Robert Wuhl

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Robert Wuhl
Robert Wuhl 1998.jpg
Wuhl in 1998
Born (1951-10-09) October 9, 1951 (age 69)
Union, New Jersey, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationUnion High School
Alma materUniversity of Houston
OccupationActor, comedian, writer
Years active1980–present
Spouse(s)
Barbara Koldys Capelli
​
​
(m. 1983)​

Robert Wuhl (born October 9, 1951) is an American actor, comedian and writer.[1] He is best known as the creator and star of the television comedy series Arliss (1996–2002)[2][3] and for his portrayal of newspaper reporter Alexander Knox in Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and Larry in Bull Durham (1988).

Early life[]

Wuhl was born in Union, New Jersey to a Jewish family.[4][5] His father worked as a produce distributor.[6] After attending Union High School, Wuhl headed to the University of Houston,[2] where he was active in the drama department and the Epsilon-Omicron chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Wuhl was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater in April 2012.

Career[]

Wuhl's first role in movies was a starring role in the 1980 comedy The Hollywood Knights along with other fledgling actors Tony Danza, Michelle Pfeiffer and Fran Drescher, followed by a small role in the film Flashdance (1983). Wuhl then had larger roles in movies including Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) with Robin Williams,[7] Bull Durham (1988) with Kevin Costner,[2][3] Tim Burton's 1989 Batman (as reporter Alexander Knox) with Michael Keaton,[2][4] Blaze (1989) with Paul Newman,[4] Missing Pieces (1991) with Eric Idle, Mistress (1992) with Robert De Niro, Blue Chips (1994) with Nick Nolte, and Cobb (1994) with Tommy Lee Jones.[8][9] He wrote two of the six episodes for the TV series Police Squad! in 1982, and did an audio commentary for its release on DVD in 2006.

Wuhl once appeared on The Dating Game and The $10,000 Pyramid.

Wuhl appeared with Keith Carradine in the 1985 music video to Madonna's hit "Material Girl".

In 1992, he appeared in The Bodyguard as host of the Oscars. In reality he won two Emmy Awards for co-writing the Academy Awards in 1990 and 1991 with Billy Crystal.

From 1996 to 2002 he wrote and starred in the HBO series Arli$$ as the title character, an agent for high-profile athletes.[10] From 2000 to 2001, he was a frequent panelist on the ESPN game show 2 Minute Drill, often quizzing the contestants on sports-related movies. Wuhl was a player in the Game Show Network's Poker Royale series, a competition between pros and comedians. In 2006, he starred on HBO in a one-man-show, Assume the Position with Mr. Wuhl,[2] where he taught a history class to show how history is created and propagated in a similar fashion to pop culture. A second chapter entitled Assume the Position 201 with Mr. Wuhl aired on HBO in July 2007. Wuhl is currently developing a stage adaptation of "Assume the Position" at Ars Nova in New York City.

He also hosted a sports, sports business and entertainment daily talk radio show,[11] for Westwood One (now Dial Global) from January through December 2011. Wuhl occasionally fills in for Boomer Esiason on the Boomer and Carton show.

He played a judge on the TNT series Franklin & Bash.

He played Herb Tucker in a revival of Neil Simon's 1979 play I Ought to Be in Pictures.[1]

In 2015, Wuhl portrayed himself on American Dad!, in the episode "Manhattan Magical Murder Mystery Tour". He then returned in 2017 to play himself again in the episode "The Talented Mr. Dingleberry". In 2019, he returned in the episode "One-Woman Swole" portraying himself as a judge in a bodybuilding contest.

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Title Role Notes
1980 The Hollywood Knights Newbomb Turk
1983 Flashdance Mawby's Regular
1987 Good Morning, Vietnam Marty Lee Dreiwitz
1988 Bull Durham Larry Hockett
1989 Batman Alexander Knox
Wedding Band Waiter
Blaze Red Snyder
1991 Missing Pieces Lou Wimpole
1992 Mistress Marvin Landisman
The Bodyguard Oscar Host
1993 Sandman Victor Giles
1994 Blue Chips Marty
Cobb Al Stump
1995 Open Season Stuart Sain
Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde Man with Lighter
1997 Good Burger Angry Customer
1998 Welcome to Hollywood Himself
2001 Monkeybone David Stone Uncredited
2013 Contest Zack Conti
2020 Shirley Randy Fisher

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
1996–2002 Arliss Arliss Michaels 80 episodes
2007 Everybody Hates Chris Abe Himmelfarb Episode: "Everybody Hates DJs"
Boston Legal Bob Binder Episode: "Oral Contracts"
2012–2013 Franklin & Bash Hon. Maxwell Nulis 2 episodes
2015–2021 American Dad! Himself 5 episodes
2019 Supergirl Alexander Knox Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One"
2020 Home Movie: The Princess Bride The Grandfather Episode: "Ultimate Suffering"
2020 The George Lucas Talk Show Self The George Lucas Talk Show All Day Star Wars Movie Watch Along;

Arli$$ marathon fundraisers; episode: "Digital Magic"; Stu-D2 1138

on the Binary Sunset Sith (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip marathon);

The George Lucas Holiday Special

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Brandes, Philip (October 24, 2012). "Review: 'I Ought to Be in Pictures' steeped in sentimentality". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Sandomir, Richard (April 1, 2006). "Robert Wuhl Is a Teacher on HBO's 'Assume the Position With Mr. Wuhl'". The New York Times. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Wuhl: Anything goes". Go.com. Disney Interactive. April 22, 1999. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Lloyd, Jack (August 11, 1989). "Rising Star Robert Wuhl Is Having Fun". Philly.com. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  5. ^ Samberg, Joel (1998). The Jewish Book of Lists. Carol Publishing Group. p. 99. ISBN 9780806520346. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  6. ^ "Robert Wuhl Biography (1951–)". FilmReference.com. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  7. ^ Hinson, Hal (January 15, 1988). "Good Morning, Vietnam". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  8. ^ Turan, Kenneth (December 2, 1994). "MOVIE REVIEWS : 'Cobb': What Becomes a Legend Least? : Shelton's Latest Film Shows Bad and Ugly of Baseball Star". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  9. ^ Barra, Allen (October 9, 2001). "Clemens: The Greatest of All Time". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  10. ^ Nocera, Joe (March 12, 2012). "The Case for Agents". The New York Times. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  11. ^ Smith, Christopher (May 20, 2011). "'Juan and John' opening crowd includes John Roseboro's widow". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 24, 2015.

External links[]

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