Childhood & Early Life
Judd Seymore Hirsch was born on March 15, 1935, in The Bronx, New York, US, to electrician Joseph Sidney Hirsch and his wife, Sally (née Kitzis). He grew up with his brother, Roland Hirsch, in both Brooklyn and The Bronx.
Hirsch attended the ‘DeWitt Clinton High School’ (in The Bronx) and completed his graduation in 1952. He then enrolled at the ‘City College of New York’ and obtained a degree in physics. He served a tour in the ‘United States Army’ and also served the US-based nuclear power company ‘Westinghouse Electric Company’ as an engineer, before commencing his career in the entertainment industry.
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Career
Hirsch’s initial career included uncredited roles in the films ‘Jump’ (1971) and ‘Serpico’ (1973). He played the starring role of defense attorney ‘Murray Stone’ in the ‘Universal Television’ made-for-TV film ‘The Law.’ The movie aired on ‘NBC’ on October 22, 1974. He then reprised the role in a 1975 TV miniseries consisting of three hour-long episodes, bearing the same title as that of the original TV movie.
He appeared in multiple roles in the ‘Broadway’ comedy ‘Knock Knock’ in 1976. It fetched him the ‘Drama Desk Award’ for ‘Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.’
He essayed the title role of ‘Sgt. Dominick "Delwop" Delvecchio’ in the American TV series ‘Delvecchio,’ which aired on ‘CBS’ from September 9, 1976, to March 13, 1977. He earned a ‘Primetime Emmy Award’ nomination for ‘Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series’ for his role of ‘Mike’ in two episodes of the American sitcom ‘Rhoda’ in 1977.
His performance as ‘George Schneider’ in the semi-autobiographical play ‘Chapter Two’ (1977–1978) earned him a ‘Drama Desk Award’ nomination for ‘Outstanding Actor in a Play.’
Hirsch advanced his career as a TV, film, and stage actor simultaneously. He rose to fame and gained stardom after featuring in the leading role of ‘Alex Rieger’ in the popular American sitcom ‘Taxi’ that emerged as one of the most popular shows on TV.
‘Taxi’ ran for five seasons, from September 12, 1978 to May 6, 1982, on ‘ABC,’ and from September 30, 1982, to June 15, 1983, on ‘NBC’ and bagged 18 ‘Emmy Awards.’ Hirsch earned a ‘Primetime Emmy Award’ nomination for ‘Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series’ every year from 1979 to 1983 and won two of them, one each in 1981 and 1983.
His brilliant performance as ‘Dr. Tyrone C Berger’ in the 1980-released ‘Academy Award’-winning American drama ‘Ordinary People’ fetched Hirsch an ‘Academy Award’ nomination for the ‘Best Supporting Actor,’ his only ‘Oscar’ nomination so far, apart from a ‘Golden Globe Award’ nomination for the ‘Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture.’ That year, he also bagged a ‘Tony Award’ nomination and a ‘Drama Desk Award’ nomination for his performance as ‘Matt Friedman’ in the play ‘Talley's Folly.’
He made his mark as a theater artist with the starring role of ‘Nat’ in the Herb Gardner play ‘I'm Not Rappaport.’ It won Hirsch his first ‘Tony Award’ for the ‘Best Actor in a Play.’ The play witnessed 891 ‘Broadway’ shows at the ‘Booth Theatre,’ from November 19, 1985, to January 17, 1988. His second ‘Tony Award’ for the ‘Best Actor in a Play’ came with another Gardner play, ‘Conversations with My Father,’ which opened on ‘Broadway’ on March 22, 1992, at the ‘Royale Theatre,’ and closed after 402 shows and 30 previews, on March 14, 1993.
His next notable TV series was the popular American sitcom ‘Dear John’ that aired on ‘NBC’ from 1988 to 1992. Hirsch’s remarkable performance as the titular character, ‘John Lacey,’ a preparatory school teacher, won him the ‘Golden Globe Award’ for the ‘Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy’ in 1988.
Over the years, he was featured in several other notable series, such as ‘George and Leo’ (1997–1998), ‘NUMB3RS’ (2005–2010), ‘Damages’ (2011–2012), ‘Forever’ (2014–2015), and ‘Superior Donuts’ (2017–2018). He has also appeared in many TV films, such as ‘The Halloween That Almost Wasn't’ (1979), ‘The Great Escape II: The Untold Story’ (1988), and ‘Sharknado 2: The Second One’ (2014).
He essayed the role of ‘Julius Levinson,’ father of ‘David Levinson,’ the character played by Jeff Goldblum, in the ‘Academy Award’-winning Hollywood blockbuster ‘Independence Day.’ The film released worldwide on July 3, 1996, and became the highest-grosser of that year. Hirsch reprised the role in the film’s 2016 sequel, ‘Independence Day: Resurgence,’ which was also a box-office success.
One of the most notable feature films of Hirsch was the 2001-released American biographical drama ‘A Beautiful Mind,’ based on the life of ‘Nobel’ laureate John Nash. While Russell Crowe played the titular character, Hirsch was featured as ‘Dr. Helinger’ and earned a ‘Screen Actors Guild Award’ nomination for his performance.
He was also part of the blockbuster hit American heist-comedy film ‘Tower Heist’ (2011), starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy among others. Hirsch’s expansive oeuvre on the big-screen saw him starring in several films such as ‘Without a Trace’ (1983), ‘The Goodbye People’ (1984), ‘Running on Empty’ (1988), ‘Zeyda and the Hitman’ (2004), and ‘Altered Minds’ (2015) among others. He joined the cast of the upcoming American crime-drama film ‘Uncut Gems’ in August 2018.
