George Segal

This article is about the actor. For the artist, see George Segal (artist).

George Segal
Segal in 1965
Born
George Segal Jr.

(1934-02-13)February 13, 1934
New York City, U.S.
DiedMarch 23, 2021(2021-03-23) (aged 87)
Santa Rosa, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materColumbia University (BA)
OccupationActor
Years active1955–2021
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1956; div. 1983)​
  • Linda Rogoff
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1983; died 1996)​
  • Sonia Schultz Greenbaum
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1998)​
Children2
AwardsSee below

George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles.[1] After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as Ship of Fools (1965) and King Rat (1965), he co-starred in the classic drama Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966).

Through the next decade and a half, Segal consistently starred in notable films across a variety of genres including The Quiller Memorandum (1966), The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967), No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), Where's Poppa? (1970), The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), The Hot Rock (1972), Blume in Love (1973), A Touch of Class (1973), California Split (1974), The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976), Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978), and The Last Married Couple in America (1980). He was one of the first American film actors to rise to leading man status with an unchanged Jewish surname, helping pave the way for other major actors of his generation.[2][3][4]

Later in his career, he appeared in supporting roles in films such as Carbon Copy (1981), Stick (1985), Look Who's Talking (1989), For the Boys (1991), The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), Flirting with Disaster (1996), 2012 (2009), and Love & Other Drugs (2010).

He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and won two Golden Globe Awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance in A Touch of Class.

On television, he was best known for his regular roles in two popular sitcoms, playing Jack Gallo on Just Shoot Me! (1997–2003) and Albert "Pops" Solomon on The Goldbergs (2013–2021). Segal was also an accomplished banjo player. (In addition to the banjo, he frequently played other small lute instruments such as the ukulele and dobro on TV and in his movies.) He released three albums and performed with the instrument in several of his acting roles and on late-night television.

Early life

George Segal Jr. was born in New York City,[5][6][7] the youngest of four children, to Fannie Blanche Segal (née Bodkin) and George Segal Sr., a malt and hop agent. He spent much of his childhood in Great Neck, New York.[5][8][9] All four of Segal's grandparents were Russian-Jewish immigrants,[10][11] and his maternal grandparents changed their surname from Slobodkin to Bodkin.[10] A paternal great-grandfather ran for governor of Massachusetts as a socialist.[12] His oldest brother, John, worked in the hops brokerage business and was an innovator in the cultivation of new hop varieties; he had a farm in Grandview, Washington where George often helped in the summers.[13] The middle brother, Fred, was a screenwriter;[8] and his sister Greta died of pneumonia before Segal was born.[10]

Segal's family was Jewish, but he was raised in a secular household. When asked if he had had a bar mitzvah, he said:

I'm afraid not. I went to a Passover Seder at Groucho Marx's once and he kept saying, "When do we get to the wine?" So that's my [Jewish] experience. I went to [a friend's] bar mitzvah, and that was the only time I was in Temple Beth Shalom. [Jewish life] wasn't happening that much at the time. People's car tires were slashed in front of the temple. I was once kicked down a flight of stairs by some kids from [the local parochial school].[12]

Segal became interested in acting at the age of nine, when he saw Alan Ladd in This Gun for Hire.[9] "I knew the revolver and the trench coat were an illusion and I didn't care," said Segal. "I liked the sense of adventure and control."[14] He also started playing the banjo at a young age, later stating: "I started off with the ukulele when I was a kid in Great Neck. A friend had a red Harold Teen model; it won my heart. When I got to high school, I realized you couldn't play in a band with a ukulele, so I moved on to the four-string banjo."[15]

When his father died in 1947, Segal moved to New York City with his mother.[16] He graduated from George School, a Quaker boarding school in Pennsylvania, in 1951 and attended Haverford College.[17] He graduated from Columbia College of Columbia University in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts in performing arts and drama.[15][16] He played banjo at Haverford and also at Columbia, where he played with a dixieland jazz band that had several different names. When he booked a gig, he billed the group as Bruno Lynch and his Imperial Jazz Band. The group, which later settled on the name Red Onion Jazz Band, played at Segal's first wedding.[17][18]

