Harry Groener

**Harry Groener** is a German-born American actor and dancer, perhaps best known for playing Mayor Wilkins in *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* (seasons 3, 4 and 7).

## Early life

Groener was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany, to an opera singer mother and a father who worked as a concert pianist, office clerk, and composer. He emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of two. As a teenager, Groener was apprenticed at the San Francisco Ballet; he went on to study drama at the University of Washington.

## Career

Groener's reputation in New York City rests almost entirely on his work in musical theater, although the bulk of his roles outside New York have been in classical drama or contemporary plays like *Eastern Standard*. His Broadway credits include *Is there life after high school?*, Will Parker in *Oklahoma!* (Tony Award nomination, Theatre World Award), Munkustrap in *Cats* (Tony nomination), Georges/George in *Sunday in the Park with George*, and Bobby Child in *Crazy for You* (Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations). In 1999 he performed off-Broadway with Twiggy at the Lucille Lortel Theater in *If Love Were All*, a musical revue based on the friendship of Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence. He has performed in regional theatres across the country, including the San Diego Old Globe Theatre (where he is an associate artist), Mark Taper Forum, Westwood Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse, Long Wharf Theater, A.C.T., and the Williamstown Theater Festival.

Groener has performed regularly on TV, including guest appearances on *Star Trek: The Next Generation* (1990), *Star Trek: Voyager* (1996), *Star Trek: Enterprise* (2005) and several dozen other series; he was also a series regular on the sitcom *Dear John*. In 1998 and 1999, Groener portrayed Richard Wilkins, the evil mayor of Sunnydale on the third season of cult TV series *Buffy the Vampire Slayer*. Groener reprised his role in cameo appearances in Buffy's 4th and 7th seasons. From 2004 to 2006 he appeared as the chef Gunther on the TV series *Las Vegas*. Notable film work includes *Road to Perdition* and *About Schmidt*. He also appeared in two episodes of The West Wing as the Secretary of Agriculture and the Bones episode "The Woman at the Airport" as a plastic surgeon, Henry Atlas. In 2009, Groener appeared in the second season episode of Breaking Bad, "Bit by a Dead Bee", as protagonist Walter White's psychiatrist. He also portrayed the role of Clint, Ted's stepdad, in How I Met Your Mother.

He was a regular vocalist for the Varèse Sarabande label, performing on such recordings as Shakespeare on Broadway, Cole Porter: A Musical Toast, and various installments of the Unsung Broadway and Lost in Boston series. He played King Arthur in Monty Python's Spamalot during 2006. In 2010, he appeared as the title role in the Antaeus Company's production of King Lear. He won the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for this performance. In 2012 he starred in the debut of Christopher Hampton's play Appomattox at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, playing a dual role as both U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in 1865 and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965.

## Awards and nominations

**Ovation Awards**

* 2010: Won the award for Featured Actor in a Play for the role of Richard in the Geffen Playhouse production of *Equivocation*
* 2018: Won the award for Lead Actor in a Play for the role of Big Daddy in the Antaeus Theatre Company production of *Cat on a Hot Tin Roof*

**Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards**

* 2010: Won the award for Lead Performance for the title role in the Antaeus Theatre Company production of *King Lear*
* 2018: Won the award for Featured Performance for the role of Big Daddy in the Antaeus Theatre Company production of *Cat on a Hot Tin Roof*

**Joseph Jefferson Award**

* 2011: Won the Jeff Award for Actor in a Principal Role - Play for *The Madness of George III* at Chicago Shakespeare Theater

## Trivia

* Three-time Tony Award nominee for "Oklahoma!", "Cats", and "Crazy for You".
* Was apprenticed at the San Francisco City Ballet.
* Was nominated for three Tony Awards: as Best Actor (Featured Role - Musical) in 1980 for a revival of "Oklahoma!", in 1983 for "Cats", and as Best Actor (Musical), in 1992 for "Crazy for You".
* Trained at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts.
* Emigrated from Germany to the USA in 1953.
* He was awarded the 2011 Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role in a Play for "The Madness of George III" at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in Chicago, Illinois.
* He was nominated for a 2012 Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play for "The March" at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois.
* Chicago, IL: Title role in The Madness of George III at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. [May 2011]
* Appearing as "King Arthur" on Broadway in "Spamalot". [May 2006]
* Playing the title role in the Antaeus Company's "King Lear" at Deaf West Theater, North Hollywood, CA. [July 2010]
* Appearing in Nora Ephron's "Imaginary Friends" at the Globe Theatres in San Diego. [September 2002]
* He was nominated for a 2014 Joseph Jefferson Equity Award for Principal Actor in a Play for "Cyrano De Bergerac" at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in Chicago, Illinois.
* He was awarded the 1986 Drama Logue Award for Outstanding Performance for "Ghetto" at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
* He was an apprentice dancer at the San Francisco ballet, and studied drama at the University of Washington.
* On stage, he won a Tony award for his role as Will Parker in Oklahoma!, and another playing Munkustrap in Cats.
* He came from a classical music family in which his mother was an opera singer and his father was a classical pianist and composer.
* He was King Arthur in Eric Idle's hit Broadway play, Spamalot.