Victor Garber

A leading player on Broadway for nearly thirty years, Victor Garber has appeared in comedies and musicals to applause and Tony nominations, but his career in TV and films has been limited to mostly supporting parts. Garber's first stage success of note came in his native Canada, where he performed as Jesus in a 1972 Toronto production of "Godspell" that also included Martin Short and Andrea Martin. A year later, he reprised the role in the film version of the musical, but by time it was released he was already in NYC making his Off-Broadway debut in "Ghosts" (1973), for which he won a Theatre World Award. He received his first Tony nomination in 1978 as the aspiring playwright in "Deathtrap". After six months as the second male lead in the Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler musical "Sweeney Todd" (1979), Garber toured with and eventually succeeded Robert Klein as the lead in "They're Playing Our Song". He then created four roles in the musical revival of "Little Me" (1982), earning another Tony nomination. He was again nominated as the unwitting substitute for a world renowned opera singer in the farce "Lend Me a Tenor" (1989) and as Applegate, the devil incarnate, opposite Bebe Neuwirth in the 1994 revival of "Damn Yankees". He returned to the Great White Way in 1998 co-starring with Alan Alda and Alfred Molina in "Art" and was expected to co-star with Nathan Lane in a new Stephen Sondheim musical, "Wise Guys", that unfortunately never made it passed its 1999 workshop.

While Garber's TV work has been somewhat limited, he has had some meaty roles. After providing the voice of Christian in an animated version of "Cyrano de Bergerac" (ABC, 1974), the actor played the Marquis de Lafayette in the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" special "Valley Forge" (NBC, 1975). He starred in his own summer series, "I Had Three Wives" (CBS, 1985), as private investigator who is unlucky at relationships. Garber then was cast as Dennis Widmer, Molly's boss and former lover, in the early seasons of "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd" (NBC, 1987-88; Lifetime, 1988-89) Certainly one of his best TV roles to-date was that of the pianist in "Liberace: Behind the Music" (CBS, 1988). After a three-season (1991-94) recurring stint on the Canadian series "E.N.G.", the performer was seen in a featured role in the 1993 CBS miniseries "Queen". Garber was off the big screen for nearly two decades, returning in supporting roles like the slick agent taking clients away from Michael J. Fox and Nathan Lane in James "Life With Mikey" (1992), Tom Hanks' friend who is rendered emotional by "The Dirty Dozen" in Nora Ephron's "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993) and Goldie Hawn's ex-husband in "The First Wives Club" (1996). He garnered much praise for his strong performance as the ship's designer Thomas Andrews in James Cameron's blockbuster "Titanic" (1997).

He got to display his vocal abilities in a pair of ABC movie remakes, 1997's "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" (as the King) and 1999's "Annie" (as Daddy Warbucks). The new millennium kicked off in fine gear for Garber. He co-starred in the Canadian mystery series "Criminal Intent" (1999-2000; aired in the USA on Lifetime in 2000-01) and then played another detective, this time tracking a woman who murdered her husband in the based-on-fact movie "Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story" (2001). Also in 2001, Garber earned a pair of Emmy nominations for his guest role as a temporary butler for the Cranes on NBC's "Frasier" and as Sid Luft in the ABC biographical miniseries "Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows". He then capped off the year by co-starring as the mysterious father of a young woman (Jennifer Garner) recruited as a spy in the ABC action-drama series "Alias," which proved a surprise hit and a welcome boost for Garber's public profile. He continued to make successful supporting forays back to the big screen as well, with roles in "Legally Blonde"(2001) and "Tuck Everlasting" (2002).