Segal served in the United States Army during the Korean War.[5][19] While there, he played in a band called Corporal Bruno's Sad Sack Six.[15]

Career

Early roles and success

After college and the army, Segal eventually studied at the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg and at HB Studio with Uta Hagen[20] and got a job as an understudy in the 1956 off-Broadway production of The Iceman Cometh starring Jason Robards.[21] He appeared in Antony and Cleopatra for Joseph Papp and joined an improvisational group called The Premise, which performed at a Bleecker Street coffeehouse[22] and whose ranks included Buck Henry and Theodore J. Flicker.[23] Segal continued to perform on Broadway with roles in Gideon (1961–62) by Paddy Chayefsky, which ran for 236 performances,[24][25] as well as Rattle of a Simple Man (1963), an adaptation of a British hit, with Tammy Grimes and Edward Woodward.

He was signed to a Columbia Pictures contract in 1961, making his film debut in The Young Doctors.[26] Segal made several television appearances in the early 1960s, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Armstrong Circle Theatre, and Naked City,[26] and appeared in the well-known World War II film The Longest Day (1962).[27] He also had a small role in Act One (1963) and a more prominent part in the western Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964) alongside Yul Brynner.[28]

Segal in the trailer for Lost Command

Segal came to Hollywood from New York City to star in a TV series with Robert Taylor that never aired. Nonetheless, he joined the cast of Columbia Pictures' medical drama The New Interns (1964),[29] and the studio then put him under long-term contract.[30] The role ultimately earned him the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year,[14] alongside Harve Presnell and Chaim Topol.[31]

Critical acclaim

In 1965, Segal played an egocentric painter in an ensemble cast led by Vivien Leigh and Lee Marvin in Stanley Kramer's acclaimed drama Ship of Fools, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. The same year, he also had the title role of a scheming POW in the well-regarded war drama King Rat (a role originally meant for Frank Sinatra) and received acclaim for both performances.[32][33] In other notable film appearances, he played a secret service agent on assignment in Berlin in The Quiller Memorandum (1966) (a role originally meant for Charlton Heston[34]), an Algerian paratrooper who becomes a leader of the FLN in Lost Command (1966), and a Cagney-esque gangster in Roger Corman's The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967).[28]

Segal also appeared in several prominent television films, playing Biff in an acclaimed production of Death of a Salesman (1966) next to Lee J. Cobb, a gangster in an adaptation of The Desperate Hours (1967), and George in an adaptation of Of Mice and Men (1968). The latter two films were both directed by Ted Kotcheff,[35] with whom he worked again several times.[28]

Segal was loaned to Warner Bros. for Mike Nichols' directorial debut Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), a now-classic adaptation of the Edward Albee play. Nichols had previously directed Segal in a 1964 Off-Broadway play titled The Knack[36] and cast him again in Woolf after Robert Redford had turned down the role.[37] In the four-person ensemble piece, Segal played the young faculty member, Nick, alongside Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Sandy Dennis. The film, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture and was later selected to the National Film Registry,[38] is arguably Segal's best known and, for his role, he was nominated for an Oscar[39] and a Golden Globe.[40]

The same year, Segal released his debut LP, The Yama Yama Man. The title track is a ragtime version of the 1908 tune "The Yama Yama Man" with horns and banjos. Segal released the album at a time when he appeared regularly playing banjo on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.[15] In the same year, Segal played banjo and sang with The Smothers Brothers when they performed Phil Ochs's "Draft Dodger Rag" on their CBS television show.[41][42]

Leading man

For over ten years after his success with Woolf, Segal received many notable film roles, often working with major filmmakers and becoming a significant figure in the New Hollywood movement.[43] He starred in Carl Reiner's celebrated[44] dark comedy[45] Where's Poppa? (1970), played the lead role in Sidney Lumet's Bye Bye Braverman (1968), starred with Robert Redford in Peter Yates's diamond heist comedy The Hot Rock (1972), starred in the title role of Paul Mazursky's acclaimed romantic comedy Blume in Love (1973),[46] and starred alongside Elliott Gould as a gambling addict in Robert Altman's classic California Split (1974),[47] considered by some to be the greatest gambling film of all time.[48]

