Actor. He is probably best remembered for his 1992 Emmy-winning role as the math teacher and assistant football coach 'Herman Stiles' on the CBS television sitcom series "Evening Shade" that aired from 1990 until 1994, and for playing Mr. Noodle's brother 'Mr. Noodle' on "Elmo's World," a 15-minute-long segment that was shown at the end of the children's television program "Sesame Street" from 1999 until his death in 2003. The son of a dentist, he studied medicine at Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis), Memphis, Tennessee when his interests turned to acting. He first broke into television in 1964, on an episode of the daytime soap opera "Another World". He performed in several plays and musicals at the Memphis Circuit Theatre and its sister theatre, the Playhouse on the Square. He then relocated to Baltimore, Maryland to further pursue his stage career and and his first major stage production was the off-Broadway play "Cloud 9" in 1981. In 1990, he won a Tony Award for his performance in the Broadway musical "Grand Hotel." In films, he usually portrayed eccentric, pretentious, or wimpy characters, as in "The Fisher King" (1991), Drop Zone (1994), and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1998), but also portrayed more diverse characters like in "Tango and Cash' (1989), "Miller's Crossing" (1990), "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" (1993), "Air Bud" (1997), "Patch Adams" (1998), Jakob the Liar" (1999), "The Green Mile" (1999), and "Jurassic Park III" (2001). His television credits include "Lou Grant," "Crime Story," "Hothouse," "Picket Fences," "Chicago Hope," "Johnny Bravo," and "Touched by an Angel." His final film appearances were "Open Range" (2003) and "The Polar Express" (2004), which were in post-production at the time of his death and, when released, contained a dedication to his memory.

Actor. He is probably best remembered for his 1992 Emmy-winning role as the math teacher and assistant football coach 'Herman Stiles' on the CBS television sitcom series "Evening Shade" that aired from 1990 until 1994, and for playing Mr. Noodle's brother 'Mr. Noodle' on "Elmo's World," a 15-minute-long segment that was shown at the end of the children's television program "Sesame Street" from 1999 until his death in 2003. The son of a dentist, he studied medicine at Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis), Memphis, Tennessee when his interests turned to acting. He first broke into television in 1964, on an episode of the daytime soap opera "Another World". He performed in several plays and musicals at the Memphis Circuit Theatre and its sister theatre, the Playhouse on the Square. He then relocated to Baltimore, Maryland to further pursue his stage career and and his first major stage production was the off-Broadway play "Cloud 9" in 1981. In 1990, he won a Tony Award for his performance in the Broadway musical "Grand Hotel." In films, he usually portrayed eccentric, pretentious, or wimpy characters, as in "The Fisher King" (1991), Drop Zone (1994), and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1998), but also portrayed more diverse characters like in "Tango and Cash' (1989), "Miller's Crossing" (1990), "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" (1993), "Air Bud" (1997), "Patch Adams" (1998), Jakob the Liar" (1999), "The Green Mile" (1999), and "Jurassic Park III" (2001). His television credits include "Lou Grant," "Crime Story," "Hothouse," "Picket Fences," "Chicago Hope," "Johnny Bravo," and "Touched by an Angel." His final film appearances were "Open Range" (2003) and "The Polar Express" (2004), which were in post-production at the time of his death and, when released, contained a dedication to his memory.

Bio by: William Bjornstad