Robert Picardo
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Robert Alphonse Picardo (born October 27, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the Doctor on '' Star Trek: Voyager''. He also appeared as Richard Woolsey in the ''
Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...
'' franchise, the Cowboy in '' Innerspace'', Coach Cutlip on '' The Wonder Years'', and Captain Dick Richard on the ABC series '' China Beach''. He is a frequent collaborator with
Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with Counterculture of th ...
and is a member of
The Planetary Society The Planetary Society is an American internationally-active non-governmental nonprofit organization. It is involved in research, public outreach, and political space advocacy for engineering projects related to astronomy, planetary science, a ...
's board of directors.


Early life

Picardo was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, the son of Joe Picardo. Robert is of Italian heritage, with his father's family originating from Montecorvino Rovella,
Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...
, and his mother's parents originally from Bomba in
Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...
. He graduated from William Penn Charter School in 1971 and originally entered
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 ...
as a pre-medical student, but opted to act, instead. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in drama from Yale. Picardo is an accomplished singer. While he was at Yale University, he was a member of the Society of Orpheus and Bacchus, the second-longest running undergraduate ''
a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
'' group in the United States. Also, while at Yale, he had a major role in the 1973 European premiere production of
Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
's ''Mass'' in Vienna, conducted by John Mauceri. The production was televised by ORF and broadcast on PBS during the 1970s. His singing was also incorporated into his role in ''Star Trek: Voyager''. After earning his degree, he enrolled at the Circle in the Square Professional Theater Workshop. He waited tables for a few years until his theatrical work started to take off around 1976. His first breaks were appearing in the
David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...
play '' Sexual Perversity in Chicago'', and with
Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...
in ''The Primary English Class''.


Career

In 1977, Picardo made his Broadway debut, appearing in '' Gemini'' (1977) and ''
Tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...
'' (1978). On television, Picardo appeared on ''
Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American Action film, action Crime film, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theophilus "Theo" Kojak. Tak ...
'' in a 1977 episode and ''
Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
'' in a 1979 episode. He made his feature-film debut as Eddie Quist, the serial killer werewolf in the
Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with Counterculture of th ...
film '' The Howling'' (1981). He also had a recurring role in the sitcom ''
Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
'' and played a doctor on 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 ...
''. He played a number of roles in Dante's family science fiction film '' Explorers'' (1985), and later appeared in Dante's '' Innerspace'' (1987), '' The 'Burbs'' (1989), '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990), '' Matinee'' (1993), '' Small Soldiers'' (1998), and '' Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' (2003). Picardo often plays roles under layers of prosthetic latex, having also played the swamp-dwelling Meg Mucklebones in Ridley Scott's film ''
Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...
''. He also had a small role as a funeral director in John Landis's '' Amazon Women on the Moon''. Picardo also portrayed the voice and face of the robotic Johnny Cab in '' Total Recall''. During the 1988–1991 television seasons, Picardo was simultaneously seen on the ABC Vietnam series '' China Beach'' in the role of Dr. Dick Richard, and the ABC series '' The Wonder Years'' in the role of Coach Cutlip. He is among a small group of television actors to achieve notice on two television series at the same time. In 1993, Picardo had a brief role as Joe "the Meat Man" Morton, a butcher and neighbor to Tim Allen's character on the sitcom ''
Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...
''. He also appeared in one episode of '' ER'' in 1995 as Abraham Zimble (Season 2 - Episode 6, "Days Like This"). That same year, he voiced Pfish in two Pfish & Chip shorts as seen on Cartoon Network's '' What-A-Cartoon! Show''.


''Star Trek''

From 1995 to 2001, he played the role of the Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH) in the television series '' Star Trek: Voyager''. Before being accepted for this role, Picardo initially auditioned for the role of Neelix. He later also directed two episodes. In an alternate timeline in the series, his character finally chose the name "Joe", after both the name of his wife's grandfather and Picardo's own father. He played additional copies of the role of the EMH in the 1996 film '' Star Trek: First Contact'' and the 1997 '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' episode " Doctor Bashir, I Presume?". He also played Dr. Lewis Zimmerman, the creator of the EMH, in episodes of ''Deep Space Nine'' and ''Voyager''. In 2002, Picardo authored ''The Hologram's Handbook'', published by
Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first Paperback#Mass market paperback, mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and ...
. In 2007 and 2008, Star Trek: The Music was a multicity tour in which he performed with John de Lancie. Picardo and de Lancie narrated around the orchestral performance, explaining the history of the music in ''Star Trek''. In 2015, Picardo reprised the role of Dr. Lewis Zimmerman in the pilot episode of the fan series '' Star Trek: Renegades''. In 2024, he reprised the role of the EMH in the second season of '' Star Trek: Prodigy'', and was to also appear as the Doctor in the upcoming series '' Star Trek: Starfleet Academy'.''


