David Paymer


David Emmanuel Paymer is an American character actor, comedian, and television director. He has been in films such as Mr. Saturday Night, Quiz Show, Searching for Bobby Fischer, City Slickers, Crazy People, State and Main, Payback, Get Shorty, Carpool, The American President, Ocean's Thirteen, and Drag Me to Hell. Paymer was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1992 for Mr. Saturday Night. He played the lead role as the Boss in Bartleby, an adaptation of Herman Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener." He played a mob boss in the television series Line of Fire.

Early life

Paymer was born in Oceanside, New York, the son of Sylvia, a travel agent, and Marvin Paymer, a pianist and musical director who originally worked in the scrap metal business. The two divorced in 1973. Paymer is Jewish; his mother was born in Belgium and left for the United States because of the Nazi occupation. Paymer has a brother, Steve, and graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in theater and psychology. Paymer is married to Liz Georges, with whom he has two children.

Career

Paymer's acting career began in 1979 with the film The In-Laws. Paymer has appeared in over 90 films in his career. He has also appeared in many popular television shows, including Taxi, Happy Days, L.A. Law, Ghost Whisperer, ' and Entourage. He has had recurring roles on Cheers, Murphy Brown, and The Larry Sanders Show. He has also appeared in such films as Amistad, City Hall, RFK, and Into the West. He received an Academy Award nomination for Mr. Saturday Night. Paymer has also dabbled into the world of animation, lending his voice to the character "Sheldon" in the Kids' WB cartoon series Channel Umptee-3 and in ' as neurotic Welsh Terrier Mel.
Paymer has directed episodes of several popular television series, including Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill, Melrose Place, Everwood, Brothers & Sisters, and Bunheads. He also appeared in a cameo for an AT&T commercial in 2011.

Filmography

Film

Television

Director