In one of his most successful roles, Segal played a philandering husband in Melvin Frank's continental romantic comedy A Touch of Class (1973) opposite Glenda Jackson. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, Jackson won an Oscar for her performance, and Segal won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, which was the second Golden Globe of his career.[49]

During this time, he had many other leading roles in various genres. He played a perplexed police detective in No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), a war-weary platoon commander in The Bridge at Remagen (1969), a man laying waste to his marriage in Loving (1970), and a hairdresser-turned-junkie in Born to Win (1971).[50] The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), a romantic comedy starring Segal and Barbra Streisand and written by his former improv teammate Buck Henry, was particularly popular;[51] and though Segal played against type as a dangerous computer scientist in The Terminal Man (1974), he used his popular appeal as a card shark in The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976), as a suburbanite-turned-bank robber in Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), as a heroic ride inspector in Rollercoaster (1977), and as a wealthy serial restaurant entrepreneur in Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978).[52] Other films starring Segal from this time include The Girl Who Couldn't Say No (1968), Russian Roulette (1975), and The Black Bird (1975).[53]

Segal co-hosted the 48th Academy Awards in 1976, alongside Gene Kelly, Goldie Hawn, Walter Matthau, and Robert Shaw.[54]

During the 1970s and 1980s, Segal appeared as a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and occasionally as a guest host. His appearances were marked by eccentric banter with Johnny Carson and were usually punctuated by bursts of banjo playing.[22] In addition to playing banjo while appearing on The Tonight Show, Segal played the instrument in several of his acting roles and sang in others, such as Blume in Love.[55]

George Segal and the Imperial Jazzband released the album A Touch of Ragtime in 1974, with Segal on banjo. He made frequent television appearances with the "Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazz Band", whose members included actor Conrad Janis on trombone, and in 1981 they performed live at Carnegie Hall.[56]

Mid-career difficulties

Segal reunited with his Touch of Class co-star Jackson and director Frank in another European-set romantic comedy, Lost and Found (1979), but the film was not a success. Neither was The Last Married Couple in America (1980) with Natalie Wood. Segal famously pulled out of the lead role in Blake Edwards' hit comedy 10 (1979), resulting in his being replaced by Dudley Moore and sued by Edwards.[22]

With a few exceptions, in films such as Denzel Washington's film debut Carbon Copy (1981), Burt Reynolds's crime drama Stick (1985), and the popular family comedy Look Who's Talking (1989), Segal received fewer prominent roles in the 1980s. Instead, he began to star more frequently in television films, such as The Deadly Game (1982) for which he received a CableAce Award nomination for best actor in a theatrical or non-musical production,[57] The Cold Room (1984), and The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984). He also starred in two short-lived television series, the semi-autobiographical sitcom Take Five (1987)[58] and the crime drama Murphy's Law (1988–89). In 1985, he returned to Broadway in a short-lived production of Requiem for a Heavyweight by Rod Serling and in 1990 toured in a play called Double Act.[59]

He later reflected on his career trajectory:

In the first 10 years, I was playing all different kinds of things. I loved the variety, and never had the sense of being a leading man but a character actor. Then I got frozen into this "urban" character. About the time of "The Last Married Couple in America" (1980) I remember Natalie (Wood) saying to me ... "It's one typed role after another, and pretty soon you forget everything. You forget why you're here, why you're doing it." Then my marriage started to fall apart ... I was disenchanted, I was turning in on myself, I was doing a lot of self-destructive things ... there were drugs ... I'm also sure I was guilty of spoiled behavior. I think it's impossible when that star rush comes not to get a little full of yourself, which is what I was.[60]

Segal (left) with The Goldbergs cast, 2014

Later career

Nevertheless, after this relatively dry period, Segal re-established himself as a successful character actor in the 1990s. Though he appeared in some less-acclaimed films, he also worked with directors such as Mark Rydell, Gus Van Sant, Barbra Streisand, David O. Russell, Randal Kleiser, and Ben Stiller, respectively, in well-received films such as For the Boys (1991), To Die For (1995), The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), Flirting with Disaster (1996), It's My Party (1996), and The Cable Guy (1996). Additionally, he had guest appearances on various shows such as Murder She Wrote and The Larry Sanders Show and continued to appear in television films such as Seasons of the Heart (1994), Houdini (1998), and The Linda McCartney Story (2000). In 1999, he briefly performed in Yasmina Reza's Art on Broadway, and in 2001 he reprised his performance in the West End.[61]

