Lanky blond actor Larry Bryggman is perhaps best known to daytime TV viewers as the dedicated (and formerly villainous) Dr. John Dixon on "As the World Turns", a role he has played since 1969 and which brought him two Daytime Emmy Awards. Discerning theatergoers in NYC, however, may recall the actor for his many appearances on and off Broadway, notably with the New York Shakespeare Festival. Since his 1962 debut, Bryggman has rarely not found a stage role to supplement his daytime work. In 1993, he was honored with an OBIE Award for "sustained excellence of work" and the following year he received a Tony nomination for playing the reliable Howard Bevans in the Broadway revival of "Picnic". The actor has also frequently appeared in support of star Al Pacino, dating from their mutual association with the Theatre Company of Boston in the late 1960s. Pacino, in turn, included Bryggman in the 1996 documentary, which focused on actors performing Shakespeare's "Richard III".
Born and raised in the Bay Area of California, Bryggman attended the City College of San Francisco before heading to New York, where he made his Off-Broadway debut in "Summer Ghost" (1962). After stints with the Pittsburgh Playhouse and in Boston, he began his long association with Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival (NYSF) with 1969's "Mod Donna" and over the course of nearly three decades played numerous roles in the canon, including Banquo in "Macbeth" and the title parts in "Coriolanus" and both parts of "Henry IV". Alongside Pacino, Bryggman appeared in "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" (1977) and "Richard III" (1979). Bryggman segued to the big screen in support of Pacino in the legal drama "... And Justice for All" (1979) and enjoyed his most prominent role as a policeman sparring with Bruce Willis' John McClane in "Die Hard With a Vengeance" (1995).