George Murdock (actor)


George Murdock was an American character actor, especially prolific on television.

Early years

Murdock was born George Sawaya, Jr. in Salina, Kansas. He was the second child of seven children born to George R. Sawaya, a Lebanese immigrant, and Olive Sawaya.

Career

Murdock was known for frequently playing judges,, he also performed the role of "Big Daddy" in Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with the Arizona Theater Company during the 1988 season. He was also Laszlo Gabo on the 1986–87 sitcom What a Country!.
Among his most well-known characters for movies and TV were Lt. Scanlon, the oily NYPD Internal Affairs officer in Barney Miller, Dr. Salik in Battlestar Galactica TV series, "God" in ', Admiral Hanson in the ' episode "The Best of Both Worlds |The Best of Both Worlds", and as Yuri Testikov in the Seinfeld episode, "The Marine Biologist".

Death

On April 30, 2012, Murdock died of cancer in Burbank, California, at age 81.

Filmography