LITHGOW, John (Arthur) 1945-

PERSONAL: Born October 19 (some sources cite October 15), 1945, in Rochester, NY; son of Arthur W. (a theatrical producer and director) and Sarah Jane (an actress; maiden name, Price) Lithgow; married Jean Taynton (a teacher), September 10, 1966 (divorced, 1980); married Mary Yeager (a professor), 1981; children: (first marriage) Ian; (second marriage) Phoebe McCurtain, Nathan George. Education: Harvard University, B.A. (history and literature; magna cum laude), 1967; attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

ADDRESSES: Agent—Creative Artists Agency, 9830 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212-1824.

CAREER: Actor, director, singer, songwriter, and author. Appeared in films, including (as John) Dealing; or, the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues, Warner Bros., 1972; (as Robert LaSalle) Obsession, Columbia, 1976; (as Sam Sebastian/Spitzler) The Big Fix, Universal, 1978; (as Lucas Sergeant) All That Jazz, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1979; (as Paul Philips) Rich Kids, United Artists, 1979; (as Burke) Blow Out, Filmways, 1981; (as George S. Kaufman) Kaufman at Large, 1981; (as Mr. Brunner) I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can, Paramount, 1981; (as Roberta Muldoon) The World according to Garp, Warner Bros., 1982; (as John Valentine) "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," Twilight Zone: The Movie, Warner Bros., 1983; (as Sam Burns) Terms of Endearment, Paramount, 1983; (as Dr. Emilio Lizardo and Lord John Whorfin) The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the Eighth Dimension (also known as The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai and Buckaroo Banzai), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1984; (as Reverend Shaw Moore) Footloose, Paramount, 1984; (as Walter Curnow) 2010, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1984; (as himself, uncredited) 2010: The Odyssey Continues, 1984; (as B. Z.) Santa Claus: The Movie, TriStar, 1985; (as Dr. John Mathewson) The Manhattan Project (also known as Deadly Game), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1986; (as Oliver Thompson) Mesmerized (also known as Shocked), 1986; (as George Henderson) Harry and the Hendersons, Universal, 1987; (as Mark Lambert) Distant Thunder, Paramount, 1988; (as Dave Geary) Out Cold, Hemdale, 1989; (as Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Derringer) Memphis Belle, Warner Bros., 1990; (as Leslie Huben) At Play in the Fields of the Lord, Universal, 1991; (as Earl Talbot Blake) Ricochet, Warner Bros., 1991; (as Dr. Nix, Carter Nix, Cain Nix, Josh, and Margo) Raising Cain, Universal, 1992; (as Eric Qualen) Cliffhanger, TriStar, 1993; (as Smith Keen) The Pelican Brief, Warner Bros., 1993; (as Professor Wilkinson) Princess Caraboo, TriStar, 1994; (as British High Commissioner Arthur Fanshawe) A Good Man in Africa, Gramercy, 1994; (as Dr. Harlinger) Silent Fall, Warner Bros., 1994; Sangre, 1996; (as Malcolm and Robert Stockman) Homegrown, TriStar, 1998; (as Judge Walter J. Skinner) A Civil Action, Buena Vista, 1998; (as the narrator, Officer Buckle, and Gloria) O'Plenty Animation, 1998; Portofino, Storm Entertainment, 1999; (as voice of Jean-Claude) Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (animated; also know as Rugrats II), Paramount, 2000; C-Scam, Landscape Films, 2000; (as voice of Lord Farquaad of Duloc) Shrek (animated), DreamWorks, 2001; (as Bud Brumder) Orange County, Paramount, 2002; (in archive footage) Buckaroo Banzai Declassified, 2002; (as voice of Lord Farquaad) Shrek 4-D, 2003; and (as voice of Lord Farquaad) Shrek 2, in production.

Appeared in made-for-television movies, including (as Wally) Mom, the Wolfman, and Me, syndicated, 1980; (as Richard Carruthers) Not in Front of the Children, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), 1982; (as Joe Huxley) The Day After, American Broadcasting Companies (ABC), 1983; (as Marty Welborn) The Glitter Dome, Home Box Office (HBO), 1984; (as Major Kendall Laird) Resting Place, CBS, 1986; (as Neil Scott) Baby Girl Scott, CBS, 1987; (as Ben Cluett) The Traveling Man, HBO, 1990; (as Robert Carter) The Ivory Hunters (also known as The Last Elephant and White Gold), The National Network (TNN), 1990; (as Artie Margulies) The Boys (also known as The Guys), ABC, 1991; (as Phillip Mills) The Wrong Man, Showtime, 1993; (as Paul Harrington) Love, Cheat and Steal, Showtime, 1994; (as Bob Bradley and Tom Bradley) My Brother's Keeper, CBS, 1995; (as Senator Conyers) The Tuskegee Airmen, HBO, 1995; (as Thomas Livingston) Hollow Point (also known as Rysk Roulette), HBO, 1996; (as Sergeant Larry Skovik) Johnny Skidmarks, HBO, 1998; (and co-executive producer; as Don Quixote de la Mancha/Alonso Quixano) Don Quixote, TNT, 2000; and (as Blake Edwards) The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, 2004.

