Michael Lembeck
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Michael Lembeck (born June 25, 1948) is an American actor and television and film director. Best known as Max Horvath in '' One Day at a Time'' (1979-1984).


Life and career

Lembeck was born in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York, the son of Caroline Dubs and
Harvey Lembeck Harvey Lembeck (April 15, 1923 – January 5, 1982) was an American comedic actor best remembered for his role as Cpl. Rocco Barbella on ''The Phil Silvers Show'' (a.k.a. ''Sgt. Bilko'', a.k.a. ''You'll Never Get Rich'') in the late 1950s, and a ...
, an actor and comedian. His parents practiced the
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
faith. He began acting in the late 1960s and directing in the 1970s. His most notable acting role was as Julie Cooper ( Mackenzie Phillips)'s husband, Max Horvath, on the sitcom '' One Day at a Time''. He played newscaster Clete Meizenheimer on the series ''
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' is an American satirical soap opera that aired in daily weeknight syndication from January 1976 to July 1977. The series follows the titular Mary Hartman, an Ohio housewife attempting to cope with various bizarre ...
''. In 1975, he appeared on ''
Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created ...
'' in the episode "Hair" as Officer Guardeno. He also played Kaptain Kool of the fictional band Kaptain Kool and the Kongs on ''
The Krofft Supershow ''The Krofft Supershow'' was a Saturday morning children's variety show, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. It aired for two seasons from September 11, 1976, to September 2, 1978, on ABC. Background The show was composed of several live-action se ...
'' from 1976 to 1978. He is also known for his role as Vinnie Fazio in ''
The Boys in Company C ''The Boys in Company C'' is a 1978 war film directed by Sidney J. Furie about United States Marine Corps recruits preparing for duty and their subsequent combat in the Vietnam War. It stars Stan Shaw, Andrew Stevens, Craig Wasson and Michael Lem ...
'' in 1978. He was a member of the cast of the 1985–1986 situation comedy ''Foley Square''. He appeared with his father, actor
Harvey Lembeck Harvey Lembeck (April 15, 1923 – January 5, 1982) was an American comedic actor best remembered for his role as Cpl. Rocco Barbella on ''The Phil Silvers Show'' (a.k.a. ''Sgt. Bilko'', a.k.a. ''You'll Never Get Rich'') in the late 1950s, and a ...
, in an episode of ''
The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from S ...
'' in 1971. Lembeck has had collaborations with actor Peter Boyle (with whom he had previously appeared as an actor in '' Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8'') in both ''
The Santa Clause 2 ''The Santa Clause 2'' is a 2002 American Christmas comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck in his directorial debut. It is a sequel to '' The Santa Clause'' (1994) and the second installment in ''The Santa Clause'' franchise. All of the princip ...
'' and its sequel '' The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause''. Lembeck also directed Boyle in a number of episodes of ''
Everybody Loves Raymond ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American sitcom television series created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch an ...
''. Lembeck's first film appearance came in the 1968 film ''
Hang 'Em High ''Hang 'Em High'' is a 1968 American DeLuxe Color revisionist Western film directed by Ted Post and written by Leonard Freeman and Mel Goldberg. It stars Clint Eastwood as Jed Cooper, an innocent man who survives a lynching; Inger Stevens ...
'' where he portrays a store clerk with two spoken lines. He later acted in '' The In-Laws''. He directed ''
The Santa Clause 2 ''The Santa Clause 2'' is a 2002 American Christmas comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck in his directorial debut. It is a sequel to '' The Santa Clause'' (1994) and the second installment in ''The Santa Clause'' franchise. All of the princip ...
'' and '' The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause'', as well as the
Nia Vardalos Antonia Eugenia Vardalos (born September 24, 1962) is a Canadian actress, director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known for starring in and writing the romantic comedy film ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002), which garnered her nominati ...
film ''
Connie and Carla ''Connie and Carla'' is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck and starring Nia Vardalos, Toni Collette, and David Duchovny. The screenplay was written by Vardalos. The film was shot in Vancouver and featured a number of local ...
'' and '' Tooth Fairy''. Lembeck now works as a full-time film and TV director. He won an Emmy for his work on the '' Friends'' episode "
The One After the Superbowl "The One After the Superbowl" is a double-length episode of the American television sitcom '' Friends second season. The episode premiered on NBC on January 28, 1996, as the lead-out for NBC's telecast of Super Bowl XXX. The main storyline of ...
". He also directed 20 other episodes of the series.


