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Basil Hoffman

Basil Hoffman

Known For Acting
Birthday Jan 18, 1938
Died Sep 17, 2021 (83)
Birthplace Houston, Texas, USA
Popularity 1 (history)
Updated Aug 05, 2024
Entry Date Apr 13, 2024
Links TMDb IMDb
Biography

Basil Harry Hoffman (January 18, 1938 — September 17, 2021) was an American actor with a film and television career spanning five decades, mostly in supporting roles. He starred in films with many award-winning directors, including Alan Pakula and Robert Redford. He has also authored two books about ... acting, including Acting and How to Be Good at It. Hoffman was born in Houston, Texas in January 1938, the son of Beulah (née Novoselsky) and David Hoffman, an antique dealer. He graduated from Tulane University; and he spent two years at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, receiving a scholarship for the second, graduating year. His thirteen years of work in New York included many plays, some roles in episodic television, a recurring character on One Life to Live on ABC, hundreds of commercials and a film role in Lady Liberty with Sophia Loren, directed by Mario Monicelli. He made his first trip to Los Angeles in 1974. In that season, he filmed a theatrical feature, At Long Last Love, for Peter Bogdanovich. In the years that followed he appeared in two television movies, television episodes of Kung Fu, The Rockford Files, Sanford and Son (2 roles), Police Woman, Columbo, Kojak, M*A*S*H (2 roles), Barney Miller and several TV commercials. He had recurring roles as the fingerprint technician on Ellery Queen and as Principal Dingleman on Square Pegs. Although most of his work was in film and television, he made a few stage appearances, most notably in Sand Mountain, by Romulus Linney, for which he won a Drama-Logue Award, the first staged reading of Martin E. Brooks’ Joe and Flo at the Actors Studio, and the world premiere of William Blinn's Walking Peoria. He was best known for his work with distinguished film directors, including Peter Bogdanovich, Mario Monicelli, Richard Benjamin, Carl Reiner (twice), Peter Medak (six times) and Alan J. Pakula (twice); Academy Award winners Joel and Ethan Coen, Paolo Sorrentino, Michel Hazanavicius, Steven Spielberg, Delbert Mann, Blake Edwards, Stanley Donen, Sydney Pollack, Ron Howard and Robert Redford (twice as director); and others. His films include: All the President's Men, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, My Favorite Year, The Box, The Electric Horseman, Night Shift, Lucky Lady, Switch, The Milagro Beanfield War, Rio, I Love You, The Pineville Heist, and the Academy Award-winning Best Pictures Ordinary People and The Artist, among many others. A long-time private acting teacher and coach, he was also a frequent guest lecturer and teacher at prestigious professional and academic institutions, including the American Film Institute, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Emerson College, the University of Southern California, Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and the Academie Libanaise des Beaux Arts in Beirut, Lebanon. In 2008, he returned to Beirut as a U.S. State Department Cultural Envoy to Lebanon to teach acting and directing at the University of Balamand's Academie Libanaise des Beaux Arts, Lebanese University, Notre Dame University and St. Joseph University's Institut D'Etude Sceniques Audiovisuelles et Cinematographiques. ... Source: Article "Basil Hoffman" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Known For

Filmography

Lucky Louie

Lucky Louie

2023

as Wilbert Moser

Discovering Ella

Discovering Ella

2023

as Bob Stephens

Third Act

Third Act

2022

as Uncle Paul

Mr. Roberts

Mr. Roberts

2019

as Mr. Roberts

The Last Word

The Last Word

2017

as Christopher Georrge

The Pineville Heist

The Pineville Heist

2016

as Principal Parker

Hail, Caesar!

Hail, Caesar!

