Terry Kiser (born August 1, 1939) is an American actor. Besides portraying the deceased title character of the comedy ''

Weekend at Bernie's ''Weekend at Bernie's'' is a 1989 American black comedy film directed by Ted Kotcheff and written by Robert Klane, loosely based on the 1959 novella ''The Two Deaths of Quincas Wateryell'' by Jorge Amado. The film stars Andrew McCarthy and ...

'' and its sequel, '' Weekend at Bernie's II'', he has more than 140 acting credits to his name, with a career spanning more than 50 years. He is the co-founder of the now defunct acting school The Actors Arena in Austin,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Early life and education

Kiser was born on August 1, 1939 in Elmhurst,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, and was raised in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

. He attended the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, where he received a football scholarship. He graduated in 1962 with a degree in

industrial engineering Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information an ...

. A few years later, on the advice of a drama teacher, he made the decision to quit his engineering profession in order to pursue acting full-time and moved to New York City in 1965. He joined the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founde ...

and worked with

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 193 ...

Career

After college, Kiser returned to his hometown Omaha and worked as an engineer for three years while acting in amateur productions; more than 50 plays. His first two years in New York City included an array of small parts, ranging from theater to television to commercials. By 1967, Kiser gained significant recognition for his work, winning both an Obie Award and Theater World Award for '' Fortune and Men's Eyes''. Becoming a life member of The Actors Studio, Kiser was a regular on several soap operas, '' The Secret Storm'' and '' The Doctors''. In 1978, he starred on the short-lived sitcoms '' The Roller Girls'', and ''

Sugar Time! ''Sugar Time!'' was a television comedy series produced by James Komack. The show was about an aspiring female rock group. Barbi Benton starred as Maxx Douglass, a hatcheck girl as well as the lead of an all-female rock band trying to break into ...

''. It was during the 1970s and early 1980s that Kiser appeared in '' Three's Company'', "Hardcastle and McCormick", ''One Day At A Time'', '' The Love Boat'', ''

Night Court ''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portra ...

'', ''

227 Year 227 ( CCXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Senecio and Fulvius (or, less frequently, year 980 ''Ab urbe condi ...

'', '' Maude'' and ''

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. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty W ...

''. One of his roles was on the TV drama ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'', playing comedian Vic Hitler ("Vic the Narcoleptic Comic"). He was a cast member on the syndicated sketch comedy show '' Off the Wall'' and a part of the ensemble on

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show '' The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hoste ...

's '' Carol & Company'', which aired in 1990. In the 1990s, he appeared on ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both this series and that film starring Chuck Norris as a member of the T ...

'', ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...

'', '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (as H. G. Wells) and '' Will & Grace''. His film appearances include '' Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider'' (1979), ''

Rich Kids Rich Kids were a short-lived new wave band from London, founded in 1977 by Glen Matlock following his departure from the Sex Pistols. The band also included future Ultravox member Midge Ure and Rusty Egan, who both later founded Visage toge ...

'' (1979), '' Steel'' (1979), '' An Eye for an Eye'' (1981), '' Making Love'' (1982), '' Six Pack'' (1982), '' Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land'' (1983), ''

Surf II ''Surf II'' is a 1984 American comedy film written and directed by Randall M. Badat and starring Eddie Deezen, Linda Kerridge, Eric Stoltz and Jeffrey Rogers. The plot follows two dim-witted surfers attempting to thwart the plans of a mad scien ...

'' (1984), '' From a Whisper to a Scream'' (1987) and '' Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood'' (1988). Kiser starred in ''

'' (1989), in the title role of Bernie Lomax, the corrupt insurance executive who is dead for most of the film. Bernie's young employees, played by Jonathan Silverman and Andrew McCarthy, attempt to convince people that Bernie is still alive. He reprised the role in '' Weekend at Bernie's II'' (1993). Since 2012, several YouTube videos featuring "The Bernie Dance" generated more than 17 million views collectively by April 2016. Other film appearances include '' Mannequin Two: On the Move'' (1991), '' Into the Sun'' (1992), ''The Pledge'' (2011), and '' A Christmas Tree Miracle'' (2013). In 2013, Kiser moved to Austin,

where he founded an acting school, The Actors Arena, which closed in 2016. Instruction was open to students of all ages and experience levels, and served approximately 300 students during its three-year run.

Filmography

Movies

* '' Rachel Rachel'' (1968) as Preacher * ''Lapin 360'' (1972) as Bernard Lapin * '' Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider'' (1979) as Lester Neal * ''

'' (1979) as Ralph Harris * '' Steel'' (1979) as Valentino * '' Seven'' (1979) as Senator * '' All Night Long'' (1981) as Ultra-Save day manager * '' An Eye for an Eye'' (1981) as Dave Pierce * '' Looker'' (1981) as Commercial Director * '' Making Love'' (1982) as Harrington * '' Six Pack'' (1982) as Terk Logan * ''

'' (1984) as Mr. O'Finlay * '' Young Lust'' (1984) * '' From a Whisper to a Scream'' (1987) as Jesse Hardwick * '' Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood'' (1988) as Dr. Crews * ''

'' (1989) as Bernie Lomax * '' Side Out'' (1990) as Uncle Max * '' Mannequin Two: On the Move'' (1991) as Count Gunther Spretzle / Sorcerer * '' Into the Sun'' (1992) as Mitchell Burton * '' Weekend at Bernie's II'' (1993) as Bernie Lomax * '' Tammy and the T-Rex'' (1994) as Dr. Wachenstein * '' Pet Shop'' (1994) as Joe Yeagher * ''Loving Deadly'' (1994) as Walter * '' Forest Warrior'' (1996) as Travis Thorne * ''Divorce: A Contemporary Western'' (1998) as Gary * ''Flamingo Dreams'' (2000) as Gus * ''See Jane Run'' (2001) * ''Dead Start'' (2009) as Mort Maxwell * ''Maskerade'' (2011) as Mr. Peck * ''The Pledge'' (2011) as Joe * ''Speed Demons'' (2012) * '' A Christmas Tree Miracle'' (2013) as Henry Banks * ''Spoilers: The Movie'' (2014) as Mr. Stoyanovich * ''Almosting It'' (2016) as Mort

Television

* ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television) ...

'' (1976) "Fair Fight" - Wes Hubbard * ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was or ...

'' (1976) "Eyes of Terror" - Arlie * '' The Bionic Woman'' (1976) "Mirror Image" - Matthews * '' Hawaii Five-O'' (1977) "Blood Money is Hard to Wash" - Augie * ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'' (1978) "Stale Mates" as Bob * '' Maude'' (1978) as Reggie * '' WKRP in Cincinnati'' (1979) as Mr. Elliot * '' One Day at a Time'' (1979) as Parsons * '' Three's Company'' (1981-1982) as Mr. Canon/Max * '' Hardcastle and McCormick'' (1983) * ''

'' (1983) as Vic Hitler * ''

'' (1984) as Al Craven * ''

'' (1986) as Santa Claus/Don * ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The ser ...

'' (1988) as Wally Bryce * '' Carol & Company'' (1990-1991) as Terry * ''

'' (1993) as Mr. Hosek * '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (1995-1996) as H. G. Wells * '' Caroline in the City'' (1997) as Taxicab Driver * ''

'' (1997) as Charlie Brooks / Maxwell 'Iceman' Kronert * '' The Norm Show (2000) as Councilman Wilkinson

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiser, Terry 1939 births American male film actors American male television actors Living people Male actors from Omaha, Nebraska 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors University of Kansas alumni