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ROBERT WUHL

He appeared as Alexander Knox in Batman.

REAL NAME:

Robert Wuhl

HEIGHT:

1,75

BORN:

October 9, 1951

BIRTHPLACE:

Union City, New Jersey, USA

ROBERT WUHL is respected for his critically praised work in notable films such as; "Bull Durham", "Batman", "Good Morning Vietnam," "Blaze," "Mistress" and "Cobb." The company he has kept is first rate and includes; Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Kevin Costner and Tommy Lee Jones to name but a few. The directors he’s worked with form an equally notable list: Tim Burton, Richard Donner, Barry Levinson and Ron Shelton. He has taken notes from the best and has created two of his own projects which he writes and stars in, "ARLl$$," the critically acclaimed series on HBO, and the movie "OPEN SEASON."

"ARLI$$," which has been receiving rave reviews, is an off-beat satire about the sports world seen through the eyes of a sports agent. ROBERT has a married his incredible knowledge of sports with his absurdist wit, skewering the delicious absurdities of "the business" side of the ‘90’s entertainment-oriented sports world. In the vein of "The Larry Sanders Show," it intertwines the fictitious cast of the show with real-life sports notables including Shaquille O’Neal, James Worthy, Scottie Pippin and many more. There is also location shooting in each episode which involves a sports event, ie: the All Star games in Philadelphia.

"OPEN SEASON," WuhI’s directorial debut, features Rod Taylor, Helen Shaver, Gailard Sartain, Dina Merrill and Saul Rubinek. It’s a tale about a public broadcasting network that rises to become Number One through a fluke occurrence. This in turn causes a cultural renaissance to overtake the nation, setting numerous and hilarious consequences in motion.

In demand for his skills on both sides of the camera, ROBERT has been on a roll, or has "created the roll." In 1992, when he led an all-star cast in the black comedy hit "Mistress." At the time he didn’t know that he would relate so well to the character until he worked to get "OPEN SEASON" made. ROBERT played Marvin Landisman, a writer/director who fights to retain his original vision while being bombarded with bizarre ideas from investors.

As an actor, ROBERT has been hailed as "one of the best comic actors in movies" by Peter Rainer of the Los Angeles Times, and "a most appealing and sympathetic lead" by the Film Journal. Now, as a filmmaker he has been compared to Capra, Sturges, Chayefsy and Woody Allen. Not bad!

ROBERT has been twice honored with Emmy Awards in ‘91 and ‘92 for his contributions to writing the Academy Awards telecasts hosted by Billy Crystal. He also wrote for Billy when he hosted the Grammy’s (1987-89). As a comedian, he has starred in the HBO Comedy Hour titled "Robert Wuhl's World Tour". Pushing the envelope on stand-up comedy, the revue-style show made use of animation and special visual effects to underscore the stories ROBERT told on stage and included a rousing musical finale with him at the key-boards of a kick-ass rock ‘n’ roll band.

He has performed stand-up in numerous and prestigious venues across the country and has been involved with Comic Relief from the beginning. Also on HBO, a guest-starring role in the very first episode of "Tales From The Crypt, directed by Richard Donner, led to a CableACE nomination for ROBERT as Best Actor in a Dramatic Series.

ROBERT first came to public notice in HolIywood Knights" and is still stopped on the street with shouts of recognition as ‘Newbomb Turk.’ A broader audience discovered him in Bull Durham" as the fast-talking assistant coach of the minor league baseball team. He provided one of the biggest laughs of the movie with his memorable ‘on the mound’ scene by ad-libbing his lines ("Candlesticks always make a nice gift..."). He came by his love for the silver screen naturally. As a kid growing up in Union, New Jersey he went to the movies often and idolized the talents behind the camera, rather than the actors, which is now showing it’s influence. "My heroes were people like Billy Wilder, Stanley Kramer, Neil Simon and Woody Allen," he recalls. "I always wanted to produce and direct — I never thought of performing." Now he does it all.

After high school where he was known as the ‘class clown’ ("although I humbly preferred to think of myself as the class wit, he headed west for college at the University of Houston, where he was equally active in the Drama and Athletic departments (he had soon-to-be-famous artist Julian Schnabel as his roommate). When his campus days drew to a close ("I loved college. I crammed four years into seven."), he went back east. He began performing at the lmprov in New York where his stand-up routine soon drew a strong following and attracted the attention of Rodney Dangerfield, for whom ROBERT then worked as a joke writer.

In 1979 he came to Los Angeles where his unique brand of humor was equally well received. It was at this time he was offered the lead role of Newbomb in "Hollywood Knights" (now a cult movie classic). Soon after, he sold a series idea to ABC, pursued screenwriting and served as story editor on the critically-acclaimed television series "Police Squad’" starring Leslie Nielsen.

Despite his rich and varied background, ROBERT refuses to see himself as a ‘Hollywood hyphenate’ and shuns the notion of developing a philosophy about his craft. "Let’s just say ‘Work Is Good’," he says with his typical understatement. "I want to be a craftsman, to work consistently to produce a body of work which will be respected by my peers and, hopefully, even the public." He does allow himself a few other pleasures during his rare free time: an occasional round of golf and Rotisserie Baseball. But the question is….what is free time anymore?

FILMOGRAPHY:

1998

Welcome to Hollywood

Himself

1997

Good Burger

1996

Open Season

Actor, Director, Writer.

1995

Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde

1994

Blue Chips

1994

Cobb

With Tommy Lee Jones.

1993

Sandman

1992

The Bodyguard

Oscar host.

1992

Mistress

With Christopher Walken.

1991

Missing Pieces

1990

Wedding Band

1989

Blaze

1989

Batman

Alexander Knox

1988

Bull Durham

1987

Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall

1987

Good Morning, Vietnam

1983

Flashdance

1980

The Hollywood Knights

TELEVISION:

1998

Hollywood Squares

Himself

1988

Mario Puzo's The Last Don aka The Last Don II

Mini series

1996

Arli$$

Series. Actor, Director, Writer, Producer.

1993

Percy & Thunder

TV Movie

1990

Madonna: The Immaculate Collection

1989

Tales from the Crypt

''Dig That Cat… He's Real Gone'' episode

1986

L.A. Law

''Pigmalion'' episode

1974

The Uncle Floyd Show

Playing ''Guest''