Romance and Cigarettes - New York City Movie Premiere - Arrivals
Clearview Chelsea West Cinema
Born: October 24, 1939
Of Italian/Syrian heritage, Pittsburgh native F. Murray Abraham attended the University of Texas, then studied acting under Uta_Hagen in New York. The peripatetic Abraham made his stage debut in a Los Angeles production of Ray_Bradbury's
+The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, and, shortly before reaching the age of
29, made his New York bow in +The Fantasticks. An archetypal example of
the "working actor," Abraham managed for more than ten years to make a
good living at his craft without ever truly achieving fame. Appearing on
television in everything from All in the Family to Kojak,
he was seen on several commercials, including a now-famous spot for
Fruit of the Loom underwear. His big-screen roles include 1975's The_Sunshine_Boys (a garage mechanic); 1976's All the President's Men (one of the arresting officers at the Watergate Hotel); 1976's The_Ritz (a gay bathhouse patron); and 1978's The_Big_Fix
(a fugitive '60s activist). Abraham's "overnight" stardom came about in
1984, when he was cast as the covetous Antonio Salieri in Amadeus,
and his brilliant, bravura performance won him an Oscar. Abraham
remained busy throughout the 1980s and '90s, appearing in such efforts
as The Name of the Rose (1986), in which he playing a 14th century monk
deliberately made up to look like a "living gargoyle," and the otherwise
awful Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), in an uncredited, albeit pivotal,
role of a prosecuting attorney. One of the most versatile actors in the
business, Abraham has nonetheless never quite escaped the long shadow
cast by his unforgettable portrayal of Salieri. Indeed, in Arnold_Schwarzenegger's genre spoof The_Last_Action_Hero,
Abraham was pinpointed as the mystery murderer because he looked just
like "the guy that killed Mozart." Onece again hamming it up in that
same year's National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1, Abraham freaquently
alternated big-budget Hollywood fare and more low-key, performance
driven dramas and comedies through the remainder of the decade. While
apprearances in such films as Mimic (1997) and Star Trek: Insurrection
(1998) kept Abraham a familiar face to a new generation of moviegoers,
roles in such small screen efforts as Dead Man's Walk (1996) and the
following year's The Color of Justice allowed him a venue to display his
true skills. In 1995 Abraham portrayed famed gangster Al Capone in not
one but two films; Dillinger and Capone and Baby Face Nelson. Heading
into the new millennium with roles in Finding Forrester and 13 Ghosts,
Abraham appeared alongside an impressive cast in The Bridge of San Luis
Rey. Later schlocking it up in the nature run amuck flicks Blood Monkey
and Shark Swarm, the longtime actor subsequently proved he was still as
versatile as ever while gravitating toward television with roles on such
popular shows as Bored to Death, Louie, and The Good Wife, as well as
the made-for-TV fantasy Beauty and the Beast.
