An affable, silver-haired, mustachioed lead, Hal Linden made a dashing father-figure as the commanding officer of a Greenwich Village police precinct for eight award-winning seasons of "Barney Miller" (1975-82). (He was nominated for the Emmy for Best Actor in a Comedy Series every season, but never won; he later did win the honors for his "FYI" informational spots.) Linden had previously paid his TV dues with a stint on "Search for Tomorrow" and in several unsuccessful pilots.
Linden began his show business career as a musician and eventually became a singer, touring with bands headed by Sammy Kaye, Bobby Sherwood and Boyd Raeburn. As a member of the US Army Band, he became involved in revues and developed a taste for acting. Linden's studies at the American Theater Wing paid off when, in 1958, he was signed as the understudy for Sydney Chaplin in the long-running musical hit, "Bells Are Ringing." He replaced Chaplin five days later, starring opposite Judy Holliday on Broadway and in the national touring company. This was the first of 18 musical and dramatic stage productions in which Linden appeared (including "Subways Are for Sleeping" 1960, "Ilya Darling" 1967 and "The Education of Hyman Kaplan" 1968). His work in the musical "The Rothschilds" earned him a Tony award in 1971.
During and after "Barney Miller", Linden was a TV staple on comedy and variety specials and in series guest spots. His resemblance to Mandrake the Magician of comic strip fame was put to advantageous use in the series "Blacke's Magic" (1986-88) and he later toplined the ABC comedy-drama "Jack's Place" (1992-93) as a wise, urbane cabaret host. Although that show didn't last, Linden soon brought his relaxed, supple style back to the sitcom format with "The Boys Are Back" (CBS, 1994-95) as he and another master of dry, underplayed humor, Suzanne Pleshette, portrayed parents coping with grown sons who move back in with them.
Family
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Daughter: Amelia Christine Linden. Hal and Frances Linden's four children were born between 1960 and 1967
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Daughter: Jennifer Dru Linden.
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Daughter: Nora Kathryn Linden.
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Father: Charles Lipshitz.
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Mother: Frances Lipshitz.
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Son: Ian Martin Linden.
Milestones
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1955 Made stage debut in a production of "Wonderful Town", the musical version of "My Sister Eileen", staged at the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis, MA
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1958 Signed as understudy to Sydney Chaplin in "Bells are Ringing", which began its run at the end of 1956
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1958 Signed to replace Chaplin five days later, starring opposite Judy Holliday on Broadway
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1970 Portrayed twins on "The Shameful Secrets of Hastings Corners", a busted NBC-TV pilot for a soap opera spoof
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1973 Co-starred in another failed pilot, "Mr. Inside/Mr. Outside", a police drama
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1975 Starred in the title role of "Barney Miller", a hugely successful ABC-TV sitcom set at a police precinct
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1979 First film in a leading role, "When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?"
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1985 Portrayed Hollywood mogul Jack Warner in "My Wicked, Wicked Ways... The Legend of Errol Flynn", a CBS-TV biopic
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1988 Returned to features when he played a leading role opposite Alan Alda and Ann-Margret in the Alda-directed film, "A New Life"
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1992 Starred in "Jack's Place", an ABC-TV summer tryout series
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1993 "Jack's Place" given a brief run during regular season
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1994 Starred opposite Suzanne Pleshette on the CBS sitcom, "The Boys Are Back"
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1995 Return to the musical stage to star in pre-Broadway tryout of "Dodsworth" in Fort Worth, Texas
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1998 Succeeded Eli Wallach in the Off-Broadway production of "Visiting Mr. Green"
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1999 Assumed role of Billy Flynn in the Las Vegas production of the hit stage musical "Chicago"
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2000 Acted in "The Play's the Thing" in North Hollywood alongside daughter Nora
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2001 Returned to Broadway in the play "The Gathering"
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2002 Made NYC cabaret debut
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Appeared as a recurring character on the long-running TV soap, "Search for Tomorrow"
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Appeared in 17 subsequent stage productions including "Subways Are for Sleeping" (1960), "Ilya Darling" (1967), "The Education of Hyman Kaplan" (1968) and "The Rothschilds" (1971)
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Began show business career as a musician
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Continued with the national touring company of "Bells are Ringing"
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Enrolled as a student at American Theatre Wing in NYC
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Performed in army revues as a member of the US Army Band
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Returned to Broadway as a replacement star of the long-running comedy-drama, "I'm Not Rappaport"; acted in the play for 44 weeks
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Starred as Alexander Blacke in "Blacke's Magic", a light-hearted NBC-TV mystery series
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Toured as a singer with bands headed by Sammy Kaye, Bobby Sherwood, and Boyd Raeburn