Daniel G. Dan Hedaya (born July 24, 1940) is an American actor best known for his supporting roles in films such as '' The Hunger'' (1983), '' Blood Simple'' (1984), ''

Commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

'' (1985), '' The Addams Family'' (1991), ''

Benny & Joon ''Benny & Joon'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy-Drama (film and television), drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about how two eccentric individuals, Sam (Johnny Depp) and Juniper ("Joon") (Mary Stuart Masterson), find each other and f ...

'' (1993), '' Clueless'', ''

The Usual Suspects ''The Usual Suspects'' is a 1995 crime thriller film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwaite and Kevin S ...

'' (both 1995), '' Marvin's Room'' (1996), '' A Civil Action'', ''

A Night at the Roxbury ''A Night at the Roxbury'' is a 1998 American comedy film based on a recurring sketch on television's long-running ''Saturday Night Live'' called " The Roxbury Guys". ''Saturday Night Live'' regulars Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Molly Shannon, ...

'' (both 1998), '' The Hurricane'' (1999), and '' Mulholland Drive'' (2001).

Early life

Hedaya was born in New York City, to a Sephardic Jewish family from

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, Syria. Hedaya was raised in Bensonhurst. While a student at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

, he began performing at the campus theater. He worked as a junior high school teacher for many years before deciding to pursue acting full-time. He studied acting at

HB Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency prog ...

in New York City.

Career

Alongside a successful career in the movies, Hedaya has appeared in several TV roles, including Carla Tortelli's ex-husband Nick on the

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...

'' and its short-lived spinoff '' The Tortellis''. He played the estranged father of Mallory Keaton's boyfriend, Nick, on the

'' Family Ties''. More recently, he played an

Italian-American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

priest in the controversial and quickly cancelled NBC series '' The Book of Daniel''. Adding to his list of television credits is his performance as the long-lost father of

Adrian Monk Adrian Monk, portrayed by Tony Shalhoub, is the title character and protagonist of the USA Network television series ''Monk (TV series), Monk''. He is a renowned former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department. He has obsessive� ...

on ''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

''. He also guest starred in 1997 and 2005 as a wisecracking lawyer on the medical drama '' ER''. In films, Hedaya has played the evil dictator and the secondary antagonist Arius in 1985's ''Commando'' and Mel Horowitz, the father of

Alicia Silverstone Alicia Silverstone ( ; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller ''The Crush (1993 film), The Crush'' (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further pro ...

's Cher, in the

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

film '' Clueless''. He played Julian Marty, a cuckolded husband who plots his wife's murder in the first

Coen Brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers (), are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are '' Blood Simple'' (198 ...

film, '' Blood Simple''. His resemblance to

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

led to his being cast as the former

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

for the film '' Dick''. Hedaya appeared in several episodes of the television series '' Hill Street Blues'' as a corrupt, bigamist cop during the series' first season. During the 1980s Hedaya also appeared in the television series ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedaya, Dan 1940 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American Sephardic Jews 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American Sephardic Jews American people of Jewish descent Male actors from Brooklyn American male film actors American people of Syrian-Jewish descent American Mizrahi Jews American male television actors Jewish American male actors People from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn Tufts University alumni Jews from New York (state)