From 1997 to 2003, Segal had his most prominent role in years when he starred in the NBC workplace sitcom Just Shoot Me! as Jack Gallo, the successful yet often oblivious owner and publisher of a New York City fashion magazine.[22] For this role, he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1999 and 2000[62] as well as a Satellite Award in 2002. The show, which also starred David Spade and Laura San Giacomo, among others, and which once aired between iconic sitcoms Friends and Seinfeld, lasted for seven seasons and 148 episodes.

After finishing his run on Just Shoot Me, Segal appeared in supporting roles in films such as Heights (2005) and 2012 (2009). He and Jill Clayburgh cameoed as Jake Gyllenhaal's parents in Love & Other Drugs (2010), reuniting the co-stars 46 years after they first worked together in The Terminal Man. Additionally, Segal worked more frequently as a voice actor, including a role in the English-language version of Studio Ghibli's The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) and a comedic reprisal of his Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? role in a 2018 episode of The Simpsons.[63][64] His most recent film performance was alongside Christopher Plummer in Elsa & Fred (2014). In other roles, Segal played talent manager Murray Berenson in three episodes of the television series Entourage (2009), guest starred in shows such as Boston Legal, Private Practice, and Pushing Daisies, appeared in comedic short videos such as Chutzpuh, This Is,[65] and starred in the TV Land sitcom Retired at 35 (2011–2012), alongside his Bye Bye Braverman co-star Jessica Walter.[66][67][68]

Segal had another success when he starred in the ABC sitcom The Goldbergs (2013–2021), playing Albert "Pops" Solomon, the eccentric but lovable grandfather of a semi-autobiographical family based on that of series creator Adam F. Goldberg.[69] The long-running series entered its eighth season in 2021,[70][71] and Segal was part of the regular cast up until his death in March of that year. Throughout the show, Segal had appeared in most, though not all, episodes and, as in some of his earlier roles, he played the banjo several times on-screen.

In 2017, Segal received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Television.[72][73]

Personal life and death

Segal was married three times. He married film editor Marion Segal Freed in 1956, who would go on to work as an associate producer or editor on three of his films.[74] They had two daughters and were together until their divorce in 1983.[74] From 1983 until her death in 1996, he was married to Linda Rogoff, a one-time manager of The Pointer Sisters whom he met at Carnegie Hall when he played the banjo with his band[75] the Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazz Band.[26] He married his former George School boarding school classmate Sonia Schultz Greenbaum in 1998.[9]

Later in his life, Segal lived part-time in Sonoma County when he was not filming The Goldbergs in Los Angeles.[76]

