Judge Reinhold Biography

Judge Reinhold made his acting debut on television in 1979 with the role of ‘Jeffrey Gordon’ in the series ‘Wonder Woman’. He also appeared in two episodes of the crime drama television show ‘Magnum, P.I.’ as ‘Seaman Wolfe’. In 1980, Reinhold made his silver screen debut, playing the character of ‘Leeroy Beecher’ in the adventure film ‘Running Scared’. The subsequent year, Reinhold appeared in the American military comedy film ‘Stripes’, directed by Ivan Reitman. The film featured big names like Bill Murray and Harold Ramis. The film was a huge hit that elevated Reinhold’s career further. In the next few years, he appeared in a few films like ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’, ‘The Lords of Discipline’, and ‘Gremlins’ with small roles.

In 1984, Reinhold received his first major role on the silver screen. He was cast in the role of ‘Det. William "Billy" Rosewood’ in the action comedy film ‘Beverly Hills Cop’. The film was directed by Martin Brest and featured Eddie Murphy as the lead character. Reinhold had a significant role to play in the film which was a big success at the box office. The makers were surprised by the response, and a trilogy was soon planned. The next film of the ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ series came three years later in 1987 and was titled ‘Beverly Hills Cop II’. Eddie Murphy was once again the central character and Reinhold appeared with the same role. The film was nominated at multiple award shows and was appreciated by the audience as well. After the two successful movies, Reinhold did a few more films like ‘Rosalie Goes Shopping’, ‘Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will?’, ‘Over Her Dead Body’, and ‘Bank Robber’. However, none of these films were as successful as the previous ones. After several years of appearing in the second film of the ‘Beverly Hills Cops’ trilogy, Reinhold appeared in the third film of the franchise in 1994. In this film, Reinhold’s character was seen being promoted to ‘Sgt. Billy Rosewood.’ This sequel, however, witnessed very harsh critical response. Almost every top review-aggregation website gave the film bad reviews, and it was labeled as a ‘safe money maker film’.

He was cast alongside Tim Allen, Wendy Crewson, and David Krumholtz in the film ‘The Santa Clause’ in 1994. It received moderate reviews from the critics, and spawned two sequels. However, the sequels were flops. The penultimate film in the series, ‘The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause’, received a 17 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, one of the top review-aggregation websites in the business.

Reinhold has appeared in numerous television shows as well; however, he was never part of any long-running television series in his career. He did appear in notable roles in shows like ‘Magnum, P.I.’, ‘Secret Service Guy’, ‘The O'Keefes’ (as ‘Harry O'Keefe’), and ‘Easy Money’. In his acting career so far, he has appeared in over fifteen television films. He also did the voice of ‘Lascoyt’ in the video game ‘Atlantis: The Lost Empire’.

Edward Ernest Reinhold, Jr. was born on May 21, 1957, in Wilmington, Delaware, to Regina Fleming and Edward Ernest Reinhold, Sr. He was nicknamed ‘Judge’ by his father when he was two weeks old as he had a “stern face,” like a judge. His father was a lawyer by profession and the Reinhold family moved to Florida where he attended the Palm Beach Community College.

Reinhold married Carrie Frazier in November 1985. However, the couple ended their marriage in a divorce soon after. He later married Amy Reinhold on January 8, 2000.