charles Lerner (June 22, 1941 – April 8, 2023) was an American retired actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Jack Lipnick in Barton Fink (1991). Lerner also played Arnold Rothstein in Eight Men Out (1988), Phil Gillman in Amos & Andrew (1993), The Warden in No Escape (1994), Mel Horowitz on the television series Clueless, Jerry Miller in The Beautician and the Beast (1997), Mayor Ebert in Roland Emmerich's Godzilla (1998), Mr. Greenway in Elf (2003), and Senator Brickman in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).

## Early life

Michael Charles Lerner was born on June 22, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York City, of Romanian-Jewish descent, the second of three sons to Blanche and George Lerner; according to Lerner, his father "liked to think he was an antiques dealer, but in all actuality he was a junk dealer." He was raised in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and in Solon, Ohio. His younger brother Ken, nephew Sam, and niece Jenny are also actors. His older brother, Arnold, died in 2004.

## Career

Lerner made his first television appearance at the age of 13, as a "quiz kid" on a television program hosted by a local sportscaster. He played Willy Loman in a production of Death of a Salesman at Brooklyn College, where Joel Zwick was a classmate. The experience convinced him that he wanted to be an actor, rather than an English professor. He also appeared as Sir Toby Belch in a production of Twelfth Night directed by David Mamet in Greenwich Village; William H. Macy was also in that production. After graduating from Brooklyn College, where he studied acting, he received a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a master's degree in English drama. Although his then-wife still thought he should become an English professor, Lerner still wanted to be an actor; he received a Fulbright Scholarship to study theater in London for two years, at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. While there, he lived in a flat with Yoko Ono and John Lennon. In 1968, he appeared in Ono's short experimental film Smile, among other projects. "She made a movie comprised of bare asses walking on a treadmill", he once said. "I’m in it and so is Paul McCartney. Plus I’m doing narration about censorship and all that crap."
In 1968, Lerner returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and joined the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.). At the age of 24 he appeared as "Hieronymous the Miser" in a KPFA radio production of Michel de Ghelderode's Breugelesque play, Red Magic.
Lerner moved to Los Angeles in 1969, where he appeared in a production of Little Murders, a play by Jules Feiffer that was later adapted into a film by Alan Arkin. He also began making guest appearances in television shows such as The Brady Bunch, The Odd Couple, M*A*S*H, Banacek and The Rockford Files. In 1974, he appeared in the teleplay The Missiles of October, playing Pierre Salinger.
In 1970, Lerner made his film debut in Alex in Wonderland; director Paul Mazursky had seen his production of Little Murders and enjoyed his performance. He then went on to appear in supporting roles in various Hollywood movies such as The Candidate, St. Ives and the 1981 remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice. In 1991, after co-starring in Harlem Nights, Lerner played film producer Jack Lipnick in Barton Fink, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He based the character in part on legendary film mogul Louis B. Mayer; according to his brother Ken, he was working on a screenplay about Mayer when he died.
From 1996 to 1997, Lerner played Mel Horowitz on the television series Clueless. In 1997, he would play Joy Miller's father Jerry in The Beautician and the Beast. Lerner's later projects include the Christmas comedy Elf (2003) and Poster Boy (2004), as well as television programs such as Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Entourage.
In 2010, he appeared in the West End production of Up for Grabs with Madonna. He also appeared on BBC Radio Four in 2008 as a member of the cast of David Quantick's Radio Four's series One. He portrayed Senator Brickman in the Marvel Comics/Twentieth Century Fox film, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). In 2013, Lerner appeared in a Season 4 episode of Glee as Sidney Greene, an investor in the revival of Broadway musical Funny Girl. His character is on the panel of judges, watching the Rachel Berry character audition for the lead role. He reprised his role as Sidney in Season 5 in several New York-based episodes of the series, as Funny Girl opens on Broadway.

## Personal life

In addition to his acting career, Lerner was a collector of rare books, an aficionado of Cuban cigars, and—by his own account—a very good poker player. He was missing the tip of one index finger, due to an injury suffered while cutting a tongue sandwich while working at a deli in New York City.

## Death

Lerner died of complications from brain seizures at a hospital in Burbank, California, on April 8, 2023, at the age of 81.

