Michael Beck | |
|---|---|
 Beck in 2024 | |
| Born | February 4, 1949 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Royal Central School of Speech and Drama |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1971–present |
Michael Beck (born February 4, 1949) [1] is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Swan in The Warriors (1979) as Sonny Malone in Xanadu (1980), and as Koda in Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1983).
Beck was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the third of nine children. He attended Memphis University School and then Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi with a football scholarship. [2] While in college, he was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. After graduating with a degree in economics, he was one of 30 (out of 2,500) applicants chosen for London's Central School of Speech and Drama. [3] Beck's stage credits, beginning with college, include Camelot (as King Arthur), Of Mice and Men (as George Milton), Romeo and Juliet (as Tybalt), [2] and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Beck is known predominantly for his roles as Swan for the action movie The Warriors (1979), [4] Sonny Malone for Xanadu (1980), [5] Lieutenant Commander Dallas in Megaforce (1982), [6] and Koda for Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1983). Both the Xanadu and Megaforce roles garnered him Razzie nominations, for Worst Actor and Worst Supporting Actor, respectively. [7] Beck has appeared in other movies such as Warlords of the 21st Century (1982), Wes Craven's Chiller (1985), Gone to Texas (1986) as James Bowie, and Forest Warrior (1996).
Beck appeared as Hans Helms in the 1978 television miniseries Holocaust , and featured with Michael Paré in the CBS police drama Houston Knights (1987–1988). [8] He appeared in television shows such as JAG , Walker, Texas Ranger , In the Heat of the Night , as the Mars-born terrorist-turned-cyborg assassin Abel Horn in Babylon 5 (episode "Spider in the Web"), [2] and as Mr. Jones in the spin-off television series Crusade .
Beck has narrated numerous audiobooks of John Grisham's novels. [9] He also narrated Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz, [10] A Darkness More Than Light by Michael Connelly, [11] State of the Union by David Callahan, [12] the unabridged version of Bill Clinton's My Life. [13] , and numerous religious books including the Bible. He also reprised his role as Swan in 2005, lending his voice to the popular video game adaptation of The Warriors. [14]
Beck is a born-again Christian. [3]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Hard Ride | Highway Thug | Uncredited |
| 1978 | Madman | Boris Abramovich | |
| 1979 | The Warriors | Swan | |
| 1980 | Xanadu | Sonny Malone | |
| 1982 | Battletruck | Hunter | aka Warlords of the 21st Century and Destroyers |
| 1982 | Megaforce | Dallas | |
| 1983 | Triumphs of a Man Called Horse | Koda | |
| 1983 | The Golden Seal | Crawford | |
| 1996 | Forest Warrior | Arlen Slaighter | |
| 1998 | The Jungle Book: Search for the Lost Treasure | Professor Gershwin Donovan | |
| 2015 | The Grace of Jake | Henry Haynes | |
| 2015 | The Warriors: Last Subway Ride Home | Swan | Video |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Ryan's Hope | Unknown | 2 episodes |
| 1978 | Holocaust | Hans Helm | 3 episodes |
| 1979 | Mayflower: The Pilgrims' Adventure | John Alden | Television film |
| 1980 | Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story | Clarence Carnes | Television film |
| 1981 | Fly Away Home | Mark | Television film |
| 1983 | The Last Ninja | Kenjiro Sakura | Television film |
| 1984 | Celebrity | T.J. Luther | 3 episodes |
| 1984 | The Streets | Sergeant Danny Wreade | Television film |
| 1984 | Rearview Mirror | Jerry Sam Hopps | Television film |
| 1985 | Wes Craven's Chiller | Miles Creighton | Television film |
| 1985 | Blackout | Mike Patterson | Television film |
| 1986 | Gone to Texas | James Bowie | Television film |
| 1987–1988 | Houston Knights | Sergeant Levon Lundy | 30 episodes |
| 1989 | Murder, She Wrote | Danny Schubert | Episode: "The Search for Peter Kerry" |
| 1990 | Murder, She Wrote | Justin Fields | Episode: "Trials and Tribulations" |
| 1990 | Only One Survived | Paul Haskel | Television film |
| 1991 | Deadly Game | Peterson | Television film |
