Benedict, Paul 1938–

PERSONAL

Born September 17, 1938, in Silver City, NM; son of Mitchell M. (a doctor) and Alma Marie (a journalist; maiden name, Loring) Benedict. Education: Suffolk University, A.B., 1960.

Addresses: Agent—The Gage Group, 14724 Ventura Blvd., Suite 505, Los Angeles, CA 91403.

Career: Actor and director. The Place (a theater company), cofounder; Trinity Square Repertory Company, Rhode Island, guest artist, 1986–87; Playmakers Repertory Company, Chapel Hill, NC, guest artist, 1994–95; acted in productions with Theatre Company of Boston and the American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge, MA and at Arena Stage, Washington, DC, Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati, OH, and Center Stage, Baltimore, MD. Worked as a janitor at the Charles Playhouse, Boston, MA, 1960. Military service: U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, 1956–62.

Member: Actors Equity Association, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Screen Actors Guild, Greater Los Angeles Zoological Association.

CREDITS

Stage Appearances:

(Stage debut) Chaplain, The Lady's Not for Burning, Image Theatre, Boston, MA, 1962.

Sailor Shawnee, Live Like Pigs, Actor's Playhouse, New York City, 1965.

Mother, The Infantry, Eight-first Street Theatre, New York City, 1966.

Reverend Dupas, Little Murders, Circle in the Square Theatre, New York City, 1969.

Interviewer, news seller, man, Wills, and a man, The Local Stigmatic, Actor's Playhouse, 1969.

Stiles, The White House Murder Case, Circle in the Square Theatre, 1970.

Dr. Jason Pepper, "Ravenswood" and Hugh Gumbs, "Dunelawn," Bad Habits, Astor Place Theatre, New York City, 1974.

Lieutenant Drew, The Unvarnished Truth, Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, 1985.

Ira Drew, It's Only a Play, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York City, 1986.

Ira Drew, It's Only a Play, James A. Doolittle Theatre, UCLA, 1992.

Scrooge, A Christmas Carol, Huntington Theatre Company, Boston, MA, 1992–93.

Arsenic and Old Lace, Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, CT, 1994–95.

Johann Dwornitschek, The Play's the Thing, Criterion Center Stage Right, New York City, 1995.

Desk clerk, Hughie, Circle in the Square Theatre, 1996.

Mayor Shinn, The Music Man, Neil Simon Theatre, New York City, 2000–2001.

The Unexpected Man, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, Wellfleet, MA, 2003.

Also appeared as Freddy, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge, MA; in Ah, Wilderness!, Huntington, Boston, MA; Light Up the Sky, Hartford Stage, Hartford, CT; Hughie, Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles.

Stage Director:

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Manhattan Theatre Club Stage I, New York City, 1987, then Westside Theatre/Upstairs, New York City.

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, 1988–89.

Prelude and Liebestod, One-Act Play Festival, Nat Horne Theatre, New York City, 1989.

The Kathy & Mo Show: Parallel Lives, Westside Arts Theatre/Downstairs, New York City, 1989.

Bad Habits, Manhattan Theatre Club Stage 1, New York City, 1990.

The Old Boy, 1991–92.

Any Given Day, Longacre Theatre, New York City, 1993.

Strictly Academic, Primary Stages, New York City, 2003.

Also directed Beyond Therapy and Geniuses, both Los Angeles Public Theatre; It's Only a Play, Artists and Directors Theatre; Crimes of the Heart, Trinity Square Playhouse, Rhode Island; Any Given Day, Longacre Theatre, New York City.

Film Appearances:

Wells Fargo Ferguson, The Double-Barreled Detective Story, Saloon, 1965.

Rutherford Melon, The Virgin President, New Line, 1968.

Zen Buddhist, Cold Turkey, Tandem Productions, 1969.

Ben Lockston, Taking Off, Universal, 1970.

Chestnut man, They Might Be Giants, Universal, 1971.

Shots O'Toole, The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (also known as The Gang That Couldn't Shoot), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1971.

Dr. Beineke, Up the Sandbox, National General, 1972.

Reverend Lindquist, Jeremiah Johnson, Warner Bros., 1972.

Tramp, Deadhead Miles, 1972.