Segal died of complications from bypass surgery in Santa Rosa, California, on March 23, 2021, at age 87.[77][78]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Director Notes
1961 The Young Doctors[28][79] Dr. Howard Phil Karlson
1962 The Longest Day[79][80] U.S. Army Ranger Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, & Bernhard Wicki
1963 Act One[28][53] Lester Sweyd Dore Schary
1964 Invitation to a Gunfighter[28][53] Matt Weaver Richard Wilson
The New Interns[28][79] Dr. Tony "Shiv" Parelli John Rich Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male
1965 King Rat[28][53] Corporal King Bryan Forbes
Ship of Fools[28][53] David Scott Stanley Kramer
1966 Lost Command[28][53] Lieutenant Mahidi Mark Robson
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?[28][53] Nick Mike Nichols Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
The Quiller Memorandum[28][53] Quiller Michael Anderson
1967 The St. Valentine's Day Massacre[28][53] Peter Gusenberg Roger Corman
1968 Bye Bye Braverman[28][53] Morroe Rieff Sidney Lumet
No Way to Treat a Lady[28][53] Morris Brummel Jack Smight Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
The Girl Who Couldn't Say No[80][53] Franco Franco Brusati
1969 The Bridge at Remagen[28][53] Lieutenant Phil Hartman John Guillermin
The Southern Star[80][53] Dan Rockland Sidney Hayers
1970 Loving[28][53] Brooks Wilson Irvin Kershner
Where's Poppa?[28][53] Gordon Hocheiser Carl Reiner
The Owl and the Pussycat[28][53] Felix Sherman Herbert Ross
1971 Born to Win[28][53] J Ivan Passer
1972 The Hot Rock[28][53] Kelp Peter Yates
1973 Blume in Love[28][53] Stephen Blume Paul Mazursky
A Touch of Class[28][53] Steve Blackburn Melvin Frank Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
1974 The Terminal Man[28][53] Harry Benson Mike Hodges
California Split[28][53] Bill Denny Robert Altman
1975 Russian Roulette[28][53] Corporal Timothy Shaver Lou Lombardo
The Black Bird[28][53] Sam Spade Jr. David Giler Executive producer
1976 The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox[28][53] Charlie "Dirtwater Fox" Malloy Melvin Frank
1977 Fun with Dick and Jane[28][53] Dick Harper Ted Kotcheff
Rollercoaster[28][53] Harry Calder James Goldstone
1978 Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?[28][53] Robby Ross Ted Kotcheff
1979 Lost and Found[28][53] Adam Watson Melvin Frank
1980 The Last Married Couple in America[28][53] Jeff Thompson Gilbert Cates
1981 Carbon Copy[28][53] Walter Whitney Michael Schultz
1982 Killing 'em Softly[79][53] Jimmy Skinner Max Fischer
1985 Stick[28][53] Barry Braun Burt Reynolds
1988 Run for Your Life[79][53] Alan Morani Terence Young
1989 Look Who's Talking[28][53] Albert Amy Heckerling
All's Fair[28][53] Colonel Rocky Lang
1991 For the Boys[28][53] Art Silver Mark Rydell
Time of Darkness Grigory Vladimir Alenikov
1992 Me Myself & I[79][53] Buddy Arnett Pablo Ferro
Un orso chiamato Arturo[79] Billy Sergio Martino
1993 Joshua Tree[79] Lieutenant Franklin L. Severence Vic Armstrong
Look Who's Talking Now[28][53] Albert Tom Ropelewski Cameo
1994 Direct Hit[79][53] James Tronson Joseph Merhi Video
1995 To Die For[79][80] Conference Speaker Gus Van Sant Uncredited
The Babysitter[28][53] Bill Holsten Guy Ferland Video
The Feminine Touch[79] Senator "Beau" Ashton Conrad Janis
Deep Down[80][53] Gil John Travers
1996 It's My Party[79][53] Paul Stark Randal Kleiser
Flirting with Disaster[28][53] Ed Coplin David O. Russell
The Cable Guy[28][53] Earl Kovacs Ben Stiller
The Mirror Has Two Faces[28][53] Henry Fine Barbra Streisand
2005 Heights[79][53] Rabbi Mendel Chris Terrio
Chutzpuh, This Is?[65] Dr. Dreck Rick Kent Short film
Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone[80][53][81] Albagon Davis Doi Voice, direct-to-video
2007 Three Days to Vegas[80][53] Dominic Spinuzzi Charlie Picerni
My Wife Is Retarded Julie's father Etan Cohen Short film
2009 2012[79][53] Tony Delgatto Roland Emmerich
Made for Each Other[80][53] Mr. Jacobs Daryl Goldberg
2010 Love & Other Drugs[79][53] Dr. James Randall Edward Zwick
Ollie Klublershturf vs. the Nazis Elliott Klublershturf Skot Bright Short film
2014 The Tale of the Princess Kaguya[79][80] Inbe no Akita Isao Takahata Voice
Elsa & Fred[79][53] John Michael Radford

Stage

Year Title Role Notes
1961–1962 Gideon[82][83] Purah Broadway
1963 Rattle of a Simple Man[82][83] Ricard Broadway
1964 The Knack[36] Tolen Off-Broadway
1985 Requiem for a Heavyweight[82][83] Maish Resnick Broadway
1993 The Fourth Wall[15] Roger Chicago
1998–1999 Art[82][83] Serge Broadway
2001 Art[84][85] Serge West End
2007 Heroes[86] Gustave Los Angeles
2007 Prophesy and Honor[87] Colonel Sherman Moreland Honolulu
2008 Secret Order[88] Saul Roth Los Angeles

