Bob Dishy is an American actor of stage, film, and television.

Biography

Early life and education

Dishy grew up in the Bensonhurst section of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. His father, a salesman, was born in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

and his mother in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. He is of

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

origin. Dishy first because interested in acting while in

fifth grade Fifth grade (also 5th Grade or Grade 5) is the fifth or sixth year of formal or compulsory education. In the United States, this is mostly the last grade of primary school, but for some states, it could be the first year of middle school. Primary ...

, when he performed in a student play. After graduating from New Utrecht High School, he majored in drama at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, graduating in 1955. While at Syracuse he performed in student musical productions. He also performed at resorts that maintained resident summer theater companies, Green Mansions in New York and Tamiment in Pennsylvania, that put on new

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

s every week. He worked alongside Carol Burnett,

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

and

Sheldon Harnick Sheldon Mayer Harnick (April 30, 1924 – June 23, 2023) was an American lyricist and songwriter best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on musicals such as '' Fiorello!'', '' She Loves Me'', and ''Fiddler on the Roof''. Ear ...

. Upon graduation from Syracuse he was cast as a baseball player in ''

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., d ...

''. His acting career was interrupted by service in the U.S. Army in the late 1950s,Dishy, Bob 1934(?)–

Encyclopedia.com ''Encyclopedia.com'' is an online encyclopedia. It aggregates information, images, and videos from other published dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference works. History The website was launched by Infonautics in March 1998. Infonautics w ...

. Retrieved March 4, 2023. during which he toured military bases in a show called ''Rolling Along in '57'' after winning an All-Army Entertainment Contest.

Career

Dishy played Sergeant John J. Wilson, Columbo's polite, respectful assistant in two episodes of ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

'' ("Now You See Him" and "The Greenhouse Jungle"); Rose’s titular love interest “Mister Terrific” in an episode of ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

;'' and Dr. Schenkman, the marriage counselor for Niles and Maris, in an episode of ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...

.'' He also appeared in several episodes 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 ...

''. His film appearances include '' Lovers and Other Strangers'' (1970), '' I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now?'' (1975), '' The Big Bus'' (1976), '' The Last Married Couple in America'' (1980), '' First Family'' (1980), '' Author! Author!'' (1982), '' Brighton Beach Memoirs'' (1986), '' Critical Condition'' (1987), '' Stay Tuned'' (1992), ''

Used People ''Used People'' is a 1992 romantic comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron. The film stars Shirley MacLaine, Marcello Mastroianni, Bob Dishy, Kathy Bates, Marcia Gay Harden, Jessica Tandy, Doris Roberts and Joe Pantoliano. The screenplay by Todd Gr ...

'' (1992), ''

Don Juan DeMarco ''Don Juan DeMarco'' is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Johnny Depp as John Arnold DeMarco, a man who believes himself to be Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world. Clad in a cape and domino mask, DeMarco undergoes psych ...

'' (1994), '' Jungle 2 Jungle'' (1997) and '' Along Came Polly'' (2004). He was a regular on ''

That Was The Week That Was ''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pr ...

,'' a weekly satirical series that aired on NBC-TV in 1964–65. He made his stage debut as a replacement for the ballplayer Rocky in the original run of the hit musical ''

'': a role he reprised ten years later for the TV adaptation. In 1965 Dishy co-starred with

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

in the Broadway musical, "Flora, The Red Menace" directed by

George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. He received numerous honors including six Tony Awards, the ...

Selected appearances

References

External links

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Yahoo! Movies entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dishy, Bob American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Drama Desk Award winners Living people Male actors from Brooklyn 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Jewish American actors American Mizrahi Jews Year of birth missing (living people)