Appeared in television specials, including (as Paul Unger) "The Country Girl," Hallmark Hall of Fame, National Broadcasting Company (NBC), 1974; (as Thorne) "Secret Service," Great Performances, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 1977; (as Clarence Sickenger) The Oldest Living Graduate, 1980; "Big Blonde," Great Performances, PBS, 1980; An ABC Theatre Presentation, ABC, 1983; Hallmark Hall of Fame, NBC, 1985; The Forty-first Annual Tony Awards, CBS, 1987; The Forty-second Annual Tony Awards, CBS, 1988; The Forty-third Annual Tony Awards, CBS, 1989; (presenter) The Eleventh Annual CableACE Awards, syndicated, 1990; Night of One Hundred Stars III, NBC, 1990; Happy Birthday, Bugs: Fifty Looney Years (also known as Hollywood Celebrates Bugs Bunny's Fiftieth Birthday), CBS, 1990; (as presenter) The Sixty-fourth Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1992; (as presenter) The Forty-sixth Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, 1994; Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects, 1994; (as Laird Riordan) "Redwood Curtain," Hallmark Hall of Fame, ABC, 1995; (as presenter) The Forty-seventh Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, 1995; The Fiftieth Annual Tony Awards, 1996; (as presenter) The 1996 Emmy Awards, 1996; (as presenter) The Second Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, 1996; (as host) Christmas in Washington, NBC, 1996; (as presenter) The Screen Actors Guild Awards, 1997; (as presenter) The Fifty-second Annual Tony Awards, 1998; Christopher Reeve: A Celebration of Hope, ABC, 1998; The Fifty-first Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, Fox, 1999; (narrator) National Geographic Millennium Special, NBC, 1999; and (as himself and Lord Farquaad) Creating a Fairy Tale World: The Making of "Shrek," 2001.

Appeared in episodes of television series, including (as father) "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," Faerie Tale Theatre, Showtime, 1984; (as host) Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC's Saturday Night, Saturday Night, and SNL), NBC, 1985, 1987, 1988; (as John Walters) "The Doll," Amazing Stories, NBC, 1986; (as guest caller Madman Martinez) "Someone to Watch over Me," Frasier, NBC, 1995; (as Dr. Oscar Charles) "You, Murderer," Tales from the Crypt, HBO, 1995; (as narrator) "Special Effects: Anything Can Happen" (also known as "Special Effects"), Nova, PBS, 1996; (as himself) "UFOs," Dennis Miller Live, HBO, 1997; "Superstar," Cosby, CBS, 1999; The View, ABC, 2001 and 2002; and (as himself) "Ronnie Corbett," Heroes of Comedy, 2002.

Appeared in other television programming, including (as Alexander) The Country Mouse and the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale, 1993; (as Franklin Delano Roosevelt) World War II: When Lions Roared (miniseries; also known as Then There Were Giants and World War II … Then There Were Giants), NBC, 1994; (as host) American Cinema, (series) PBS, 1995; (as voice) The West (miniseries), PBS, 1996; and (as Dick Solomon) 3rd Rock from the Sun (series), NBC, 1996-2001.

