James Broderick


Actor

About

Birth Place
Charlestown, New York, USA
Born
March 07, 1927
Died
November 01, 1981
Cause of Death
Heart Attack

Biography

James Broderick was an actor with a great deal of range, equally at home in gritty dramas and heartwarming sitcoms. Originally enrolled at the University of New Hampshire as a pre-med student, Broderick was bitten by the acting bug after being cast in a production of George Bernard Shaw's "Arms And The Man." His performance was so unexpectedly good that the director introduced him to sta...

Biography

James Broderick was an actor with a great deal of range, equally at home in gritty dramas and heartwarming sitcoms. Originally enrolled at the University of New Hampshire as a pre-med student, Broderick was bitten by the acting bug after being cast in a production of George Bernard Shaw's "Arms And The Man." His performance was so unexpectedly good that the director introduced him to stage actor Arthur Kennedy, who helped him get a number of theatrical roles in New York City. Broderick's television career began in 1950, and he appeared in a number of variety programs throughout the decade. In 1959, he was cast as idealistic young police officer Ernie Brenner in the CBS drama "Brenner,"which ran for three seasons. As he aged, Broderick started getting picked for edgier material, including a role in counterculture classic "Alice's Restaurant" and the classic heist movie "Dog Day Afternoon." His most famous role came as the patriarch on 1976 sitcom "Family," which took a more nuanced view of the American family than the broad comedy that dominated the airwaves. "Family" lasted for four seasons and earned Broderick an Emmy nomination. He worked up until his death from cancer in 1982, but left behind an enduring legacy in the form of his son, actor Matthew Broderick.

Life Events

Videos

Movie Clip

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) --(Movie Clip) Attica! Bank robber Sonny (Al Pacino), now holding hostages, rallies the Brooklyn crowd, citing the infamous 1971 prison riot, after an obscene in-person confrontation with cop Moretti (Charles Durning), a famous scene from Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon, 1975.
Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The (1974) -- (Movie Clip) Taking Your Train Mr. Blue (Robert Shaw), Green (Martin Balsam), Grey (Hector Elizondo) and Brown (Earl Hindman) take the train in the dramatic opening of director Joseph Sargent's The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, 1974.
Alice's Restaurant -- (Movie Clip) Songs To Aging Children A bundled Joni Mitchell performs "Songs to Aging Children" at the snowy funeral for "Shelly," with Alice (Pat Quinn), Ray (James Broderick) and friends attending in Arthur Penn's Alice's Restaurant, 1969.
Alice's Restaurant -- (Movie Clip) Girdles Feel Funny Arlo (Guthrie) gets money for Ray (James Broderick) and Shelly (Matthew McClanathan) from club owner Ruth (Eulalie Noble), who then solicits Arlo, who splits in his microbus in Alice's Restaurant, 1969.
Alice's Restaurant -- (Movie Clip) Excepting Alice... Arlo (Guthrie) pulls out, Ray (James Broderick) says goodbye, and Alice (Pat Quinn) in her wedding dress is seen in Arthur Penn's famous closing shot by cinematographer Michael Nebbia, in Alice's Restaurant, 1969.
Alice's Restaurant -- (Movie Clip) Deconsecration Ray (James Broderick) and Alice (Pat Quinn) wait as the church they've bought is "deconsecrated," and pal Arlo (Guthrie) arrives, in Arthur Penn's Alice's Restaurant, 1969.

Family

Matthew Broderick
Son
Actor.

Bibliography