Paul Israel Sparer (December 19, 1923 – November 19, 1999) was an American character actor.

Career

Sparer appeared as Rex Cooper in the soap operas ''

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

'' and '' Another World''. He was also known for narrating the anthology TV series ''

Tales from the Darkside ''Tales from the Darkside'' is an American horror anthology television series created by George A. Romero. A pilot episode was first broadcast on October 29, 1983. The series was picked up for syndication, and the first season premiered on S ...

''. His film roles include '' Loving'' and ''

The House on Carroll Street ''The House on Carroll Street'' is a 1988 American neo-noir film directed by Peter Yates, and starring Kelly McGillis, Jeff Daniels, Mandy Patinkin, and Jessica Tandy. Set in 1950s New York City, it follows a photojournalist who, blacklisted after ...

'' while television appearances include ''

Armstrong Circle Theatre ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with '' The United States Steel Ho ...

'', ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American Action film, action Crime film, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theophilus "Theo" Kojak. Tak ...

'', ''

The Adams Chronicles ''The Adams Chronicles'' is a thirteen-episode miniseries by PBS that aired in 1976 to commemorate the American Bicentennial. Synopsis The series chronicles the story of the Adams political family over a 150-year span, including John Adams (dr ...

'', ''

Lou Grant Lou Grant is a fictional character played by Ed Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), a half-hour light-hearted situation comedy in which the character ...

'' and '' Spenser: For Hire''. He also appeared in the first episode of ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', "

Prescription for Death "Prescription for Death" is the series premiere of the American crime drama television series ''Law & Order''. The episode's teleplay was written by Ed Zuckerman, the story was written by David Black and Ed Zuckerman, and was directed by John ...

Personal life

Sparer was born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to a Jewish family. He was married to actress

Nancy Marchand Nancy Lou Marchand (June 19, 1928 – June 18, 2000) was an American actress. She began her career in theater in 1951. She was most famous for portraying Margaret Pynchon on '' Lou Grant'' – for which she won 4 Emmy Awards – and Livia Sopra ...

and had three kids and seven grandchildren. Sparer died in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

on November 19, 1999 from cancer. His wife, Marchand died half a year later, on June 18, 2000 from lung cancer and emphysema, aged 72.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sparer, Paul 1923 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American Jews American male soap opera actors Jewish American male actors Male actors from Boston