''Stargate''

In 2004, he began playing the recurring role of
International Oversight Advisory Over its decade of existence, science fiction TV series ''Stargate SG-1'' developed an extensive and detailed backdrop of diverse characters. Many of the characters are members of alien species discovered while exploring the galaxy through the S ...
member Richard Woolsey in both ''
Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrig ...
'' and ''
Stargate Atlantis ''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an Adventure film, adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad W ...
''. His first appearance in those series was in the Stargate SG-1 episode " Heroes (Part 2)". On February 5, 2008, Picardo was announced to be joining the regular cast of ''Stargate Atlantis'' full-time for the series' fifth and final season. He took over the role of mission commander of the Atlantis Expedition.


Later career

In 2001, Picardo guest-starred in the '' 7 Days'' episode "Revelation", purporting to be a time traveler from seven years in the future. In 2007, he played Principal White in '' Ben 10: Race Against Time'', and starred in the independent feature film by director Russ Emanuel, ''P.J.'', alongside John Heard and Vincent Pastore. He also starred in Russ Emanuel's ''Chasing the Green'' in 2008, with William Devane, Jeremy London and Ryan Hurst. Picardo appeared on four episodes of '' E-Ring'', as an enraged father in '' Cold Case'', and as a police officer in '' CSI: NY''. He was a recurring guest star in two episodes of season seven of ''
Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...
'', and appeared on a season-six episode of ''
Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
'' titled "Clap Your Hands if You Believe", as a leprechaun. Outside of acting, Picardo was a member of the Board of Directors' Advisory Council of
The Planetary Society The Planetary Society is an American internationally-active non-governmental nonprofit organization. It is involved in research, public outreach, and political space advocacy for engineering projects related to astronomy, planetary science, a ...
from 1999 through 2015. Beginning in 2015, he was elected to serve on the board itself. Picardo's other career highlights include performing in
Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
's ''
Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
'' during its European debut tour, performing with the Yale University Society of Orpheus & Bacchus ''a cappella'' singing group as an undergraduate, and dozens of other television and film roles, including the film ''Our Last Days as Children''. Picardo provided the voice of Loki in the
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video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
'' Too Human''. In 2009, he appeared in '' Pushing Daisies'', ''
Chuck Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...
'', and ''
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,'' and had the lead role in the independent psychological thriller film ''Sensored''. In 2010, he had a cameo in the final episode of '' Persons Unknown'', as a member of "the program"'s governing board. He also voiced
Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American businessman and government official who served as the eighth United States secretary of defense from 1961 to 1968 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson ...
in the video game '' Call of Duty: Black Ops''. He appeared in four episodes of ''
The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, t ...
'' from 2012 through 2013 as Jason Cooper, a lieutenant of cult leader Bret Styles. In May 2014, Cartoon Hangover announced Picardo as a guest voice actor in the second season of '' Bravest Warriors'', in the episode "The Parasox Pub". In 2017, Picardo played Lt. Kitan's father Prof. Ildis Kitan in the first-season episode of '' The Orville'' titled "Firestorm", and reprised the role in the 2019 episode "Home" together with John Billingsley, who played Doctor Phlox in '' Star Trek: Enterprise''. Picardo appeared as himself in an episode of '' Schooled''.


Filmography


Film


Television


Video games


Web series


References


External links

* * * *
The Planetary Society Home Page


at www.reviewgraveyard.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Picardo, Robert 1953 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male video game actors American people of Italian descent Male actors from Philadelphia Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni William Penn Charter School alumni Catholics from Pennsylvania People of Abruzzese descent Yale University alumni