Monday, August 15, 2016

Fyvush Finkel obit

 

R.I.P. Fyvush Finkel of 'Picket Fences'

The Yiddish theater mainstay died Sunday at the age of 93.

He was not on the list.

Fyvush Finkel, best known for his role of Douglas Wambaugh on the drama Picket Fences, died Sunday at the age of 93.

Finkel earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of the bombastic lawyer. The series ran for four seasons in the 1990s and picked up a total of fourteen Emmys.

TV Guide ranked Douglas Wambaugh as the 47th greatest television character of all time in 2002.

After Picket Fences wrapped in 1996, Finkel appeared in a failed reboot of Fantasy Island that only lasted 13 episodes. In 2000, the actor joined the critically acclaimed cast of Boston Public, which lasted for four seasons.

Although Finkel's television career started later in his life — one of his earliest appearances was on an episode of Kojak, "Kojak's Days: Part 1" — he had an outstanding career in theater. Finkel became a mainstay in the Yiddish theater scene on the Lower East Side of Manhattan before making his Broadway debut in 1965 as Mordcha the innkeeper in the original production of Fiddler on the Roof.

He continued to work in theater until Picket Fences debuted in 1992, joining the traveling production of Fiddler on the Roof and Little Shop of Horrors in the 1980s.

Finkel's son confirmed to the New York Times his father passed away Sunday after dealing with heart problems.

Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1950      Monticello, Here We Come                         

1986      Off Beat               Vendor

1986      Seize the Day     Shomier              

1986      Brighton Beach Memoirs              Mr. Greenblat  

1990      Q&A      Preston Pearlstein          

1991      Mobsters             Tailor    

1993      The Pickle            Mr. Shacknoff   

1993      For Love or Money          Milton Glickman              

1995      Aaron's Magic Village     Narrator               English version, Voice

1995      Nixon    Murray Chotiner               Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

1998      The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars     Hearing Aid         Voice

2000      The Crew             Sol Lowenstein

2009      A Serious Man   Dybbuk                 Nominated—Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast

2013      The Other Men in Black Moshe

2015      Deli Man              Himself                

2016      Game Day           Max       [12] (final film role)

 

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1977      Kojak     Simon   Episode: "Kojak Days: Part 1"

1992–1996          Picket Fences     Douglas Wambaugh        87 episodes

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series

Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film

Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1995–96)

Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series (1993, 1995)

1995      Chicago Hope     Douglas Wambaugh        Episode: "Small Sacrifices"

1995      Aaahh!!! Real Monsters                Jackie Jarr            2 episodes

1995      Great Performances       Himself                 Episode: "Itzhak Perlman: In the Fiddler's House"

1996, 1999          Early Edition       Phil Kazakian      2 episodes

1996      Rugrats                 Shlomo                 Episode: "Chanukah"

1997      The Simpsons    Himself as Krusty the Clown        Voice, Episode: "Lisa's Sax"

1998–1999          Fantasy Island    Fisher    13 episodes

2000–2004          Boston Public     Harvey Lipschultz             70 episodes

2000–2003          Hollywood Squares          Himself                 10 episodes

2007      The Wedding Bells           Saul Finkelstein Episode: "For Whom the Bells Toll"

2011      Harry's Law         Abe Gold              Episode: "The Rematch"

2013      Blue Bloods         Moishe Episode: "Men in Black"

 


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