Plunkett, The Front Page, Universal, 1974.

Brownlee, Mandingo, Paramount, 1975.

Orren Brooks, Smile, United Artists, 1975.

Mark Morgenweiss, The Goodbye Girl (also known as Neil Simon's "The Goodbye Girl"), Warner Bros., 1977.

Billy's father, Billy in the Lowlands, FIF, 1979.

Cosmo, Desperate Moves (also known as A Desperate Case, Rollerboy, Save the Last Dance for Me, Steigler and Steigler, Stiegler: A Desperate Case, and Stiegler: A Serious Case), 1981.

Butler, The Man with Two Brains, Warner Bros., 1983.

Tucker "Smitty" Brown, This Is Spinal Tap, Embassy, 1984.

(Uncredited) Voice of Dr. Zook, The Lonely Guy, 1984.

Warden Eddie Dwyer, The Chair (also known as Hot Seat), Imperial Entertainment, 1988.

Finance teacher, Cocktail, Buena Vista, 1988.

Fairchild, Arthur 2: On the Rocks, Warner Bros., 1988.

Dr. Plotner, Sibling Rivalry, Columbia, 1990.

Arthur Fleeber, The Freshman, TriStar, 1990.

Judge Womack, The Addams Family, Paramount, 1991.

Mickey, Guns and Lipstick, 1995.

Not Guffman (Mr. Roy Loomis), Waiting for Guffman, Sony Pictures Classics, 1996.

(Uncredited) Walter Krasna, The Devil's Advocate (also known as Devil's Advocate and Im auftrag des teufels), 1997.

Who Was That Man, 1998.

Milo, A Fish in a Bathtub, 1998.

Professor Brainiac, Isn't She Great (also known as Ist sie nicht groBartig?), Universal, 2000.

Martin Berg, A Mighty Wind, Warner Bros., 2003.

Night shift guard, After the Sunset, New Line Cinema, 2004.

Chief Rod Rocks, A Second Wind, 2006.

Television Appearances; Series:

(Television debut) The mad painter, Sesame Street (also known as Les Amis de Sesame, Canadian Sesame Street, Open Sesame, Sesame Park, and The New Sesame Street), PBS, 1969–74.

Harry Bentley, The Jeffersons, CBS, 1974–81, 1983–85.

Mr. Pratt, The Guiding Light (also known as Guiding Light), CBS, 1999.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

Arbuthnot, The Blue and the Gray, CBS, 1982.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Lester Traube, Hustling, ABC, 1975.

Guido Fantoccini, The Electric Grandmother, 1981.

Mr. Magleby, Babycakes, CBS, 1989.

Dr. Loeb, Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman, HBO, 1993.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Himself, The Making of "The Goodbye Girl" (documentary), 1977.

Malcolm Maltved, Sex, Shock and Censorship in the '90s, Showtime, 1993.

Himself, Intimate Portrait: Stockard Channing (documentary), Lifetime, 2004.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Donald Kauldor, "Slay Ride," Kojak, 1974.

Harry Bentley, "The Jeffersons Move On Up," All in the Family (also known as Those Were the Days), 1975.

Minister, "All Psyched Out," Maude, 1975.

Calvin Klinger, Mama Malone, CBS, 1984.

Frederich Hoffman, "Sticks and Stones," Murder, She Wrote, CBS, 1985.

Okie, "Song of the Younger World," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1985.

"Top Billing," Tales from the Crypt (also known as HBO's "Tales from the Crypt"), HBO, 1991.

Mr. Ludlow, "Risk Around the Dollar," A Different World, NBC, 1991.

Mr. Nicolides, "The Vase Shop," Morton & Hayes, 1991.

Milt, "Tess Makes the Man," Pig Sty, UPN, 1995.

Lester, One Life to Live, ABC, 1996.

Mr. Elinoff, the cartoon editor at New Yorker, "The Cartoon," Seinfeld, NBC, 1998.

Jeremy, "Drew and the Life-Size Jim Thome Cut-Out," The Drew Carey Show, ABC, 2002.

Also appeared in Harry-O.

Television Work:

Director, "The Truth Hurts," The Jeffersons, CBS, 1985.