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Josef Sommer | |
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| Born | Maximilian Josef Sommer June 26, 1934 Greifswald, Germany |
| Education | Carnegie Mellon University (BFA) |
| Years active | 1971—2010 |
| Children | 1 |
Maximilian Josef Sommer (born June 26, 1934) is a German-American retired stage, television, and film actor.
He was born in Greifswald, Germany, and raised in North Carolina, the son of Elisabeth and Clemens Sommer, a professor of Art History at the University of North Carolina. [1] He studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. [2] He has a daughter, Maria.[ citation needed ]
Sommer made his acting debut at the age of nine in a North Carolina production of Watch on the Rhine. He made his film debut in Dirty Harry (1971) and appeared in films such as The Stepford Wives (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Still of the Night (1982), Silkwood (1983), Peter Weir's thriller Witness (1985) opposite Harrison Ford (where he played a dirty cop), Target (1985), Malice (1993), Patch Adams (1998), and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). He appeared as President Gerald Ford opposite Gena Rowlands in the TV movie The Betty Ford Story (1987). In 1992 he played his most impactful role as the eponymous Gerald Ducksworth in The Mighty Ducks . A kind-hearted benefactor of inner city youth hockey, he not only sends one of his best lawyers to coach the team but also donates the necessary funds for rink time, safe equipment and proper uniforms. Indeed, Gerald Ducksworth is the true founder of both the fictional District 5 Ducks and NHL Anaheim Ducks teams.
In 1974, he appeared in the role of Roy Mills on The Guiding Light , and played George Barton in the 1983 TV version of Agatha Christie's Sparkling Cyanide . He had starring roles in two short-lived series: Hothouse (1988) and Under Cover (1991). As of 2007, he had appeared in almost 100 films. He lent his talents as the poignant narrator in Sophie's Choice (1982). He played a rare leading role opposite Sylvia Kristel, as the film noir-esque detective in the quirky horror comedy Dracula's Widow (1988).
Silkwood is a 1983 American biographical drama film directed by Mike Nichols, and starring Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, and Cher. The screenplay by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen was adapted from the book Who Killed Karen Silkwood? by Rolling Stone writer and activist Howard Kohn, which detailed the life of Karen Silkwood, a nuclear whistle-blower and a labor union activist who investigated alleged wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant where she worked. In real life, her inconclusive death in a car crash gave rise to a 1979 lawsuit, Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, led by attorney Gerry Spence. The jury rendered its verdict of $10 million in damages to be paid to the Silkwood estate, the largest amount in damages ever awarded for that kind of case at the time. The Silkwood estate eventually settled for $1.3 million.
The Mighty Ducks is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film about a youth league hockey team, directed by Stephen Herek and starring Emilio Estevez. It was produced by The Kerner Entertainment Company and Avnet–Kerner Productions and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the first film in The Mighty Ducks film series. In some countries, the home release copies were printed with the title as The Mighty Ducks Are the Champions to avoid confusion with the title of the sequel.
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