2016

as Stu Schwartz (Accounting)

The French American

The French American

2015

as Monsieur Tissot

Throwdown

Throwdown

2014

as Judge Eller

3 Geezers!

3 Geezers!

2013

as Victor

Surreal Estate

Surreal Estate

2011

as Mr. Black

The Artist

The Artist

2011

as Auctioneer

When Life Gives You Lemons

When Life Gives You Lemons

2010

as Calvin Adams

The Box

The Box

2009

as Don Poates

Down with Love

Down with Love

2003

as C. W. (uncredited)

Hefner: Unauthorized

Hefner: Unauthorized

1999

as Lawyer

The Elvira Show

The Elvira Show

1993

as Dr. Marvin Zislis

The Ice Runner

The Ice Runner

1992

as J.C. Kruck

Mimi & Me

Mimi & Me

1991

as Professor Sauer

Switch

Switch

1991

as Higgins

Lambada

Lambada

1990

as Superintendent Leland

Communion

Communion

1989

as Dr. Friedman

The Milagro Beanfield War

The Milagro Beanfield War

1988

as In the Governor's Office

The Ratings Game

The Ratings Game

1984

as Frank Friedlander

All of Me

All of Me

1984

as Court Clerk

Night Shift

Night Shift

1982

as Drollhauser

My Favorite Year

My Favorite Year

1982

as Herb Lee

Games Mother Never Taught You

Games Mother Never Taught You

1982

as Dwayne Hilson

Ordinary People

Ordinary People

1980

as Sloan

Scout's Honor

Scout's Honor

1980

as Alexander

The Electric Horseman

The Electric Horseman

1979

as Toland

Jennifer: A Woman’s Story

Jennifer: A Woman’s Story

1979

as Neil Turner

Love at First Bite

Love at First Bite

1979

as Hotel Manager (uncredited)

Love’s Dark Ride

Love’s Dark Ride

1978

as Dr. Kanlan

Comes a Horseman

Comes a Horseman

1978

as George Bascomb

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

1977

as Longly (uncredited)

All the President's Men

All the President's Men

1976

as Assistant Metro Editor

Ellery Queen: Too Many Suspects

Ellery Queen: Too Many Suspects

1975

as Fingerprint Expert

Cage Without a Key

Cage Without a Key

1975

as Judge

At Long Last Love

At Long Last Love

1975

as Movie Theatre Manager

The Great Ice Rip-Off

The Great Ice Rip-Off

1974

as Richards

No data available

No data available

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Organization Category Movie
Television Credits

The Twilight Zone

as Mr. Steward

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 27, 1985

M*A*S*H

as Major Pfiefer

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 17, 1972

The West Wing

as Congressman

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 22, 1999

Sledge Hammer!

as Sam Steinway

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 23, 1986

The Practice

as Tucker's Atty. Art Hardiman (uncredited)

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Mar 04, 1997

Night Court

as Duane Sedgwick

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 04, 1984

Kindred: The Embraced

as Charon the Coroner

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Apr 02, 1996

Seinfeld

as Wig Salesman

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jul 05, 1989

Kojak

as Charlie Winston

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 24, 1973

Hill Street Blues

as Ed Greenglass (archive footage) (uncredited)

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 15, 1981

The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Dr. Michaels

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 29, 1985

Barney Miller

as Allen Korbel

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 23, 1975

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction

as Gerald Stanley (segment "The Dresser")

Episodes: 1

First Aired: May 25, 1997

Ellery Queen

as Technical Print Man, Harry

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 11, 1975

Maggie

as Dr. Louis Milton

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 24, 1981

Columbo

as Jason Danziger

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 15, 1971

Sanford and Son

as Store Owner

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 14, 1972

Out of the Blue

as Herman Donaldson

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 09, 1979

Murder, She Wrote

as Milton Overguard

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 30, 1984

Falcon Crest

as Reverend Mustafa

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Dec 04, 1981

Ellery Queen

as Fingerprint Expert

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 11, 1975

The Waltons

as Prof Ranney

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 14, 1972

No data available

Popularity Metrics

Popularity History


Year Month Avg Max Min
2024 6 4 10 2
2024 7 9 15 2
2024 8 7 27 2
2024 9 4 9 1
2024 10 3 5 1
2024 11 2 3 1
2024 12 2 4 1
2025 1 6 16 2
2025 2 2 5 1
2025 3 1 2 1
2025 5 1 2 1
2025 6 1 1 1
2025 7 0 0 0
2025 8 2 10 0
2025 9 1 1 0
2025 10 1 2 1

Trending Rank


Year Month Avg Rank Max Rank
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