A curly-haired, angst-ridden American comedian and actor, Reiser first gained attention as Modell, one of the diner patrons in Barry Levinson's sleeper "Diner" (CBS, 1983). He later reprised the role for the 1983 TV pilot "Diner", but did not get a crack at sitcom stardom until "My Two Dads" (NBC, 1987-89), in which he starred as one of two possible fathers of an illegitimate daughter. Reiser went on to co-create, co-produce and co-write the theme for the TV series "Mad About You" (NBC, 1992-99).
Among Reiser's feature credits are "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984) and its sequel "Beverly Hills Cop II" (1987), a memorable villainous turn in James Cameron's "Aliens" (1986) and "Crazy People" (1990) as an agency executive trying to help a colleague (Dudley Moore) who has been institutionalized for promoting truth in advertising. He ventured back into features with a starring role in the romantic comedy "Mr. Write" (1994), playing a comedy writer who tries to win the affections of Jessica Tuck, and "Bye Bye, Love" (1995), an ensemble comedy about men coping with divorce.
- Born:
March 30, 1956 in New York City, New York, USA
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Job Titles:
Actor, Comedian, Producer, Writer, Songwriter
Family
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Father: Sam Reiser. died 1989
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Son: Ezra Samuel Reiser. born prematurely in September 1995
Education
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Stuyvesant High School, New York, New York, 1973
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State University of New York, Binghamton, Binghamton, New York, piano and composition, 1977
Milestones
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1977 Began performing stand up at age 20
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1982 Made feature acting debut in Diner
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1983 Made TV debut in the pilot for Diner , reprising his role from the film
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1983 Made TV-movie debut with Sunset Limousine
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1985 Starred in busted ABC sitcom pilot Just Married
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1987 Made TV series debut with the sitcom, My Two Dads
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1987 First HBO comedy special Paul Reiser: Out On a Whim
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1993 Starred in dramatic TV-movie The Tower (Fox)
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1995 Played a divorced man coping with raising his daughter and dating in the film comedy Bye, Bye Love
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1999 Had supporting role in the Rob Reiner-directed feature The Story of Us
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1999 Signed development deal with Columbia TriStar Television
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2002 Starred in the Showtime movie Strange Relations
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2005 Wrote and starred in The Thing About My Folks, which is based loosely on his life
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Founded Nuance Productions
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Starred, co-created and produced the series Mad About You ; also wrote theme song