Abraham Benrubi

Last updated
Abraham Benrubi
Abraham Benrubi at NASA Social.jpg
Benrubi at a NASA Social to preview the landing of the Curiosity rover in 2012
Born
Abraham Rubin Hercules Benrubi

(1969-10-04) October 4, 1969 (age 55)
Other namesAbraham Ben Rubi, Abe Benrubi
Occupation(s) Actor, voice actor
Years active1990–present

Abraham Rubin Hercules Benrubi (born October 4, 1969) is an American actor. He is known for his appearances as Jerry Markovic on the long-running medical television drama ER , for his first role as Larry Kubiac on the series Parker Lewis Can't Lose , Dennis in Without a Paddle , and for his voice acting on the Adult Swim claymation series Robot Chicken as well as numerous video games including many in the World of Warcraft series.

Contents

Early life and education

Benrubi was born on October 4, 1969, in Indianapolis, Indiana, the eldest son of Patricia and Asher Benrubi, known professionally as Adam Smasher or "The Smash", who was the lead singer of Roadmaster and a radio personality in St. Louis. [1] [2] His paternal grandfather was from a Greek-Jewish family. His paternal grandmother, who was born to a Greek Orthodox Christian family, helped shelter Jews in Greece during World War II and later converted to Judaism. [3] [4] Benrubi graduated from Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis.

Career

Benrubi's early appearances included roles in the shows Growing Pains , Married... with Children and Blossom . His first major role was on the show Wings , as Roy "R.J." Biggins, Jr., Roy's gay son. He would appear as R.J. twice: once during the show's second season, and again during the seventh season, shortly after he began working on NBC's ER .

Benrubi portrayed a young Dan Conner, the character portrayed by John Goodman, in a flashback episode of Roseanne . [5]

Between the first and second seasons of Parker Lewis Can't Lose , Benrubi and co-star Taj Johnson worked as roadies for No Doubt's first tour.[ dubious discuss ]

Benrubi appeared on ER from its first season, playing desk clerk Jerry Markovic. He was a regular cast member from 1994 to 1999; again from 2002 to 2006; and again from 2008 to 2009.

Benrubi starred as one of the main characters in ABC's show Men in Trees (2006 to 2008), playing bartender/millionaire Ben Tomasson. This was a role where he got noticeably more main dialog and depth than with his previous longtime characters on ER and Parker Lewis Can't Lose, where he played a more supporting role. Ben Tomasson was described as "the cuddliest TV character since Jorge Garcia's Hurley on Lost " by TV-critic David Bianculli. [6]

Following the cancellation of Men In Trees in early 2007, Benrubi returned to the cast of ER in late 2008 for the show's final season.

Benrubi starred in the short-lived ABC show, Happy Town (April to June 2010) where he portrayed the part of Big Dave Duncan. Almost immediately after ABC announced the series' cancellation, he appeared in a new show Memphis Beat , where he portrayed the part of police Sgt. Jody "JC" Lightfoot, a desk sergeant who is 1/16 Chickasaw by a distant relative, but chooses to embrace Native American culture all the same. [7]

In May 2011, it was announced that he would star in Glutton , a "3D psychological thriller" directed by David Arquette. Benrubi would have played Jethro, a 1,200-pound man, forced to save his sister's life. [8] Jethro's sister would have been portrayed by Patricia Arquette, while Kacey Barnfield would have also starred as his blind neighbor and only friend.

Benrubi is a member of Los Angeles' Sacred Fools Theater Company. [9]

Other work includes portraying Mose in the 2003 western Open Range , a role the actor won because he had been cut out of director Kevin Costner's previous film, The Postman . He frequently voices characters on Adult Swim's stop-motion animation show Robot Chicken (created by personal friend Seth Green), and has also contributed to a second show from Chicken's creators, Titan Maximum.

Filmography

Film

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
1990 Diving In Rick
1992 Crossing the Bridge Rinny
1993 The Program Bud-Lite Kaminski
1994 The Shadow Marine Guard
Wagons East Abe FergusonCredited as Abe Benrubi
1995 Magic Island Duckbone Direct-to-video
1996 Twister Bubba
1997Talking DessertShort film
1997 George of the Jungle Thor
U Turn Biker #1
Under OathGeoff Carmichael
1998Border to BorderGeddy Paretti
I Woke Up Early the Day I Died Bouncer
The Rugrats Movie SergeVoice; credited as Abe Benrubi [10]
1999 Out in Fifty Spike
2001War StoryEricShort film
The Man Who Wasn't There The Man at the Dance
2002 Zig Zag Hector
2004 Open Range Mose
Without a Paddle Dennis
2005 Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous Lou Steele
2006 Wristcutters: A Love Story Erik
Charlotte's Web UncleVoice [10]
National Lampoon's TV: The Movie Max Gottlieb
2009 Calvin Marshall Coach Dewey
2010Venus & VegasBruno
2012Shoot'erPunisherShort film
Deep Dark Canyon Michael Spencer
Ambush at Dark CanyonGarrett Kain
2013 Bounty Killer Jimbo
A Country Christmas Santa Claus
A Night in Old Mexico Big Roscoe Hammil
Chance at RomanceJackson
My Mother Is Not a FishWalterShort film
String TheoryPatsy GlenShort film
NoëlTimShort film
2014Ghost LightHarvey
#Stuck Bartender
Big Hero 6 GeneralVoice [10]
Ava & LalaMr. BearVoice
The BlackoutBilly
2015 Little Boy Teacup
2016 The Finest Hours George "Tiny" Myers
Jessica Darling's It ListMr. Pudel
The Belko Experiment Chet Valincourt
2017Heart, BabyTree
Olaf's Frozen Adventure Additional VoicesVoice
Short film
Like.Share.Follow. Detective Yarden
AileronTrevorShort film
2019 Bliss Abe
2020 The Call of the Wild Skookum Bench King
2022 Christmas Bloody Christmas Santa Claus
Strange World Lonnie RedshirtVoice [10]
2023 The Old Way Big Mike

