Peter Lawrence Strauss [1] is an American television and film actor, known for his roles in several television miniseries in the 1970s and 1980s. He is an Emmy winner and five-time Golden Globe Awards nominee. [2]
Strauss was born in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, the son of Warren B. Strauss, a German-born wine importer. [1] [3] His family is Jewish. [4] [5]
He won an Emmy Award [6] for his role on the 1979 made-for-television movie The Jericho Mile , and he starred in a television remake of the classic 1946 film Angel on My Shoulder in 1980. [7] In 1985, he played Abel Roznovski in the miniseries Kane & Abel based on Jeffrey Archer's book. [8] His other noted television miniseries credits include starring roles in Rich Man, Poor Man , its sequel Rich Man, Poor Man Book II , and Masada . Strauss played Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. in the 1977 TV movie Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy . In 1973, he portrayed Stephen Linder, Mary Richards' suave younger boyfriend in The Mary Tyler Moore Show fourth-season episode, "Angels in the Snow."
Strauss starred in the films Soldier Blue (1970) and Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983), and has appeared in several others. He portrayed Justin, the Rats of NIMH's captain of the guard, in 1982's The Secret of NIMH . Strauss starred as an abused husband in the television movie Men Don't Tell , alongside Judith Light. In 2005, he played the U.S. President in the thriller XXX: State of the Union alongside Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson, Scott Speedman and Willem Dafoe. He was the voice of Moses in the animated series K10C: Kids' Ten Commandments. He starred in the short-lived series Body & Soul as Dr. Isaac Braun in 2002. He provided the voice for Stoker Van Rotten in both the 1990s and 2006 versions of Biker Mice from Mars .
Strauss married Beverly Baker Paulding in Croton-On-Hudson, New York, on January 21, 1973. [1] He and his ex-wife, Nicole, have two sons. He runs a successful citrus production business [9] and is on the advisory board of the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. He sold a ranch property to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. [10] The ranch has since been acquired by the National Park Service as the Peter Strauss Ranch. [11]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | The Young Lawyers | Stuart | Episode: "The Two Dollar Thing" |
| 1971–1975 | Medical Center | Lloyd Halloran, Tom Desmond | 2 episodes |
| 1972–1975 | The Streets of San Francisco | Bobby Jepsen, Lou Kovic, Martin Novac | 3 episodes |
| 1972 | Young Dr. Kildare | Reverend Teller | Episode: "By This Sign" |
| 1973 | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Stephen | Episode: "Angels in the Snow" |
| 1973 | The Man Without a Country | Arthur Danforth | Television film |
| 1974 | Barnaby Jones | Clay Wakefield | Episode: "The Last Contract" |
| 1974 | Cannon | Dave Nordorff, Reverend Will | 2 episodes |
| 1974 | Judgement: The Court Martial of the Tiger of Malaya – General Yamashita | Lawyer | Television film |
| 1974 | Hawaii Five-O | Tom Morgan | Episode: "Death with Father" |
| 1975 | Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan | Ben Jacobs | Television film |
| 1976 | Rich Man, Poor Man | Rudy Jordache | Miniseries; 13 episodes Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie |
| 1976–1977 | Rich Man, Poor Man Book II | Rudy Jordache | 26 episodes Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film |
| 1977 | Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy | Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. | Television film |
| 1979 | The Jericho Mile | Larry 'Rain' Murphy | Television film Won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie |
| 1980 | Angel on My Shoulder | Eddie Kagel | Television film |
| 1981 | Masada | Eleazar Ben Yair | Miniseries; 4 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie |
| 1981 | A Whale for the Killing | Charles Landon | Television film |
| 1983 | Heart of Steel | Emory | Television film Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film |
| 1985 | Kane & Abel | Abel Rosnovski | Miniseries Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film |
| 1985 | Tender Is the Night | Dick Diver | Miniseries |