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1960 The Play of the Week[89] (1) Don
(2) Innkeeper 		(1) Season 1 Episode 13: "The Closing Door"
(2) Season 2 Episode 13: "Emmanuel"
1960–1962 Armstrong Circle Theatre (1) First Lieutenant Paul Fallon (1) Season 10 Episode 8: "Ghost Bomber: The Lady Be Good" (1960) (aired February 3)
(2) Season 10 Episode 24: "Ghost Bomber" (1960) (aired September 28)
(3) Season 13 Episode 3: "The Friendly Thieves" (1962) (aired October 24)
1962 The United States Steel Hour Pete Season 10 Episode 2: "The Inner Panic"
1963 Channing Andre Season 1 Episode 8: "A Patron Saint for the Cargo Cult"
Naked City Jerry Costell Season 4 Episode 20: "Man Without a Skin"
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour[80][53] Larry Duke Season 2 Episode 2: "A Nice Touch"
1963–1964 The Doctors and the Nurses (1) Dr. Novak
(2) Dr. Harry Warren 		(1) Season 1 Episode 15: "Root of Violence" (1963)
(2) Season 2 Episode 24: "Climb a Broken Ladder" (1964)
1964 Arrest and Trial[80] Jack Wisner Season 1 Episode 28: "He Ran for His Life"
1965–1991 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Himself 47 episodes
1966 Death of a Salesman[80] Biff Loman Television film
1967 The Desperate Hours[89] Glenn Griffin
1968 Of Mice and Men[53] George
1973 The Lie[90] Andrew
1980 My Friend Winnetou Gottlieb Miniseries
1982 The Deadly Game[80][53] Howard Trapp Television film
Nominated — CableAce Award for Best Actor in a Theatrical or Non-Musical Program
1983 Trackdown: Finding the Goodbar Killer[80][53] John Grafton Television film
1984 The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood[80][53] Robin Hood
The Cold Room[80][53] Hugh Martin
1985 Not My Kid[80][53] Dr. Frank Bower
1986 Many Happy Returns[80][53] William "Bud" Robinson
1987 Take Five Andy Kooper Series regular
all 6 episodes
1988–1989 Murphy's Law[80] Daedalus Patrick Murphy Series regular
13 episodes
1989 The Endless Game[80][53] Mr. Miller Miniseries
2 episodes
1993 Murder, She Wrote[80][53] Dave Novaro Season 10 Episode 9: "Murder at a Discount"
Taking the Heat[80][53] Kepler Television film
1993–1995 The Larry Sanders Show[80] Himself (1) Season 2 Episode 14: "Performance Artist" (1993)
(2) Season 4 Episode 16: "Eight" (1995)
1994 Seasons of the Heart[80][53] Ezra Goldstine Television film
Following Her Heart[80][53] Harry
High Tide[80] Gordon 22 episodes
Burke's Law[53] Ben Zima Season 1 Episode 1: "Who Killed the Starlet?"
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters J.B. Voice
Season 1 Episode 3: "Curse of the Krumm/Krumm Goes Hollywood"[81]
1995 Picture Windows[53] Ted Varnas Miniseries
Season 1 Episode 5: "Song of Songs"
1995–1997 The Naked Truth[53] Fred Wilde (1) Season 1 Episode 9: "Girl Buys Soup While Woman Weds Ape!" (1995)
(2) Season 2 Episode 4: "The Sister Show" (1997)
(3) Season 2 Episode 11: "The Parents" (1997)
(4) Season 2 Episode 12: "The Spa" (1997)
1996 The Making of a Hollywood Madam Leo Television film
Adventures from the Book of Virtues Eli Voice
Season 1 Episode 4: "Compassion"[81]
1996–1997 The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest Dr. Benton C. Quest Voice
24 episodes[81]
1997 Tracey Takes On...[80] Harry Rosenthal (1) Season 2 Episode 3: "Mothers"
(2) Season 2 Episode 11: "Money"
(3) Season 2 Episode 12: "Race Relations"
(4) Season 2 Episode 13: "Supernatural"
(5) Season 2 Episode 14: "Politics"
Caroline in the City[53] Bob Anderson Season 2 Episode 19: "Caroline and the Buyer"
1997–2003 Just Shoot Me![80][53] Jack Gallo Series regular
148 episodes
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (1998–1999)
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (2001)
1998 Houdini[80][53] Martin Beck Television film
2000 The Linda McCartney Story[80][53] Lee Eastman
2001 The Zeta Project Dr. Eli Selig Voice
Season 1 Episode 13: "Absolute Zero"[81]
2003 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit[80][53] Dr. Roger Tate Season 5 Episode 8: "Abomination"
The Electric Piper Mayor Nick Dixon Voice
Television film[81]
2005 Fielder's Choice[80][53] JD Television film
2007 Private Practice[80][53] Wendell Parker Season 1 Episode 9: "In Which Dell Finds His Fight"
The War at Home[80][53] Sid Season 2 Episode 16: "No Weddings and a Funeral"
Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure[80][81] Horror Voice
Television film
2008 Boston Legal[80][53] Paul Cruickshank Season 4 Episode 19: "The Gods Must Be Crazy"
2009 Pushing Daisies[80][53] Roy "Buster" Bustamante Season 2 Episode 11: "Window Dressed to Kill"
Entourage[80][53] Murray Berenson (1) Season 6 Episode 5: "Fore"
(2) Season 6 Episode 6: "Murphy's Lie"
(3) Season 6 Episode 7: "No More Drama"
2010 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated[53] Peter Trickell Voice
Season 1 Episode 4: "Revenge of the Man Crab"
2011–2012 Retired at 35[80][53] Alan Robbins Series regular
20 episodes
2012-2013 American Dad![80][53] (1) Bernie
(2) Probate Lawyer 		Voice
(1) Season 7 Episode 14: "Stan's Best Friend" (2012)
(2) Season 8 Episode 11: "Max Jets" (2013)
2013–2021 The Goldbergs[80][53] Albert "Pops" Solomon Series regular
185 episodes[a]
2018 The Simpsons Nick Voice
Season 30 Episode 2: "Heartbreak Hotel"

