Michael Charles Lerner (June 22, 1941 – April 8, 2023) was an American 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), Bugsy Calhoune in Harlem Nights (1989), 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 (née Halpern) 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.
Lerner attended Lafayette High School, where he acted for the first time, portraying a donkey in a school play. In his teenage years, he worked at a delicatessen in Brighton Beach, owned by his older brother Arnold, which Lerner described as the main source of income by the family.
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 at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art for two years. While in London, he lived in a flat with Yoko Ono, before her marriage to John Lennon. In 1968, he appeared in Ono's short experimental film Smile, among other projects. "She made a movie 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."
Upon returning to the United States, Lerner worked at several delicatessen shops in New York City, regularly getting fired and losing a portion of one index finger in a work accident. In 1968, Lerner returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and joined the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.). He taught at San Francisco State University for a year. 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 1969, Lerner appeared on The Doris Day Show, season two episode nine entitled “Singles Only”. 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. In 1998, Lerner portrayed Dr. Lupus in Celebrity, later panning the movie as a "piece of shit" due to conflicts with director and co-star Woody Allen. By 1999, Lerner acknowledged that he was primarily seen as a character actor. Lerner's later projects include the Christmas comedy Elf (2003) and Poster Boy (2004), as well as television programs such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Entourage.
In 2002, 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. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, he was in a relationship with actress Diane Baker. Lerner stated that he was briefly married before receiving his Fulbright Scholarship, but that the marriage was not recorded as it was annulled shortly after.
Death Lerner died at a hospital in Burbank, California, on April 8, 2023, at the age of 81. His brother Ken attributed Lerner's cause of death to complications with brain seizures he experienced in November 2022.
Selected filmography
Films + Year Title Role Notes1968SmileShort experimental film directed by Yoko Ono 1970 Alex in Wonderland Leo 1971The Ski BumRod 1972 The Candidate Paul Corliss1974BustingMarvin Royce Newman's Law Frank AckerHangupFred Richards1976 St. Ives Myron Green 1977 The Other Side of Midnight BarbetOutlaw BluesHatch 1979 Goldengirl Sternberg 1980 The Baltimore Bullet Paulie Coast to Coast Dr. Frederick Froll Borderline Henry Lydell 1981 The Postman Always Rings Twice Mr. Katz Threshold Henry de Vici 1982 National Lampoon's Class Reunion Dr. Robert Young1983 Strange Invaders Willie Collings 1985 Movers & Shakers Arnie 1987 Anguish John Pressman 1988 Vibes Burt Wilder Eight Men Out Arnold Rothstein 1989 Harlem Nights Bugsy Calhoune 1990 Maniac Cop 2 Deputy Commissioner Edward Doyle 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 ActorNominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor 1992 Newsies Weasel The Comrades of Summer George 1993 Amos & Andrew Phil Gillman 1994 Blank Check Biderman Radioland Murders Lieutenant Cross The Road to Wellville Goodloe Bender No Escape The Warden1995 No Way Back Frank Serlano A Pyromaniac's Love Story PerryGirl in the CadillacPal 1997 The Beautician and the Beast Jerry Miller For Richer or Poorer Phillip Kleinman 1998 Godzilla Mayor Ebert Safe Men Big Fat Bernie Gayle Celebrity Dr. Lupus Tale of the Mummy Professor Marcus Desperation Boulevard Manny Green 1999 The Mod Squad Howard 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 LarcenyPete Poster Boy Jack Kray 2005 When Do We Eat? Ira Stuckman2006 Love and Other DisastersMarvin Bernstein Art School ConfidentialArt Dealer The Last Time Leguzza 2007 A Dennis the Menace Christmas Mr. Souse SlipstreamBig Mikey2008 Yonkers Joe Stanley 2009 A Serious Man Solomon Schlutz Life During Wartime Harvey Wiener 2010 Pete Smalls Is Dead Leonard Proval 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 Entwhistle2019 Frankenstein's Monster's Monster, Frankenstein Bobby Fox Final performance before death
Television + Year Title Role Notes1963Dr. KildareDr. Brown1 episode1969The Good GuysArthur2 episodesThree's a CrowdSid BagbyTV movieThe Brady BunchJohnny1 episode1970The Young LawyersAnthony MaroniThe Doris Day ShowMr. Murray2 episodes1971That GirlCharlie1 episodeThe D.A.Mark WarrenWhat's a Nice Girl Like You...?Fats DetroitTV movie1972The Bold Ones: The New DoctorsJack Watson1 episodeIronsideAdrian FatherNight GalleryDr. BurgessThe Delphi BureauCy TurrellBanacekBartenderThe Streets of San FranciscoLou Watkins1973Bob & Carol & Ted & AliceDr. NassermanFirehouseErnie BushTV movieThe Bob Newhart ShowMr. Carolla1 episodeEmergency!Martin NobleLove StoryLou GrahamThe New Perry MasonDerek Stocker 1974 M*A*S*H Captain Bernie Futterman The Rockford FilesDr. Ruben SteelmanArnold Love 2 episodesLove, American StyleKaratz1 episodeChaseCupidThe Odd CoupleSgt. ChomskyReflections of MurderJerry SteeleTV movieThe Missiles of OctoberPierre Salinger 1975 Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic Dr. Marvin Kittredge The Dream Makers MikeA Cry for HelpPhilip ConoverStarsky & HutchFat Rolly2 episodesLucas TannerArtie1 episodeRhodaRalph Bentley 1976 Jigsaw JohnArthur DevoreHarry OWilt KanePolice WomanGuideraThe Rockford FilesMurray Rosner 1978 Ruby and Oswald Jack RubyTV movieKojakDr. Samuel Fine1 episodeVegasNate Stephenson - pilot episode: 'High Roller'Wonder WomanAshton Ripley1979 Hart to Hart Poker Player 1980 Barnaby JonesAlbert KrugerThis Year's BlondeJack L. Warner TV movie1982 Hart to Hart Art Radner1 episode 1983 Hill Street Blues Rollie Simone 4 episodesBlood FeudEddie CheyfitzTV movie Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess Harry Cohn 1985 Hollywood BeatPilot Pilot episodeMacGyverGantnerThe A-TeamJerry 1 episode1987Amazing StoriesMr. MarvinHands of a StrangerCapt. CirrilloTV movieThe King of LoveNat Goldberg 1988 Great PerformancesOscar Hammerstein 1 episodeThe EqualizerAmar Episode: "No Place Like Home"1991 Omen IV: The Awakening Earl Knight TV movie1992 The Comrades of Summer George 1993Tales from the CryptMr. Byrd1 episode1995Picture WindowsMaestroCourthouseJudge Myron Winkleman11 episodes1996–1997CluelessMel Horowitz18 episodes1998–1999Godzilla: The SeriesMayor EbertVoice, 3 episodes2000Murder at the Cannes Film FestivalMorrie BorelliTV movie2001Third WatchSeymour Morgenstern1 episode2003–2006Law & Order: Special Victims UnitMorty Berger2 episodes2004Kingdom HospitalSheldon Fleischer3 episodes2007EntourageJoe Roberts1 episode2008Dirty Sexy MoneyMartin2009Saving GraceRebbe Jory Quecksilber2010The Bannen WayThe MenschWeb series; 16 episodes2012The Good WifeJudge Dwight Sobel1 episodeSuburgatoryAaron Laynberg2013–2014GleeSidney Greene5 episodes 2015 Comedy Bang! Bang! Darren Schlepping 1 episodeChildrens HospitalPop 2016 Maron Ralph
References
External links
Michael Lerner at Find a Grave