| 1986 | Penalty Phase | Judge Kenneth Hoffman | Television film |
| 1986 | Under Siege | John Garry | Television film |
| 1987 | Proud Men | Charley MacLeod, Jr. | Television film |
| 1989 | Peter Gunn | Peter Gunn | Television film |
| 1989 | Brotherhood of the Rose | Saul Grisman | Miniseries |
| 1990 | 83 Hours 'Til Dawn | Wayne Stracton | Television film |
| 1991 | Flight of Black Angel | Col. Matt Ryan, Callsign Ringleader | Television film |
| 1992 | Trial: The Price of Passion | Warren Blackburn | Television film |
| 1992 | Fugitive Among Us | Max Cole | Television film |
| 1993 | Men Don't Tell | Ed MacAffrey | Television film Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film |
| 1994 | Reunion | Sam Yates | Television film |
| 1994 | Batman: The Animated Series | Steven Carlyle (voice) | Episode: "House and Garden" [12] |
| 1994 | The Yearling | Ezra 'Penny' Baxter | Television film |
| 1994 | Thicker Than Blood: The Larry McLinden Story | Larry McLinden | Television film |
| 1995 | Texas Justice | T. Cullen Davis | Television film |
| 1995 | Santo Bugito | Greenbeard McMelville (voice) | Episode: "My Name Is Revenge" [12] |
| 1996–1997 | Moloney | Nicholas Moloney | 26 episodes |
| 1996 | The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest | Lab Guard (voice) | Episode: "Nemesis" [12] |
| 1996 | The Incredible Hulk | Walter Langkowski (voice) | Episode: "Man to Man, Beast to Beast" [12] |
| 1996 | Aaahh!!! Real Monsters | Dr. Evil, Sumo (voice) | Episode: "You Only Scare Twice" [12] |
| 1996 | Adventures from the Book of Virtues | Dionysius (voice) | Episode: "Friendship" [12] |
| 1996 | Duckman | Narrator (voice) | Episode: "Pig Amok" |
| 1996 | In the Lake of the Woods | John Waylan | Television film |
| 1996 | Biker Mice from Mars | Stoker (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 1998 | My Father's Shadow: The Sam Sheppard Story | Sam Sheppard | Television film |
| 1999 | Joan of Arc | La Hire | Miniseries |
| 1999 | Seasons of Love | Thomas Linthorne | Miniseries |
| 2000 | A Father's Choice | Charlie "Mac" McClain | Television film |
| 2001 | Strange Frequency | Ben Stanton | Episode: "Don't Stop Believing" |
| 2001 | Murder on the Orient Express | Mr. Samuel Ratchett | Television film |
| 2002 | Body & Soul | Dr. Isaac Braun | 14 episodes |
| 2003 | 111 Gramercy Park | Turk Karnegian | Television film |
| 2004 | Law & Order | Dr. Paul Cedars | Episode: "Coming Down Hard" |
| 2005 | Killer Instinct | Robert Hale | Episode: "Who's Your Daddy" |
| 2006 | Biker Mice from Mars | Stoker, Night Shift, High Commander (voice) | 5 episodes [12] |
| 2006 | The Way | Hutch | Television film |
| 2007 | Dirty Sexy Money | Dutch George | Episode: "The Watch" |
| 2008–2010 | Tracey Ullman's State of the Union | Narrator | 13 episodes |
| 2010 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Kevin Burton | Episode: "Locum" |
| 2010 | Royal Pains | Graham Barnes | Episode: "Comfort's Overrated" |
| 2010 | Jack's Family Adventure | Wild Bill Cohen | Television film |
| 2014 | Sugar Daddies | Grant Zager | Television film |
| 2020 | Grey's Anatomy | Daniel Schwartz | Episode: "The Last Supper" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Hail, Hero! | Frank Dixon | |
| 1970 | Soldier Blue | Honus Gent | |
| 1971 | Sergeant Klems | Otto Flems | |
| 1972 | The Trial of the Catonsville Nine | Thomas Lewis | |
| 1976 | The Last Tycoon | Wylie | |
| 1982 | The Secret of NIMH | Justin (voice) | [12] |
| 1983 | Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone | Wolff | |
| 1995 | Nick of Time | Brendan Grant | |
| 1996 | Keys to Tulsa | Chip Carlson | |
| 2003 | Kids' Ten Commandments: Toying with the Truth | Moses (voice) | Video short [12] |
| 2003 | Kids' Ten Commandments: The Rest Is Yet to Come | Moses (voice) | Video short [12] |
| 2003 | Kids' Ten Commandments: The Not So Golden Calf | Moses (voice) | Video short [12] |
| 2003 | Kids' Ten Commandments: Stolen Jewels, Stolen Hearts | Moses (voice) | Video short [12] |
| 2003 | Kids' Ten Commandments: A Life and Seth Situation | Moses (voice) | Video short [12] |
| 2005 | XXX: State of the Union | President James Sanford | |
| 2007 | License to Wed | Mr. Jones | |
| 2016 | Drawing Home | Russell Robb Sr. | |
| 2018 | Operation Finale | Lotar Hermann | [13] |