Allen Garfield

Allen Garfield (born Allen Goorwitz; November 22, 1939 – April 7, 2020) was an American film and television actor.^[2][3]

Allen Garfield
Born	Allen Goorwitz (1939-11-22)November 22, 1939 Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	April 7, 2020(2020-04-07) (aged 80) Woodland Hills, California, U.S.[1]
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1968–2002

Early life

Garfield was born in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewish family, the son of Alice (née Lavroff) and Philip Goorwitz.^[4][5] He had one sister, Lois. A 1957 graduate of Weequahic High School,^[6] he was a sports reporter and Golden Gloves boxer before becoming an actor. He attended The Actors Studio in New York City, studying with both Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan, and worked on stage before acting in film.^[2]

Career

Garfield appeared in over 100 films and television shows. He is known for having played nervous villains, corrupt businessmen and politicians. In addition he appeared in two art films by German director Wim Wenders, Der Stand der Dinge and Bis ans Ende der Welt. Quentin Tarantino studied with Garfield at the beginning of his career as an actor.^[7][8] Garfield's lead roles included the 1971 film Cry Uncle!, the 1978 film Skateboard with Leif Garrett and the 1982 film Get Crazy. He appeared in the Tales from the Darkside episode The Deal (1988).

Personal life and death

For a year after his father's death and in tribute to him, Allen used his family name, Goorwitz, for his screen credits.^[9]

When Garfield suffered a stroke before filming his role in The Ninth Gate (1999), director Roman Polanski opted to use Garfield's paralyzed face for his character rather than conceal it or recast the role. Garfield suffered another massive stroke in 2004 and thereafter was a long-term nursing care resident at The Motion Picture Home.

Garfield died of complications related to COVID-19 and his previous strokes at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital on April 7, 2020, at age 80.^[2]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1968	Orgy Girls '69
1968	Greetings	Smut Peddler		[10]: 143
1969	Putney Swope	Elias, Jr.
1970	The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful	Moreno
1970	Hi, Mom!	Joe Banner		[10]: 130
1970	The Owl and the Pussycat	Dress Shop Proprietor
1971	Roommates	Martin Axborough
1971	Taking Off	Norman
1971	Bananas	Man on Cross		[11]
1971	Cry Uncle!	Jake Masters
1971	You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat	Herby Moss
1971	The Organization	Benjy
1971	Believe in Me	Stutter
1972	Top of the Heap	Taxi Driver
1972	The Candidate	Klein		[12]
1972	Get to Know Your Rabbit	Vic		[10]: 139
1973	Slither	Vincent J. Palmer
1973	The Marcus-Nelson Murders	Mario Portello	TV movie
1973	Deadhead Miles	Juicy Brucey	Uncredited
1974	Busting	Carl Rizzo
1974	The Conversation	Bernie Moran		[13]
1974	The Front Page	Kruger
1975	Gunsmoke	Henry DeCory	Season 20, episode 17
1975	Nashville	Barnett		[12]
1976	The Commitment
1976	Gable and Lombard	Louis B. Mayer		[14]
1976	Mother, Jugs, and Speed	Harry Fishbine
1976	Paco	Padre
1978	Skateboard	Manny Bloom
1978	The Brink's Job	Vinnie Costa		[12]
1979	Sketches of a Strangler	Jack Garvey
1979	Fyre	Preacher
1980	The Stunt Man	Sam		[12]
1980	One Trick Pony	Cal van Damp
1981	Continental Divide	Howard McDermott
1982	One from the Heart	Restaurant Owner
1982	Der Stand der Dinge	Gordon		[13]
1982	Taxi	Mr. Ratledge (as Allen Goorwitz)	Season 5 Episode 6 - Crime And Punishment
1983	The Black Stallion Returns	Kurr
1983	Get Crazy	Max Wolfe		[15]
1984	Irreconcilable Differences	Phil Hanner
1984	Teachers	Carl Rosenberg		[12]
1984	The Cotton Club	Abbadabba Berman		[12]
1986	Desert Bloom	Mr. Mosol		[12]
1986	Sins	Adam Gore
1987	Beverly Hills Cop II	Harold Lutz		[16]
1987	My Best Friend's Birthday	Entertainment Magnate
1989	Night Visitor	Zachary Willard
1989	Let It Ride	Greenberg		[17]
1990	Dick Tracy	Reporter #1
1990	Matlock	Detective Richard Cox	Season 4, episodes 20, 21
1990	Club Fed	Harrison Farnsworth IV
1991	Until the End of the World	Gebrauchtwagenhändler		[18]
1992	Citizen Cohn	Abe Feller	TV movie	[19]
1992	Miracle Beach	Magnus O'Leary
1992	Jack and His Friends	Jack		[20]
1993	Family Prayers	Cantor		[21]
1993	Cyborg 2	Martin Dunn
1994	The Patriots	Eagleman		[22]
1995	Stuart Saves His Family	Maitre D'
1995	Wild Side	Dan Rackman
1995	Destiny Turns on the Radio	Vinnie Vidivici		[23]
1996	Diabolique	Leo Katzman		[24]
1997	Obsession	Simon Frischmuth		[25]
1997	The Elf Who Didn't Believe	Twisp		[26]
1998	Get a Job	Mr. Berger / Psychiatrist
1999	The Ninth Gate	Witkin
2000	The West Wing	Roger Becker	Episode: "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen: Part II"
2001	The Majestic	Leo Kubelsky		[27]
2002	White Boy	Mr. Rosen
2016	Chief Zabu	Ben Sydney	Final film role; filmed in 1986	[28]