A versatile stage-trained actor equally at home in musical comedy and classical roles, Malcolm Gets began his career in local theater in his adopted hometown of Gainesville, Florida. Born in Chicago to British parents, this second son and third of four children exhibited his talents early, training as a classical pianist and making his stage acting debut as a teen in a production of "Annie Get Your Gun". The tall (6'1"), attractive blond trained for the stage at the University of Florida and entered films in 1984 with a role in the locally-shot indie "A Flash of Green". After further studies at Yale, Gets began to make his mark on the NYC stage, alternating between classical plays ("Two Gentlemen of Verona" 1994) and musicals ("Hello Again" 1993; "Merrily We Roll Along" 1994). Although he garnered a bit of attention with an insightful cameo as F. Scott Fitzgerald in the feature "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" (1994), he became a familiar figure to TV watchers the following year debuting as the acerbic, depressive colorist Richard Karinsky hired by a neurotic cartoonist (Lea Thompson) in the NBC sitcom "Caroline in the City". Although not a favorite with critics, the show prospered for several years with the writers fashioning a love story between Thompson's Caroline and Gets' Richard. As the series was winding down, the actor returned to the stage headlining William Finn's autobiographical musical "A New Brain" (1998). Once the show was off the air, the openly gay actor undertook the role of the homosexual "Edward II" in a well-received San Francisco production and acted in the indie "Nine Scenes About Love" (lensed 2000).
- Also Credited As:
Hugh Malcolm Gets
- Born:
December 28, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Job Titles:
Actor, Musician, Singer, Composer, Conductor, Dancer, Stock boy
Family
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Brother: Eric Gets. older
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Father: Terrence Gets. British; college textbook salesman
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Mother: Lispeth Gets. British; has been a special ed teacher and has worked in school administration
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Sister: Allison Gets. older
Education
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University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, BFA, 1989
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Buchholz High School, Gainesville, Florida
Milestones
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1978 First professional role in a local production of Annie Get Your Gun
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1979 Composed music for local theater productions
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1984 Film debut, A Flash of Green
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1985 Was co-director, choreographer and pianist for local production of Ain t Misbehavin
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1989 TV debut in the PBS telecast of the Paper Mill Playhouse production of Show Boat ; was member of the ensemble and played guitar
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1992 After graduating Yale, appeared in Off-Broadway production of Juno
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1993 Played lead in Hartford Stage Company production of musical The Return of Martin Guerre
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1993 Was featured in the musical Hello, Again at Lincoln Center
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1994 Cast as Proteus in the New York Shakespeare Festival s production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona in Central Park
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1994 Had lead role of Franklin Shepard in the Off-Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim s Merrily We Roll Along
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1994 Had recurring role on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns
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1994 Made cameo appearance as F Scott Fitzgerald in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
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1995 Played regular role of depressive cartoonist Richard Karinsky on the NBC sitcom Caroline in the City
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1997 With Davis Gaines, played leads in the Encores! staging of The Boys From Syracuse in NYC
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1998 Returned to the New York stage as star of A New Brain , written by William Finn and directed by James Lapine
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2000 Starred on stage in San Francisco production of Edward II at American Conservatory Theatre
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2006 Co-starred with Chris Kattan in Craig Chester s directing debut Adam & Steve
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Appeared in one-man performance piece, Monkey Island which was incorporated in BBC series Jackadory
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Appeared in the annual Christmas show at NYC s Radio City Music Hall
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Began studying piano at age 9
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Raised in New Jersey until age five; family then relocated to Gainesville, Florida
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While a teen, worked in local theater as accompanist