Daniel von Bargen (June 5, 1950 – March 1, 2015) was an American

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

, stage and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. He was known for his roles as Mr. Kruger on ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and ...

'', Commandant Edwin Spangler on ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunction ...

'', and Chief Grady in ''

Super Troopers ''Super Troopers'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar and written by and starring the Broken Lizard comedy group (Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske). Marisa Coughlan, Daniel vo ...

''.

Early life

Von Bargen was born to Juanita J. (née Bustle) and Donald L. von Bargen, and was of German and English descent. He was born in Cincinnati, where he grew up for most of his childhood before moving with his family to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

. In 1968, von Bargen graduated from Reading High School. He graduated from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

Career

In 1974, von Bargen made his television debut in ''Feasting with Panthers'', a play about

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's imprisonment at the

Reading Gaol HM Prison Reading, popularly known as Reading Gaol, is a former prison located in Reading, Berkshire, England. The prison was operated by His Majesty's Prison Service until its closure at the start of 2014. It is a Grade II listed building and ...

, on PBS's ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is p ...

'' anthology series. Von Bargen's film credits included '' The Silence of the Lambs'', ''

London Betty ''London Betty'' is a 2009 American comedy/adventure film directed and written by Thomas Edward Seymour. The film includes performances by Nicole Lewis, Daniel von Bargen (in his final performance), Russ Russo, and director Seymour, as well as ...

'', ''

RoboCop 3 ''RoboCop 3'' is a 1993 American science fiction action film directed by Fred Dekker and written by Dekker and Frank Miller. It is the sequel to the 1990 film '' RoboCop 2'' and the third entry in the ''RoboCop'' franchise. It stars Robert B ...

'', ''

Basic Instinct ''Basic Instinct'' is a 1992 neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. The film follows San Francisco police detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas), who is investigating the brutal murder of a wea ...

'', '' Broken Arrow'', '' Truman'', '' The Majestic'', ''

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

'', ''

O Brother, Where Art Thou? ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' is a 2000 comedy drama film written, produced, co-edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson, with Chris Thomas King, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and ...

'', ''

Snow Falling on Cedars ''Snow Falling on Cedars'' is a 1994 novel by David Guterson. Guterson, a teacher, wrote the book in the early morning hours over ten years then quit his job to write full-time. Plot Set on the fictional San Piedro Island in the Strait of Juan ...

'', '' Thinner'', ''

A Civil Action ''A Civil Action'' is a 1995 non-fiction book by Jonathan Harr about a water contamination case in Woburn, Massachusetts, in the 1980s. The book became a best-seller. It won the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction. The case is ...

'', '' Disney's The Kid'', ''

'' and '' Universal Soldier: The Return''. Von Bargen played the maniacal sorcerer Nix in

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...

's ''

Lord of Illusions ''Lord of Illusions'' is a 1995 American neo-noir supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, based on his own short story "The Last Illusion" published in 1985 in the anthology ''Books of Blood'' Volume 6. The same story introd ...

'' and the Sheriff in '' The Postman''. He played a terrorist in a season 5 episode of ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

''. Von Bargen had played Mr. Kruger, George Costanza's boss, in the ninth season of ''

'', and also played the recurring antagonist Commandant Edwin Spangler in the FOX comedy ''

'' for the first three seasons. Von Bargen's stage career included a long residency with Trinity Repertory Company in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

; he made his

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

debut in 1981 in ''Missing Persons''. He also appeared in the debut of

Larry Gelbart Larry Simon Gelbart (February 25, 1928 – September 11, 2009) was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter, director and author, most famous as a creator and producer of the television series ''M*A*S*H'', and as co-writer of the B ...

's ''Mastergate'' and other plays at the American Repertory Theater in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. He made his

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut when the show went to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1990, he won a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

for Outstanding New Performer for his role in ''Mastergate''. His last films roles were as Maury in ''

'' and as George Burgess in ''

Things That Hang from Trees ''Things That Hang from Trees'' is a 2006 drama film directed by Ido Mizrahy and written by Aaron Louis Tordini. It is based on the novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most ...

''. In 1993, von Bargen narrated the unabridged '' Streets of Laredo'' audiobook.

Personal life

Von Bargen was married to actress Margo Skinner, but the two were divorced by the time of her death on April 11, 2005. Skinner died in her sleep of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

in her

apartment.

Health issues and death

On February 20, 2012, von Bargen shot himself in the temple during an apparent suicide attempt. After von Bargen placed a phone call to a 911 operator, emergency crews were dispatched to his

Montgomery, Ohio Montgomery is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, settled in 1795. The town was a coach stop on the Cincinnati-Zanesville Road, later known as the Montgomery Pike, with an inn, two taverns, a grist mill and a carding mill to proces ...

, apartment. Von Bargen suffered from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

and, at the time of his attempted suicide, had been living with one leg amputated. He was due to have several toes amputated on his remaining foot and reportedly did not want to submit to another surgery. Von Bargen died on March 1, 2015, of undisclosed causes, having experienced complications from diabetes for years, at the age of 64. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' reported that his death "came after an unspecified long illness." Von Bargen's ashes were given to his family.

Filmography

Television

Film

Stage

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Von Bargen, Daniel 1950 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American amputees American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American people of English descent American people of German descent Male actors from Cincinnati Purdue University alumni