## Selected filmography
### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1968 | Smile | | Short experimental film directed by Yoko Ono |
| 1970 | Alex in Wonderland | Leo | |
| 1971 | The Ski Bum | Rod | |
| 1972 | The Candidate | Paul Corliss | |
| 1974 | Busting | Marvin Royce | |
| 1974 | Newman's Law | Frank Acker | |
| 1974 | Hangup | Fred Richards | |
| 1976 | St. Ives | Myron Green | |
| 1977 | The Other Side of Midnight | Barbet | |
| 1977 | Outlaw Blues | Hatch | |
| 1979 | Goldengirl | Sternberg | |
| 1980 | The Baltimore Bullet | Paulie | |
| 1980 | Coast to Coast | Dr. Frederick Froll | |
| 1980 | Borderline | Henry Lydell | |
| 1981 | The Postman Always Rings Twice | Mr. Katz | |
| 1981 | Threshold | Henry de Vici | |
| 1982 | National Lampoon's Class Reunion | Dr. Robert Young | |
| 1983 | Strange Invaders | Willie Collings | |
| 1985 | Movers & Shakers | Arnie | |
| 1987 | Anguish | John Pressman | |
| 1988 | Vibes | Burt Wilder | |
| 1988 | Eight Men Out | Arnold Rothstein | |
| 1989 | Harlem Nights | Bugsy Calhoune | |
| 1990 | Maniac Cop 2 | Deputy Commissioner Edward Doyle | |
| 1990 | Any Man's Death | Herb Denner |
| 1991 | Omen IV: The Awakening | Earl Knight | |
| 1991 | Barton Fink | Jack Lipnick | Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 1992 | Newsies | Weasel | |
| 1992 | The Comrades of Summer | George | |
| 1993 | Amos & Andrew | Phil Gillman | |
| 1994 | Blank Check | Biderman | |
| 1994 | Radioland Murders | Lieutenant Cross | |
| 1994 | The Road to Wellville | Goodloe Bender | |
| 1994 | No Escape | The Warden | |
| 1995 | No Way Back | Frank Serlano | |
| 1995 | A Pyromaniac's Love Story | Perry | |
| 1995 | Girl in the Cadillac | Pal | |
| 1997 | The Beautician and the Beast | Jerry Miller | |
| 1997 | For Richer or Poorer | Phillip Kleinman | |
| 1998 | Godzilla | Mayor Ebert | |
| 1998 | Safe Men | Big Fat Bernie Gayle | |
| 1998 | Celebrity | Dr. Lupus | |
| 1998 | Tale of the Mummy | Professor Marcus | |
| 1998 | Desperation Boulevard | Manny Green | |
| 1999 | The Mod Squad | Howard | |
| 1999 | My Favorite Martian | Mr. Channing | |
| 2001 | Mockingbird Don't Sing | Dr. Stan York | |
| 2002 | 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure | Producer | Voice |
| 2003 | Elf | Mr. Greenway | |
| 2004 | The Calcium Kid | Artie Cohen | |
| 2004 | Larceny | Pete | |
| 2004 | Poster Boy | Jack Kray | |
| 2005 | When Do We Eat? | Ira Stuckman | |
| 2006 | Love and Other Disasters | Marvin Bernstein | |
| 2006 | Art School Confidential | Art Dealer | |
| 2006 | The Last Time | Leguzza | |
| 2007 | A Dennis the Menace Christmas | Mr. Souse | |
| 2007 | Slipstream | Big Mikey | |
| 2008 | Yonkers Joe | Stanley | |
| 2009 | A Serious Man | Solomon Schlutz | |
| 2009 | Life During Wartime | Harvey Wiener | |
| 2010 | Pete Smalls Is Dead | Leonard Proval | |
| 2010 | Wax On, F*ck Off | Cy Rosenthal | Short film |
| 2011 | Atlas Shrugged: Part I | Wesley Mouch | |
| 2012 | Mirror Mirror | Baron | |
| 2014 | X-Men: Days of Future Past | Senator Brickman | |
| 2015 | Ashby | Entwhistle | |
| 2019 | Frankenstein's Monster's Monster, Frankenstein | Bobby Fox | Final performance before death |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1963 | Dr. Kildare | Dr. Brown | 1 episode |
| 1969 | The Good Guys | Arthur | 2 episodes |
| 1969 | Three's a Crowd | Sid Bagby | Television film |
| 1969 | The Brady Bunch | Johnny | 1 episode |
| 1970 | The Young Lawyers | Anthony Maroni | 1 episode |
| 1970 | The Doris Day Show | Mr. Murray | 2 episodes |
| 1971 | That Girl | Charlie | 1 episode |
| 1971 | The D.A. | Mark Warren | 1 episode |
| 1971 | What's a Nice Girl Like You...? | Fats Detroit | Television film |
| 1972 | The Bold Ones: The New Doctors | Jack Watson | 1 episode |
| 1972 | Ironside | Adrian Father | 1 episode |
| 1972 | Night Gallery | Dr. Burgess | 1 episode |
| 1972 | The Delphi Bureau | Cy Turrell | 1 episode |
| 1972 | Banacek | Bartender | 1 episode |