• Also Credited As:
  Victor Joseph Garber
• Born:
  Victor Joseph Garber on March 16, 1949 in London, Ontario, Canada
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Singer, Songwriter

Family

• Mother: Hope Garber. Garber was her caregiver until her death in 2005 from Alzheimer s disease

Milestones

• 1958 Started acting at age nine with a local children s theater troupe
• 1964 Joined the University of Toronto s Hart House acting group at age 15
• 1968 Formed a folk band called, The Sugar Shoppe; made US TV debut with the group on The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS)
• 1972 Appeared in the Toronto production of Godspell
• 1973 Feature film debut as Jesus in Godspell
• 1973 Made Off-Broadway debut in revival of Ibsen s play Ghosts
• 1974 Last film for 18 years, the Canadian-produced Monkeys in the Attic
• 1974 Provided the voice of Christian in an animated version of Cyrano de Bergerac (ABC)
• 1975 Made American TV debut in the NBC Hallmark Hall of Fame production of Valley Forge
• 1977 Returned to NYC in featured role of Moliere s Tartuffe at Circle in the Square; reprised role for the 1978 PBS adaptation
• 1978 Had featured role of playwright Clifford Anderson on Broadway in Deathtrap ; received first Tony Award nomination
• 1979 Played the male juvenile lead, Anthony Hope, in the Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler musical Sweeney Todd
• 1982 Starred in the revival of the musical Little Me ; picked up second Tony Award nomination
• 1983 Had featured role in the Broadway farce Noises Off
• 1983 Made TV series debut in the ABC daytime drama Ryan s Hope
• 1985 Starred in short-lived series I Had Three Wives (CBS) as a private detective aided by a trio of his ex-wives
• 1987 Played the boss and one-time romantic interest of the title character (Blair Brown) in The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (NBC, Lifetime)
• 1987 Won praise for his work in the Off-Broadway play Wencenslas Square
• 1988 Cast in the title role in Liberace: Behind the Music (CBS)
• 1989 Received third Tony Award nomination for leading role in the Broadway comedy Lend Me a Tenor
• 1990 Appeared in the controversial Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman Off-Broadway musical Assassins ; played John Wilkes Booth
• 1991 Played recurring role on the Canadian TV series E.N.G.
• 1991 Appeared in the short film Walking the Dog
• 1992 Returned to feature films after an 18-year absence to play a drug dealer in Light Sleeper
• 1993 Co-starred in the CBS miniseries Queen
• 1994 Cast as the Devil in the Broadway revival of Damn Yankees ; picked up fourth career Tony Award nomination
• 1995 Cast as Sarah Polley s father in Exotica
• 1995 Re-teamed with Blair Brown in the Broadway staging of Tom Stoppard s play Arcadia
• 1996 Played Goldie Hawn s ex-husband in The First Wives Club
• 1997 Cast as the King in the ABC TV remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein s Cinderella
• 1997 Portrayed the ship s designer in James Cameron s Oscar-winning blockbuster Titanic
• 1998 Returned to Broadway as co-star of Art, alongside Alfred Molina and Alan Alda
• 1999 Played Daddy Warbucks in the ABC remake of the Broadway musical Annie
• 2000 Guest-starred as the Crane s temporary butler on an episode of Frasier ; received Emmy nomination
• 2001 Portrayed Jack Bristow on the ABC spy series Alias ; earned three consecutive Emmy nominations for Supporting Actor from 2002-2004
• 2001 Cast as Sid Luft to Judy Davis Judy Garland in in the ABC miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows ; earned Emmy nomination
• 2001 Played one of the TV writers in Neil Simon s Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Showtime)
• 2001 Was featured as a law school professor in the hit film comedy Legally Blonde
• 2002 Appeared in the feature film Tuck Everlasting
• 2004 Earned an Emmy nomination for his guest-starring role on Will & Grace
• 2006 Starred in the short-lived FOX legal drama Justice
• 2007 Played the male lead in a critically hailed Encores presentation of Follies, with Donna Murphy
• 2008 Cast in the short-lived ABC series Eli Stone
• 2008 Portrayed former San Francisco Mayor George Moscone in Gus Van Sant s biographical film Milk
• When The Sugar Shoppe disbanded, formed new band, The Shop