Personal life

Lembeck is married to his second wife, retired actress
Lorna Patterson Lorna Patterson (born October 1, 1956) is an American film, stage and television actress and, more recently, a Jewish cantor. As an actress, her best-known roles were as Randy, the singing stewardess, in ''Airplane!'', and as the lead in the tel ...
. They raised two children, daughter Mimi and son Sam.


Awards

Lembeck's work has received recognition from the
Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...
, and the
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...
(also known as the ATAS). * 1996 WON -
Primetime Emmy award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series is presented to the best directing of a television comedy series. Winners and nominations 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Total awards by netwo ...
("
The One After the Superbowl "The One After the Superbowl" is a double-length episode of the American television sitcom '' Friends second season. The episode premiered on NBC on January 28, 1996, as the lead-out for NBC's telecast of Super Bowl XXX. The main storyline of ...
") ('' Friends'') * 1999 Nominated -
Primetime Emmy award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series is presented to the best directing of a television comedy series. Winners and nominations 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Total awards by netwo ...
(" The One Where Everybody Finds Out") (''Friends'') * 2000 Nominated -
Primetime Emmy award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series is presented to the best directing of a television comedy series. Winners and nominations 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Total awards by netwo ...
(" The One That Could Have Been (Part 1 & 2)") (''Friends'') * 2012 Nominated - Directors Guild award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs ('' Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure'') * 2017 Nominated - Directors Guild award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs (''A Nutcracker Christmas'')


Filmography


Film

* ''
The Santa Clause 2 ''The Santa Clause 2'' is a 2002 American Christmas comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck in his directorial debut. It is a sequel to '' The Santa Clause'' (1994) and the second installment in ''The Santa Clause'' franchise. All of the princip ...
'' (2002) * ''
Connie and Carla ''Connie and Carla'' is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck and starring Nia Vardalos, Toni Collette, and David Duchovny. The screenplay was written by Vardalos. The film was shot in Vancouver and featured a number of local ...
'' (2004) * '' The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause'' (2006) * '' Tooth Fairy'' (2010) * '' Queen Bees'' (2021) * ''
The J Team ''The J Team'' is a 2021 American family musical drama film directed by Michael Lembeck, executive-produced by JoJo Siwa and produced by Nickelodeon Movies which debuted as an original film on Paramount+ on September 3, 2021. Premise JoJo Siw ...
'' (2021) Direct-to-video * ''
The Clique A clique is a close social group. Clique or The Clique may also refer to: Math and computing * Clique (graph theory) ** Clique problem in computer science Business and brands * Clique (vodka), a Latvian vodka sold in the United States Entertai ...
'' (2008) * '' Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure'' (2011) (Also co-producer)


Acting roles


Television

TV movies * '' Acting Sheriff'' (1991) * ''Boys & Girls'' (1996) * ''Carly'' (1998) * ''True Love'' (1999) * ''The Peter Principle'' (2000) * ''From Where I Sit'' (2000) * ''Loomis'' (2001) * ''Untitled Oakley & Weinstein Project'' (2005) * ''So Here's What Happened'' (2006) * ''The Bling Ring'' (2011) * ''Homeboys'' (2013) * ''A Nutcracker Christmas'' (2016) TV series


Acting roles


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lembeck, Michael 1948 births 21st-century American Jews American male television actors American television directors Jewish American male actors Living people Male actors from New York City People from Brooklyn Film directors from New York City