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Robert Walden

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For other people named Robert Walden, see Robert Walden (disambiguation).
Robert Walden
Born
Robert Wolkowitz

(1943-09-25) September 25, 1943 (age 81)
New York City, New York, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1970–present
RelativesHoward Deutch (nephew), Madelyn Deutch (grand-niece), Zoey Deutch (grand-niece)

Robert Walden (born Robert Wolkowitz; September 25, 1943)[1] is an American television and motion picture actor. He is best known for his role as Joe Rossi on Lou Grant,[2]: 625  which earned him three nominations for Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series; for his role as Joe Waters on Brothers;[2] and as Glenn Newman on Happily Divorced. Walden is also well known for his roles in the films Blue Sunshine, The Hospital, All the President's Men, Audrey Rose, and Capricorn One.

Life and career

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Walden was born in New York City, the son of Hilda (née Winokur) and Max Wolkowitz.[citation needed] His nephew is director Howard Deutch, the son of his sister; and his grand-nieces are actresses Zoey Deutch and Madelyn Deutch. Walden first became interested in acting while attending City College of New York, and shortly thereafter became a member of the Actors Studio.[3][4]

Walden's film career began in 1970, in Bloody Mama for Roger Corman. After that, and for the first several years of his career, he often played young doctors, such as in the television series The New Doctors (one of the rotating elements of NBC's The Bold Ones) as Dr. Cohen, after the departure of John Saxon prior to the final season; and notably in films Blue Sunshine and Paddy Chayefsky's The Hospital. His breakthrough role was in the television series Lou Grant, on which he played journalist Joe Rossi.[5] MTM producers James L. Brooks and Allan Burns "discovered" Walden when he played the role of police officer Ernie Joyce on the Mary Tyler Moore spin-off show Rhoda in an episode that aired in January 1977.[6] In a 2017 interview, Walden said that the MTM producers created the new Mary Tyler Moore spin-off Lou Grant with Walden in mind for the role of Rossi.[7] He was a cast member on Lou Grant during its entire run (1977–1982), and received three Emmy Award nominations (in 1979, 1980 and 1981) for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the role. Walden has played several historical characters, including Donald Segretti in the 1976 film All the President's Men, and J. Robert Oppenheimer in the 1980 TV movie Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb. From 1984 until 1989, he starred in the groundbreaking Showtime sitcom Brothers as the middle of three brothers, the owner of a bar/restaurant who was a retired NFL placekicker.[5] His youngest brother, played by Paul Regina, was gay and the series dealt with issues regarding homosexuality. Walden also made a cameo appearance as a sound engineer in the 1994 film Radioland Murders.[5]

In 2011, Walden made a return to series television in the TV Land sitcom Happily Divorced,[5] playing Glenn Newman, the father of the lead character played by series creator and writer Fran Drescher, with Rita Moreno co-starring as his wife. As on his previous series Brothers, Happily Divorced is also predominantly gay-themed, as the plot is based on Drescher's divorce from series co-creator Peter Marc Jacobson, who later revealed he was gay and remained friends with Drescher. The series was cancelled in 2013 after two seasons.

Other work

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He was a member of the Doo Wop group Bobby & The Chord-A-Roys in 1960.[8]

Walden is a distinguished teacher of acting at The New School for Drama, division of the New York City university The New School. In August, 2006 he appeared in the Herbert Berghof Playwrights Foundation (HB Studio) production of Arthur Miller's The American Clock under the direction of Austin Pendleton. Walden also appeared in the movie Capricorn One (1978) as Elliot Whitter.

Selected filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1970 Bloody Mama Fred Barker
1970 The Out-of-Towners Looter
1970 The Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker Winslow Smith
1971 The Hospital Dr. Brubaker
1972 A Run for the Money Murdock
1972 Bobby Jo and the Big Apple Good Time Band Augie Unsold TV pilot[9]
1972 Rage Dr. Tom Janeway
1973 Maxie Finn
1974 Larry Tom Corman
1974 The Great Ice Rip-Off Checker TV movie
1974 Our Time Frank
1975 The Kansas City Massacre Adam Richetti TV movie
1976 All the President's Men Donald Segretti
1977 Audrey Rose Brice Mack
1977 Blue Sunshine David Blume
1977 Capricorn One Elliot Whitter
1980 Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb Robert Oppenheimer TV movie
1994 Radioland Murders Tommy
1997 In Dark Places Diller
1998 Heist Police Detective
1998 Kiss of a Stranger Stephen Block
1999 Desert Thunder Gen. Tom Brockton
2001 The Fluffer Herman Lasky
2002 Time of Fear Sheriff Joe Calabro
2005 Whiskey School Alex Cavanaugh
2007 Mattie Fresno and the Holoflux Universe Dr. Kubelkoff
2010 Trooper VA Doctor
2020 Surviving in L.A. Walter

Television series

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Year Title Role Notes
1972–73 The Bold Ones: The New Doctors Dr. Martin Cohen 15 episodes
1977 Rhoda Ernie Joyce 1 episode
1977–82 Lou Grant Joe Rossi 114 episodes
1984–89 Brothers Joe Waters 115 episodes
2011–13 Happily Divorced Glen Newman 34 episodes

References

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  1. ^ Leszczak, Bob (2015). From Small Screen to Vinyl: A Guide to Television Stars Who Made Records, 1950-2000. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 393. ISBN 978-1-4422-4273-9.
  2. ^ a b Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 140+141. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  3. ^ Scott, Vernon (UPI). "Bachelorhood Right Role for 'Lou Grant's' Joe Rossi". The Pittsburgh Press. December 6, 1977. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  4. ^ "TView Mail". The Wilmington Morning News. January 7, 1979. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d "Robert Walden". TVGuide.com. TV Guide. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  6. ^ Mordente, Tony (1977-01-23), Somebody Has to Say They're Sorry, Rhoda, Valerie Harper, Julie Kavner, Ron Silver, Robert Walden, retrieved 2024-04-04
  7. ^ "Robert Walden takes acting techniques he learned as 'Lou Grant' reporter Joe Rossi to SXSW workshop". Dallas News. 2017-03-09. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  8. ^ Leszczak, Bob (2015). From Small Screen to Vinyl: A Guide to Television Stars Who Made Records, 1950-2000. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 393. ISBN 9781442242746. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Bobby Jo and the Big Apple Good Time Band (CBS unsold pilot)". TV Archives : Unsold Pilots. March 31, 1972.
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