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David Paymer (born August 30, 1954) is an American actor, seen in such films as Quiz Show, Searching for Bobby Fischer, City Slickers, Crazy People, State and Main, Payback, Get Shorty, Carpool, The American President, and Ocean's Thirteen. Paymer was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1992 for Mr. Saturday Night. He played a mob boss in the short-lived series Line of Fire.

Personal life

Paymer was born in Oceanside, New York, the son of Sylvia, a travel agent, and Marvin Paymer, a pianist and musical director^[1] who originally worked in the scrap metal business. The two divorced in 1973.^[2] Paymer is Jewish; his mother was born in Belgium and left for the United States because of the Nazi occupation.^[3] 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. 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.

Paymer has directed episodes of several popular television series, including Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill, Melrose Place, and Everwood. In the television series Angel, there is a running gag about Cordelia Chase socializing with Paymer and his brother, Steve.

Filmography

References

External links

• David Paymer at the Internet Movie Database