Jurasik, Peter 1950-

views updated

JURASIK, Peter 1950-

PERSONAL:

Born April 25, 1950, in New York, NY; married; children: one son. Education: University of New Hampshire, graduated, 1972.

ADDRESSES:

Office—2109 S. Wilbur Ave., Walla Walla, WA 99362. Agent—Innovative Artists Talent, 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 2850, Los Angeles, CA 90067.

CAREER:

Actor and writer. Actor in television series, including (as Mitch Klein) The Bay City Blues, National Broadcasting Company (NBC), 1983; (as Sidney "Sid the Snitch" Thurston) Hill Street Blues, NBC, 1985-1987; (as Sidney Thurston) Beverly Hills Buntz, NBC, 1987-1988; (as Brad, a recurring role) Dear John, NBC, 1990; (as Ambassador Londo Mollari) Babylon 5 (also known as B5), syndicated, 1994-1998. Actor in television miniseries, including (as Father Rosetti) Love, Honor & Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), 1993.

Actor in television movies, including (as Andy Barnes) In the Custody of Strangers, American Broadcasting Companies (ABC), 1982; (as McKey) Scandal Sheet, ABC, 1985; (as Jack Morris) Acceptable Risks,ABC, 1986; (as Portis) Full Exposure: The Sex Tapes Scandal (also known as The Sex Tapes Scandal), NBC, 1989; (as Lieutenant Jacoby) Peter Gunn, ABC, 1989; (as Dr. Simon Ward) Columbo: Sex and the Married Detective, ABC, 1989; (as Bob Stanton) Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501 (also known as Aftermath: The Fate of Flight 1501 and Aftermath), NBC, 1990; (as Gary Slate) Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter, NBC, 1991; (as Blocker) Calendar Girl, Cop, Killer? The Bambi Bembenek Story (also known as The Heart of the Lie), ABC, 1992; (as Steve) A House of Secrets and Lies, CBS, 1992; (as Ambassador Londo Mollari) Babylon 5 (also known as B5 and Babylon 5: The Gathering), United Paramount Network (UPN), 1993; (as Edward Braddock) Without a Kiss Goodbye (also known as Falsely Accused and The Laurie Samuels Story), CBS, 1993; (as Nick) Huck and the King of Hearts, Showtime, 1993; (as Howard Stringer) The Late Shift, Home Box Office (HBO), 1996; (as Ambassador/Emperor Londo Mollari) In the Beginning (also known as Babylon 5: In the Beginning), Turner Network Television (TNT) and syndicated, 1998; and (as Ed Gaines) Amy & Isabelle (also known as Oprah Winfrey Presents: Amy and Isabelle), ABC, 2001.

Actor in television specials, including (as Henry) In Security, CBS, 1982; (as Wesley P. Wheaton) Lily, CBS, 1986; and (as F. Buddy Pinkus) Basic Values: Sex, Shock and Censorship in the 90s, Showtime, 1993. Guest star on television series, including Barney Miller, The White Shadow, M*A*S*H, Hill Street Blues, Taxi, Family Ties, Remington Steele, Fame, Night Court, MacGyver, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Midnight Caller, Growing Pains, Civil Wars, L.A. Law, Matlock, Jack's Place, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (animated), Sliders, NYPD Blue, Dawson's Creek, Going to California, Family, Eye to Eye, Paris, Father Dowling Mysteries, Amen, Report to Murphy, It Takes Two, Virtual Reality, Palace Guard, L.A. Doctors, Dave's World, and Third Rock from the Sun.

Actor in films, including (as bank teller) Straight Time, Warner Bros., 1978; (as Henry Kissinger) Born Again, Avco Embassy, 1978; (as Crom) Tron, Buena Vista, 1982; (uncredited) Enemy Mine, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1985; (as Roy) Problem Child, Universal, 1990; Night Club, Crown International, 1990; (as Dr. Rosen) Mr. Jones, TriStar, 1993; (as Kevin) Angel 4: Under-cover (also known as Angel 4: Assault with a Deadly Weapon), Live Home Video, 1993; (as interviewer) Breathing Hard, Sparkhill Production, 2000; Runaway Jury, 20th Century-Fox, 2004; and Stateside, in production.

Actor in stage productions, including Godspell, Cherry Lane Theatre, New York, and U.S. cities, 1974-1975; (as Cardinal and Barbarian God) Wings, Eastside Playhouse, New York, 1975; (as Gooper) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, 1983; Other People's Money, Dallas Theater Center, Dallas, TX; Jules, Mark Taper Forum; Sport of My Mad Mother, Company Theatre, LA; Look Back in Anger and Red Ryder, both Profile Theater Company, Portland, OR; A View from the Bridge, Portland Stage Company, Portland; Freedom Train, Ford Theatre, Washington, DC; and Werewolf.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Books for the Teen Age citation, New York Public Library, 2000, for Diplomatic Act.

WRITINGS:

(With William H. Keith) Diplomatic Act, Baen Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Also author of the unpublished play Inside My Room.

SIDELIGHTS:

Character actor Peter Jurasik may be best known as Londo Mollari, the fan-haired ambassador from the science fiction television series Babylon 5. He is also the coauthor of a science fiction novel, Diplomatic Act. The book's protagonist, Richard Faraday, is strikingly similar to Jurasik: he is an actor who plays an alien ambassador named "Harmon the Eldar" on a science fiction television series, Star Peace. An actual race of aliens, the Kluj, see Faraday on the television broadcasts, and since they don't have the concept of "fiction" they think that he is a diplomat in real life. The Kluj are trying to avoid an interstellar war that is threatening to destroy the entire galaxy, so they abduct "Harmon" and order him to conduct negotiations for them. At the same time, the Kluj send one of their members to Hollywood to replace Faraday. As the book follows the adventures of Faraday and his alien replacement, it provides "fast action" and "knowledgeable satire on the Hollywood scene," a reviewer wrote in Publishers Weekly.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, June 15, 1997, Susan Hamburger, review of Diplomatic Act, p. 101.

Newsweek, February 26, 1996, Rick Marin, review of The Late Shift, p. 55.

New York, February 26, 1996, John Leonard, review of The Late Shift, pp. 132-133.

New York Times, November 5, 1987, John O'Connor, review of Beverly Hills Buntz, pp. 25, C34; January 3, 1998, Anita Gates, review of Babylon 5: In the Beginning, pp. A20, B16.

People, November 20, 1987, Jeff Jarvis, review of Beverly Hills Buntz, p. 17; February 22, 1993, David Hiltbrand, review of Babylon 5, p. 9; January 31, 1994, David Hiltbrand, review of Babylon 5, pp. 11-12.

Publishers Weekly, June 16, 1997, review of Diplomatic Act, p. 50.

TV Guide, February 27, 1988, Don Merrill, review of Beverly Hills Buntz, p. 48.

Variety, November 18, 1987, review of Beverly Hills Buntz, p. 54.