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).

• Born:
  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 (date approximate)
• 1968 Was member of folk group, The Sugar Shoppe; made US TV debut with group on "The Ed Sullivan Show"
• 1972 Appeared in 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 Worked in regional theater, including several productions at New Haven's Long Wharf Theater
• 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 American TV debut in the NBC "Hallmark Hall of Fame" production "Valley Forge"; cast as the Marquis de Lafayette
• 1977 Returned to NYC in featured role of Moliere's "Tartuffe" at Circle in the Square; reprised role in 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 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 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"
• 1991 Acted in the short-lived Broadway production of "Two Shakespearean Actors"
• 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 Reteamed 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 ship's designer Thomas Andrews in James Cameron's Oscar-winning spectacular "Titanic"
• 1998 Returned to Broadway as co-star of "Art", alongside Alfred Molina and Alan Alda; later played the role in Los Angeles
• 1999 Performed opposite Nathan Lane in the workshop of the Stephen Sondheim musical "Wise Guys", about the Mizner Brothers; production deemed not ready for full-scale presentation
• 1999 Played Daddy Warbucks in the ABC remake of the Broadway musical "Annie"
• 2000 Made guest appearance as the Crane's temporary butler on an episode of "Frasier"; received Emmy nomination
• 2001 Had co-starring role on the ABC spy series "Alias"; earned Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actor in 2003 and 2004
• 2001 Cast as Sid Luft to Judy Davis' Judy Garland in in the ABC miniseries "Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows", adapted from Lorna Luft's memoir; earned Emmy nomination
• 2001 Offered another turn as a detective in the fact-based Canadian TV movie "Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story";
• 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"
• Appeared in the controversial Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman Off-Broadway musical "Assassins"; played John Wilkes Booth
• Headed the national tour of "They're Playing Our Song"
• Played police Inspector Philip Mallard in the Canadian mystery series "Criminal Intent"; aired in USA on Lifetime in 2000 and 2001 as "Criminal Instinct: Deadly Appearances". "Criminal Instinct: Love & Murder". "Criminal Instinct: The Wandering Soul Murders" and "Criminal Instinct: A Colder Kind of Death"
• Played recurring role on the Canadian TV series "E.N.G."
• Played the boss and one-time romantic interest of Blair Brown's title character in "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd" (NBC, then Lifetime)
• When The Sugar Shoppe disbanded, formed new band, The Shop