Television

Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1990 Growing Pains Really Big KidEpisode: "Mike, the Teacher"
1990-1996 Wings Roy "R.J." Biggins Jr.2 episodes
1990-1993 Parker Lewis Can't Lose Larry Kubiac66 episodes
1991-1993 Married... with Children Jimmy/Baby2 episodes
1992 Blossom FrancisEpisode: "Whines and Misdemeanors"
Angel Street Pilot episode
Roseanne Teenage DanEpisode: "Halloween IV"
1993 Grace Under Fire MarkEpisode: "Grace Undergraduate"
1994-2009 ER Jerry Markovic137 episodes
1995Out ThereRoyTelevision film
1998 Sleepwalkers Vincent KonefkeMain role
Cold FeetMan on the BusTelevision film
Tempting Fate John BolladineTelevision film
1999 The X-Files Big Mike RaskinEpisode: "Arcadia"
A Touch of HopeDr. Neil BachmanTelevision film
2000 Dark Angel BreakEpisode: "Flushed"
2001-2002 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Olaf2 episodes
2002 Going to California HarveyEpisode: "Mixed Doubles"
2005 Unscripted HimselfEpisode 1 pilot
Criminal Minds Frank FieldingEpisode: "The Fox"
2005-2017 American Dad! Todd and EmployeeVoice, 2 episodes
2005-2018 Robot Chicken Darth Vader, Optimus Prime, Great Pumpkin, Ving Rhames, Fidel Castro, Dominic Toretto, Cyborg, Bowser, and other various characters27 episodes
Sometimes credited as Abe Benrubi
One episode uncredited
2006Pizza TimeBrunoTelevision film
Dr. Vegas Star Wars ThugEpisode 8: "Heal Thyself
2006-2008 Men in Trees Ben ThomassonMain role
2007 Robot Chicken: Star Wars Darth Vader Voice
2008 Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II Darth Vader and Owen Lars Voice
1%Citizen DaveUnaired pilot for an HBO series
2009 Titan Maximum Drill InstructorEpisode 6: "Dirty Lansbury"
2010 Happy Town Big Dave Duncan6 episodes
Memphis Beat Sgt. JC Lightfoot/Jody10 episodes
Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III Darth Vader and Owen Lars Voice
2011Team UnicornThe ProfessorEpisode: "Alien Beach Crashers"
2012 Community OrderlyEpisode: "Curriculum Unavailable"
Robot Chicken DC Comics Special Cyborg, Kilowog, Appa Ali Apsa, Solomon Grundy Voice
Bones Willis McCullumEpisode: "The Method in the Madness"
Pair of Kings Silver FoxEpisode: "Yeti, Set, Snow"
Star Wars Detours Additional VoicesVoice
Series unaired, hiatus
2012-2013 Brickleberry Mr. Cunaman, Meat-HammerVoice, 2 episodes
2013 Once Upon a Time ArloEpisode: "Tiny"
The Garcias Have LandedAdmiral LomaxTelevision film
Chance at RomanceJacksonTelevision film
2014-2015 Bosch Rodney Belk4 episodes
2014 Beware the Batman Street ThugVoice, episode: "Fall" [10]
The Bridge DEA Agent Joe McKenzie10 episodes
2016 TripTank ChiefVoice, episode: "Crime Steve Investigation" [10]
Outcast Caleb3 episodes
2017 APB Pete McCann11 episodes
Still the King LeslieEpisode: "Who's Your Daddy?"
2019 Chicago Fire Russ LaPointeEpisode: "The White Whale"
2020-22 It's Pony George BramleyVoice, recurring role [10]

Video games

Video games
YearTitleRoleNotes
2001Mystery Island IIVoice
Myth III: The Wolf Age Voice
2004 World of Warcraft Additional VoicesVoice
2005ERJerry MarkovicVoice
2012 Skylanders: Giants Additional VoicesVoice
2013 Skylanders: Swap Force Additional VoicesVoice
2014 Diablo III: Reaper of Souls UrzaelVoice [10]
Diablo III: Ultimate Evil EditionUrzaelVoice
World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor Additional Voices and Monster Vocal EffectsVoice
2015 Heroes of the Storm DiabloVoice
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void Additional VoicesVoice
2016 World of Warcraft: Legion Additional VoicesVoice
2018 World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth Additional VoicesVoice
2022 World of Warcraft: Dragonflight Voice
Credited as Abe Benrubi

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References

  1. "Abraham Benrubi Biography (1969–)". FilmReference.com. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  2. "Radio Legend "The Smash" Returning to the Airwaves". RiverBender.com. April 9, 2020. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
  3. Cohn, Robert A. (August 3, 2011). "Rachel Benrubi, 86; family hid Jews in Greece during WWII". St. Louis Jewish Light . Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  4. Kelly, Robert. (April 20, 2009). Those who aided Jews honored Many put their lives at stake to conceal Jews from Nazis during Holocaust. COMMMERATION. St. Louis Post-Dispatch . Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  5. Darus, Alex (2022-02-10). "Why Russ LaPointe From Chicago Fire Looks So Familiar". Looper. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
  6. "'Trees': Heche Branches Out. Alas, she's left out on a limb". New York Daily News . September 12, 2006. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
  7. Lloyd, Robert (June 22, 2010). "Television Review: 'Memphis Beat'" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  8. Snyder, Jeff (May 16, 2011). "Benrubi set to play 'Glutton'". Variety . Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  9. "Associate Members". Sacred Fools Theater Company. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Abraham Benrubi (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved October 22, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.