| 1991 | Stranger at My Door | Jimmy Lee Dancey | Television film |
| 1991 | Final Judgement | Delaney | Television film |
| 1993 | Fade to Black | Braith | Television film |
| 1993 | In the Heat of the Night | Sonny Roper | Episode: "A Deadly Affection" |
| 1993 | Murder, She Wrote | Brian Bentall | Episode: "The Big Kill" |
| 1994 | Robin's Hoods | Detective Stephen DeCosta | 3 episodes |
| 1994 | Babylon 5 | Abel Horn | Episode: "Spider in the Web" |
| 1995 | McKenna | Jon Doe / Alex | Episode: "Racing in the Streets" |
| 1996−1998 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Adam McGuire | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Diagnosis: Murder | Frank Waldeck | Episode: "Deadly Games" |
| 1998 | Born Free | Luke | Episode: "The Reunion" |
| 1999 | Crusade | Mr. Jones | Episode: "The Well of Forever" |
| 2001 | Nash Bridges | Adult Bobby Bridges | Episode: "Quack Fever" |
| 2004 | JAG | Senator Carter Innes | Episode: "Whole New Ball Game" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Warriors | Swan |
| Year | Title | Author | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Trust: Knowing When to Give It, When to Withhold It, How to Earn It, and How to Fix It When It Gets Broken | Henry Cloud | Non-fiction |
| 2022 | The Boys From Biloxi | John Grisham | |
| 2020 | A Time for Mercy | John Grisham | Third book featuring Jake Brigance |
| 2020 | Camino Winds | John Grisham | Sequel to Camino Island |
| 2019 | The Guardians | John Grisham | |
| 2018 | The Reckoning | John Grisham | |
| 2013 | Sycamore Row | John Grisham | |
| 2008 | The Appeal | John Grisham | |
| 2006 | The Summons | John Grisham | |
| 2006 | The Brethren | John Grisham | |
| 2006 | The King of Torts | John Grisham | |
| 2006 | A Time to Kill | John Grisham | |
| 2005 | The Broker | John Grisham | |
| 2004 | My Life | Bill Clinton |
John Ray Grisham Jr. is an American novelist, lawyer, and former member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his best-selling legal thrillers. According to the American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 37 consecutive number-one fiction bestsellers, and his books have sold 300 million copies worldwide. Along with Tom Clancy and J. K. Rowling, Grisham is one of only three anglophone authors to have sold two million copies on the first printing.
Nicholas King Nolte is an American actor. Known for his leading man roles in both dramas and romances, he has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Nolte first came to prominence for his role in the ABC miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man (1976) for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nomination. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for The Prince of Tides (1991). He received three Academy Award nominations for The Prince of Tides (1991), Affliction (1998) and Warrior (2011).
Xanadu is a 1980 American musical fantasy film written by Richard Christian Danus and Marc Reid Rubel and directed by Robert Greenwald. The film stars Olivia Newton-John, Michael Beck, and Gene Kelly in his final film role. It features music by Newton-John, Electric Light Orchestra, Cliff Richard and the Tubes. The title is a reference to the nightclub in the film, which takes its name from Xanadu, the summer capital of Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty in China. The city appears in Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an 1816 poem quoted in the film.
The Warriors is a 1979 American action thriller film directed by Walter Hill. Based on Sol Yurick's 1965 novel of the same name, the film centers on a fictitious New York City street gang who must travel 30 miles (48 km), from the north end of the Bronx to their home turf on Coney Island in southern Brooklyn, after they are framed for the murder of a respected gang leader. The film was theatrically released in the United States on February 9, 1979, by Paramount Pictures.
Megaforce is a 1982 action film directed by former stuntman Hal Needham and written by James Whittaker, Albert S. Ruddy, Hal Needham and André Morgan based on a story by Robert S. Kachler. The film starred Barry Bostwick, Persis Khambatta, Michael Beck, Edward Mulhare, George Furth, Evan C. Kim, Ralph Wilcox, Robert Fuller and Henry Silva. The film was poorly received by critics, bombed at the box office and was nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture.
