Michael Nouri (born December 9, 1945) is an American screen and stage actor. He is best known for his television roles, including

Dr. Neil Roberts ''The O.C.'' is an American Television series created by Josh Schwartz for the FOX Network in 2003. Schwartz serves as executive producer while also writing and directing for the show, including the premieres and finales of all seasons. The sh ...

on ''

The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initiali ...

'', Phil Grey on ''

Damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

'', Caleb Cortlandt on '' All My Children'', Eli David in '' NCIS'', and Bob Schwartz on ''

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

''. He is also known for his starring roles in the films ''

Flashdance ''Flashdance'' is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer who aspires to become a professional ballerina (Alex), alongside Michael Nouri playing her boyfriend ...

'' (1983) and '' The Hidden'' (1987), and has appeared in several Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, including the original production of ''

Victor/Victoria ''Victor/Victoria'' is a 1982 musical comedy film written and directed by Blake Edwards and starring Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston, Lesley Ann Warren, Alex Karras, and John Rhys-Davies. The film was produced by Tony Adams and sco ...

''. He is a Saturn Award and

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

nominee.

Early life

Nouri was born in Washington D.C. to Gloria (née Montgomery) and Edmond Nouri.That Guy in Flashdance
. ''

Observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in co ...

''. February 16, 2004. Edmond was an

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

i immigrant from

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

who arrived in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

on a

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

scholarship, enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II, and became a writer for '' Stars and Stripes'' and ''The New Yorker''. Nouri grew up in New York City and Alpine, New Jersey. At age 14, after repeatedly getting into fights at school, he was transferred to an all-boys boarding school in Connecticut, Avon Old Farms School, where he became student-body president, and decided to be an actor after starring in a Gilbert and Sullivan play. He attended Rollins College and Emerson College, worked as a waiter, then landed his first role on Broadway in 1967. He was briefly a student under

Prem Rawat Prem Pal Singh Rawat (born 10 December 1957), formerly known as Maharaji, is an international speaker and book-author. His teachings include a meditation practice he calls "Knowledge", and peace education based on the discovery of personal re ...

and was involved in his three-day festival Millennium '73.

Career

After starring in an off-Broadway production of ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...

'', Nouri landed his first Broadway role in '' Forty Carats'', which ran for two years. He made his film debut in 1969, with an uncredited role in '' Goodbye, Columbus''. He appeared on several television soap operas, and was nominated for a

for his role as Steve Kaslow on ''

Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show fo ...

''. He portrayed Lucky Luciano in the miniseries '' The Gangster Chronicles'' and its theatrically released feature film '' Gangster Wars''. In 1979, he appeared in the episode "The Curse of Dracula" of the series ''Cliffhangers''. In 1983, he had a starring role as Nick Hurley in the romantic drama ''

''. Despite mixed reviews, the film was one of the highest-grossing films of 1983, and was nominated for several top awards, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Nouri has appeared in numerous television series and television films. He starred opposite

Kyle MacLachlan Kyle Merritt MacLachlan (; ' McLachlan, February 22, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dale Cooper in '' Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991; 2017) and its film prequel '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), as well as roles ...

in the horror film '' The Hidden''. He starred on the short-lived series ''

Bay City Blues ''Bay City Blues'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on NBC from October 25 to November 15, 1983. The series stars Michael Nouri, Dennis Franz, and Pat Corley, and was created and produced by Steven Bochco. Eight episode ...

'' and '' Downtown'', and on the sitcom '' Love & War''. He starred in the Broadway production of the musical ''

'' as King Marchan, opposite Julie Andrews. He appeared in three separate entries of '' Law & Order'', each time in different roles. He had recurring roles on the series ''

'', ''

'', '' NCIS'', and '' Army Wives''. He returned to soap operas with a year-long stint on '' All My Children''. More recently, he had a recurring role on the series ''

'' for three seasons.

Personal life

Nouri has been married and divorced twice. His first marriage was to Lynn Goldsmith and his second marriage was to Vicki Light. He has two daughters, Hannah and Jennifer. He is an ambassador of the

National Multiple Sclerosis Society The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) is a nonprofit organization that was founded in New York City as the Association for Advancement of Research on Multiple Sclerosis on March 11, 1946 by Sylvia Lawry. Ms. Lawry was a lawyer looking fo ...

as a result of one of his ex-wives being affected by the condition.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage (partial)

Awards and nominations

Daytime Emmy Award

* 1976

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an acto ...

: ''

'' (nominated)

Saturn Awards

* 1988 Saturn Award for Best Actor: ''The Hidden'' (nominated)

Sitges Film Festival

* 1987 Sitges Film Festival Best Actor: ''The Hidden'' (won)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nouri, Michael 1945 births American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors American people of Iraqi descent Emerson College alumni Living people Male actors from Washington, D.C. Rollins College alumni American artists of Arab descent Avon Old Farms alumni