Discography

Year Title Notes
1967 The Yama Yama Man[91] LP
1970 The Owl and the Pussycat[92] LP
Dialogue excerpts from the film performed by Barbra Streisand and George Segal, accompanied by music by Blood, Sweat & Tears
1974 A Touch of Ragtime[93] LP
As George Segal and the Imperial Jazzband
1987 Basin Street[94] LP
Canadian Brass with George Segal

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
1966 Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Nominated [95]
1968 British Academy Film Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role No Way to Treat a Lady Nominated [96]
1983 CableAce Awards Best Actor in a Theatrical or Non-Musical Program The Deadly Game Nominated
1964 Golden Globe Awards Most Promising Newcomer – Male The New Interns Won[b] [97]
1966 Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Nominated
1973 Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy A Touch of Class Won
1998 Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Just Shoot Me! Nominated
1999 Nominated
1973 Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards Best Actor A Touch of Class Won [98]
1965 Laurel Awards Top New Faces – Male 6th Place
1967 Top Male Supporting Performance Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Nominated [99]
2001 Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Just Shoot Me! Nominated [93]

Other honors

Notes and references

  1. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (March 24, 2021). "George Segal: a defining face of 1970s Hollywood with a late-career resurgence". The Guardian. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  2. ^ Pfefferman, Naomi (August 28, 2013). "George Segal on ABC's 'The Goldbergs,' 'Where's Poppa?' and playing Jewish". Jewish Journal. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  3. ^ Hoberman, J. (April 10, 2007). "The Goulden Age". Village Voice. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
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  1. ^ Segal was credited as a series regular for every episode of the first eight seasons for a total of 185 episodes, though he appeared as an actor in 158. His final appearance was in the sixteenth episode of season eight, after which he continued to be credited through the season finale.
  2. ^ Tied with Harve Presnell and Chaim Topol.