Andrew David Morton is an English journalist and writer who has published biographies of royal figures such as Diana, Princess of Wales, and celebrity subjects including Tom Cruise, Madonna, Angelina Jolie and Monica Lewinsky; several of his books have been unauthorised and contain contested assertions.
William James Remar is an American actor. He has played numerous roles over a 40-year career, most notably Ajax in The Warriors (1979), Albert Ganz in 48 Hrs. (1982), Dutch Schultz in The Cotton Club (1984), Jack Duff in Miracle on 34th Street (1994), Richard Wright in Sex and the City (2001–2004), and Harry Morgan, the father of the title character, in Dexter (2006–2013). Since 2009 he has done voice-over work in ads for Lexus luxury cars. Remar studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City.
Michael Kevin Paré is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Streets of Fire (1984), and The Philadelphia Experiment (1984), and on the series Starhunter (2000–2004).
Donnie Brasco is a 1997 American crime drama film directed by Mike Newell and starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp. Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo, and Anne Heche appeared in supporting roles. The film, written by Paul Attanasio, is based on the 1988 nonfiction book Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia by Joseph D. Pistone and Richard Woodley.
Elias Koteas is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Alvin "Al" Olinsky in the Chicago franchise, as well as appearing in lead and supporting roles in numerous films. He won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film Ararat (2002). He appeared in such films as Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), The Adjuster (1991), Exotica (1994), The Prophecy (1995), Crash (1996), Living Out Loud (1998), Fallen (1998), The Thin Red Line (1998), Harrison's Flowers (2002), Collateral Damage (2002), Shooter (2007), Zodiac (2007), Skinwalkers (2007), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), and Shutter Island (2010).
Inventing the Abbotts is a 1997 American period coming-of-age film directed by Pat O'Connor, and starring Liv Tyler, Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Crudup, Jennifer Connelly and Joanna Going. The screenplay by Ken Hixon is based on a short story by Sue Miller. The original music score was composed by Michael Kamen. The film focuses on two brothers and their relationship with the wealthy Abbott sisters.
Mulholland Falls is a 1996 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Lee Tamahori, written by Pete Dexter, and starring an ensemble cast featuring Nick Nolte, Jennifer Connelly, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Melanie Griffith, Andrew McCarthy, Treat Williams, and John Malkovich.
Ratboy is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed by and starring Sondra Locke. The make-up effects were designed by Rick Baker. The film's scenario is at times comic or serious, and one of its peculiarities is that there never is any explanation for Ratboy's origin and existence as a human-rat hybrid.
Janet R. Maslin is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for The New York Times from 1977 to 1999, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, Maslin helped found the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, New York. She is president of its board of directors.
James Anthony Carpinello is an American actor who came to national attention with his appearances in Tori Spelling's VH1 sitcom So Notorious. He also portrayed Stacee Jaxx in the Broadway production of the musical Rock of Ages.
Victor Jay Kemper was an American cinematographer.
Xanadu is a musical comedy with a book by Douglas Carter Beane and music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, based on the 1980 film of the same name, which was, in turn, inspired by the 1947 Rita Hayworth film Down to Earth. The title refers to Xanadu, the site of the Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan's summer palace.
Shining Through is a 1992 American World War II drama film which was released to United States cinemas on January 31, 1992, written and directed by David Seltzer and starring Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith, with Liam Neeson, Joely Richardson and John Gielgud in supporting roles. It is based on the novel of the same name by Susan Isaacs. The original music score was composed by Michael Kamen.
Murder in Peyton Place is a 1977 American made-for-television mystery-drama film directed by Bruce Kessler. The film is based on the 1964–1969 TV series Peyton Place and it was billed as a reunion movie. It first aired on NBC Monday Night at the Movies on October 3, 1977. It focuses on the mysterious deaths of Rodney Harrington and Allison MacKenzie, as well as a diabolical plot of a powerful person to ruin the community.
The Racketeer is a legal thriller novel written by John Grisham that was released on October 23, 2012 by Doubleday with an initial printing of 1.5 million copies. It was one of the best selling books of 2012 and spent several weeks atop various best seller lists.
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