Matthew Laurance (born Matthew Dycoff) is an American film and television actor best known for starring as Ben Coleman in the Fox sitcom ''

Duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a sol ...

'' and for his recurring role as Mel Silver on ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ...

''.

Early life, family and education

Matthew Dycoff was born in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and raised in

Hewlett, New York Hewlett is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 6,819 at the 2010 census. Hewlett is usually included as one of the Five Towns in th ...

. He has an

identical twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

brother,

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territ ...

(born four minutes earlier), who is also a professional actor. Both brothers are graduates of

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

Career

Laurance appeared on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'' during its sixth season. He left ''SNL'' after one season (albeit a short season, only 13 episodes). Laurance portrayed bass player Sal Amato in the 1983

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...

hit ''

Eddie and the Cruisers ''Eddie and the Cruisers'' is a 1983 American musical drama film directed by Martin Davidson with the screenplay written by the director and Arlene Davidson, based on the novel by P. F. Kluge. The sequel '' Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! ...

'', and he was the only cast member besides

Michael Paré Michael Kevin Paré (born October 9, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films ''Eddie and the Cruisers'' (1983), '' Streets of Fire'' (1984), and '' The Philadelphia Experiment'' (1984), and on the series ''Starhun ...

and

Michael Antunes Michael “Tunes” Antunes (born August 10, 1940) is a professional American saxophonist. He is most noted for playing the tenor saxophone on hit songs with John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band and for his acting role as the saxophonist in t ...

to appear in the 1989 sequel, '' Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!'' He also had a role in '' Streets of Fire'', as one of the two Ardmore police officers who enter the bus Tom Cody (Michael Paré) was on, making this the third film he appeared in with Paré. He starred as detective novelist Ben Coleman in the sitcom ''

'' on Fox, which ran from 1987 to 1989 for three seasons, at the time, one of few original programs during the Fox network's debut. He also appeared on television in ''

thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust any ...

''. From 1991 through 2000, he performed the recurring role of Mel Silver, father of David Silver and Erin Silver on ''

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laurance, Matthew Living people American male film actors American male television actors 1950 births American sketch comedians People from Queens, New York Comedians from New York (state) 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American comedians Male actors from New York City Identical twin male actors American twins Tufts University alumni People from Jewell County, Kansas People from Hewlett, New York