Perry Firestone King (born April 30, 1948) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television and in films. King received a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

nomination for his role in the television film ''The Hasty Heart'' (1983), which is a remake of the 1949 film of the same title.

Early life

King was born in

Alliance, Ohio Alliance is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 21,672 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It was established in 1854 by the merger of three smaller communities and was a manufacturing and railroad hub in t ...

; his father was a physician. His maternal grandfather was Maxwell Perkins, an editor for the publishing house

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City that has published several notable American authors, including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjori ...

. Through Perkins, King is descended from U.S. Senator William M. Evarts, from English military engineer Lion Gardiner, and from

Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an early American politician, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign all four great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, ...

, a signatory to the

United States Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...

. Perry King Official website biography
King received a degree in drama from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and also studied at

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

Career

King made his film debut in the 1972 film ''

Slaughterhouse-Five ''Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death'' is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to his ...

''. In 1974, he played the role of Chico Tyrell in ''

The Lords of Flatbush ''The Lords of Flatbush'' (stylized on-screen as ''The Lord's of Flatbush'') is a 1974 American comedy film directed by Martin Davidson and Stephen F. Verona. The film stars Sylvester Stallone, Perry King, Paul Mace, Henry Winkler, and Su ...

''. In 1975, he portrayed Hammond Maxwell in '' Mandingo''. Since the 1970s, he has appeared in dozens of feature films, television series and television movies. He auditioned for the role of

Han Solo Han Solo () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the 1977 film ''Star Wars (film), Star Wars'', and later appeared in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), ''Star Wars: The F ...

in ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'', but the role ultimately went to

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...

. However, he played the character in the radio adaptations of ''Star Wars'' and both its sequels. In 1983 he starred in the seriss The Quest and in 1984, King was nominated for a

award for his role in the TV movie ''The Hasty Heart''. That same year, he landed the role of Cody Allen on the series '' Riptide''. In 1993, he starred in the television adaptation of

Sidney Sheldon Sidney Sheldon (February 11, 1917 – January 30, 2007) was an American writer. He was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy '' The Bachelor and the Bobby-Sox ...

's novel ''

A Stranger in the Mirror ''A Stranger in the Mirror'' is a 1976 novel written by Sidney Sheldon. The novel is one of the earliest of Sheldon's works, but contains the typical Sheldon fast-paced narration and several narrative techniques, with the exception of a twist ...

'', which is a

roman à clef A ''roman à clef'' ( ; ; ) is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people and the "key" is the relationship between the non-fiction and the fiction. This m ...

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer who performed in films and vaudeville on television, radio, and the stage. He is considered one of America's greatest comed ...

. In 1995, he portrayed the role of Hayley Armstrong on '' Melrose Place''. He also appeared as Richard Williams in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

TV series ''

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

'' with Yasmine Bleeth in 2000 and as the President of the United States in the 2004 film '' The Day After Tomorrow''. King has made guest appearances on TV shows including '' Spin City'', ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a Gay men, gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra ...

'', ''

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

'', and ''

Cold Case ''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in invest ...

''. He has also worked as a voice actor, voice-acting for Samson in the 1985 animated feature ''Samson & Delilah'' and the character of Randall in an episode of '' SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron''.

Personal life

Married and divorced twice, King has two daughters and one granddaughter. An avid motorcyclist, King was featured on Huell Howser's '' California's Gold'' where he spoke about his collection of motorcycles and sidecars. In December 2008, the

American Motorcyclist Association The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is an American nonprofit organization of more than 200,000 motorcyclists that organizes numerous motorcycling activities and campaigns for motorcyclists' legal rights. Its motto, mission statement is "t ...

(AMA) appointed King to its

Board of Directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Award nominations

Golden Apple Award *Nominated: Male New Star of the Year (1975)

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

*Nominated: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, ''The Hasty Heart'' (1984)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Perry 1948 births Living people American male stage actors American male film actors American male television actors Juilliard School alumni Yale University alumni Male actors from Ohio People from Alliance, Ohio 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Gardiner family