| 1972 | The Streets of San Francisco | Lou Watkins | 1 episode |
| 1973 | Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice | Dr. Nasserman | 1 episode |
| 1973 | Firehouse | Ernie Bush | Television film |
| 1973 | The Bob Newhart Show | Mr. Carolla | 1 episode |
| 1973 | Emergency! | Martin Noble | 1 episode |
| 1973 | Love Story | Lou Graham | 1 episode |
| 1973 | The New Perry Mason | Derek Stocker | 1 episode |
| 1974 | M*A*S*H | Captain Bernie Futterman | 1 episode |
| 1974 | The Rockford Files | Dr. Ruben Steelman | 1 episode |
| 1974 | The Rockford Files | Arnold Love | 2 episodes |
| 1974 | Love, American Style | Karatz | 1 episode |
| 1974 | Chase | Cupid | 1 episode |
| 1974 | The Odd Couple | Sgt. Chomsky | 1 episode |
| 1974 | Reflections of Murder | Jerry Steele | Television film |
| 1974 | The Missiles of October | Pierre Salinger | Television film |
| 1975 | Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic | Dr. Marvin Kittredge | Television film |
| 1975 | The Dream Makers | Mike | Television film |
| 1975 | A Cry for Help | Philip Conover | Television film |
| 1975 | Starsky & Hutch | Fat Rolly | 2 episodes |
| 1975 | Lucas Tanner | Artie | 1 episode |
| 1975 | Rhoda | Ralph Bentley | 1 episode |
| 1976 | Jigsaw John | Arthur Devore | 1 episode |
| 1976 | Harry O | Wilt Kane | 1 episode |
| 1976 | Police Woman | Guidera | 1 episode |
| 1976 | The Rockford Files | Murray Rosner | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Ruby and Oswald | Jack Ruby | Television film |
| 1978 | Kojak | Dr. Samuel Fine | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Vegas | Nate Stephenson - pilot episode: 'High Roller' | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Wonder Woman | Ashton Ripley | 1 episode |
| 1979 | Hart to Hart | Poker Player | 1 episode |
| 1980 | Barnaby Jones | Albert Kruger |
| 1980 | This Year's Blonde | Jack L. Warner | Television film |
| 1982 | Hart to Hart | Art Radner | 1 episode |
| 1983 | Hill Street Blues | Rollie Simone | 4 episodes |
| 1983 | Blood Feud | Eddie Cheyfitz | Television film |
| 1983 | Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess | Harry Cohn | Television film |
| 1985 | Hollywood Beat | Pilot | Pilot episode |
| 1985 | MacGyver | Gantner | Pilot episode |
| 1985 | The A-Team | Jerry | 1 episode |
| 1987 | Amazing Stories | Mr. Marvin | 1 episode |
| 1987 | Hands of a Stranger | Capt. Cirrillo | Television film |
| 1987 | The King of Love | Nat Goldberg | Television film |
| 1988 | Great Performances | Oscar Hammerstein | 1 episode |
| 1988 | The Equalizer | Amar | 1 episode |
| 1991 | Omen IV: The Awakening | Earl Knight | Television film |
| 1992 | The Comrades of Summer | George | Television film |
| 1993 | Tales from the Crypt | Mr. Byrd | 1 episode |
| 1995 | Picture Windows | Maestro | 1 episode |
| 1995 | Courthouse | Judge Myron Winkleman | 11 episodes |
| 1996–97 | Clueless | Mel Horowitz | 18 episodes |
| 1998–99 | Godzilla: The Series | Mayor Ebert | Voice, 3 episodes |
| 2000 | Murder at the Cannes Film Festival | Morrie Borelli | Television film |
| 2001 | Third Watch | Seymour Morgenstern | 1 episode |
| 2003–06 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Morty Berger | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Kingdom Hospital | Sheldon Fleischer | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | Entourage | Joe Roberts | 1 episode |
| 2008 | Dirty Sexy Money | Martin | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Saving Grace | Rebbe Jory Quecksilber | 1 episode |
| 2010 | The Bannen Way | The Mensch | Web series; 16 episodes |
| 2012 | The Good Wife | Judge Dwight Sobel | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Suburgatory | Aaron Laynberg | 1 episode |
| 2013–14 | Glee | Sidney Greene | 5 episodes |
| 2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Darren Schlepping | 1 episode |
| 2015 | Childrens Hospital | Pop | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Maron | Ralph | 1 episode |