Appeared in stage productions, including Henry VI, Part III, c. 1951; (as Mustardseed) A Midsummer Night's Dream, Antioch Shakespeare Festival, Antioch, OH, 1953; (as Bunthorne) Patience, Highfield Theatre, Falmouth, MA, 1965; (as Peachum) The Beggar's Opera, Highfield Theatre, 1965; (as Don Andres) La Perichole, Highfield Theatre, 1965; (as Lord Chancellor) Iolanthe, Highfield Theatre, 1965; (as Henry Higgins) Pygmalion, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, 1969-70; (as Lennie) Of Mice and Men, McCarter Theatre, 1969-70; (as Achilles) Troilus and Cressida, McCarter Theatre, 1969-70; (as Sir) The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd, Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope, PA, 1970; (as Dr. Talacryn) Hadrian VII, Bucks County Playhouse, 1970; (as Captain Vale) The Magistrate, Bucks County Playhouse, 1970; (as Kiper) What Price Glory?, Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, CT, 1972; (as Arthur) Trelawney of the Wells, Long Wharf Theatre, 1972; (as Nicholas) The Lady's Not for Burning, Long Wharf Theatre, 1972; (as Kendall) The Changing Room, Long Wharf Theatre, 1972, then Morosco Theatre, New York, NY, 1973; (as James) My Fat Friend, Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York, NY, 1973; (as Michael) The Prodigal Daughter, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, 1973; (as Gadd) Trelawney of the Wells, Lincoln Center, New York, NY, 1975; Hamlet, produced off-Broadway, 1975; (as Ged Murray) Comedians, Music Box Theatre, New York, NY, 1976-77; Secret Service, Phoenix Theatre, New York, NY, 1976; Boy Meets Girl, Phoenix Theatre, 1976; (as Mat Burke) Anna Christie, Imperial Theatre, New York, NY, 1977; (as George Lewis) Once in a Lifetime, Circle in the Square Theatre, New York, NY, 1978; (as Frank) Spokesong, Circle in the Square Theatre, 1979; (as Trevor) Bedroom Farce, Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 1979; (as Joe Hill) Salt Lake City Skyline, New York Shakespeare Festival, 1980; (as Chris) Division Street, Ambassador Theatre, New York, NY, then Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, CA, 1980; (as George S. Kaufman) Kaufman at Large (solo show), Phoenix Theatre, 1981; (as Bruce) Beyond Therapy, Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 1982; (as Harlan "Mountain" McClintock) Requiem for a Heavyweight, Long Wharf Theatre, 1984, then Martin Beck Theatre, New York, NY, 1985; (as Walter Burns) The Front Page, Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Lincoln Center, New York, NY, 1986; (as Rene Gallimard) M. Butterfly, Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York, NY, 1988-1990; (as George) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, James A. Doolittle Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, 1989; Night of 100 Stars III (also known as Night of One Hundred Stars), Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY, 1990; and (as J. J. Hunsecker) Sweet Smell of Success, Chicago, IL, 2001, then Martin Beck Theatre, 2002. Appeared in Shakespearean roles at Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, Cleveland, OH, 1963-64; appeared in A Memory of Two Mondays, Phoenix Theatre; appeared in Perfectly Ridiculous Tour, U.S. cities, 2001.

Director of stage productions, including As You Like It, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, 1968; Much Ado about Nothing, McCarter Theatre, 1969; The Way of the World, McCarter Theatre, 1970; The Magistrate, Bucks County Playhouse, 1970; Barefoot in the Park, Bucks County Playhouse, 1970; Abduction from the Seraglio, New Jersey Opera Theatre, Princeton, 1970; The Beaux Stratagem Center Stage, Baltimore, MD, 1972; A Pagan Place, Long Wharf Theatre, 1973; Boy Meets Girl, Phoenix Theatre, 1976; and Kaufman at Large, Phoenix Theatre, 1981.

Appeared in radio programming, including (and producer) Under the Gun (series), WBAI-FM (New York), 1972-73; and (as voice of Yoda) The Empire Strikes Back, National Public Radio. Appeared on album Star Wars: Return of the Jedi; The Original Radio Drama, HighBridge, 1996. Appeared in videos, including Expectations, Labor Institute of Public Affairs, 1986; and (as the singing voice of Lord Farquaad) Shrek: Swamp Karaoke Dance Party, 2001. Reader of audio books, including The Bonfire of the Vanities, by Tom Wolfe, 1988; Saint Maybe, by Anne Taylor, Random House, 1991; Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, by Dr. Seuss, Random House, 1992; Disclosure, by Michael Crichton, Random House, 1994; (with Peggy Rathman) Officer Buckle and Gloria, Weston Woods, 1997; and (with B. D. Wong) M. Butterfly, by David Henry Hwang, L.A. Theatre Works, 2001.

AWARDS, HONORS: Fulbright scholar, 1967-68; Tony Award, American Theatre Wing, for The Changing Room; Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 1982, for The World according to Garp, and 1983, for Tearms of Endearment; Emmy Award, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, 1987, for Amazing Stories, and 1996, for 3rd Rock from the Sun; Tony Award, American Theatre Wing, and Drama Desk awards, 2002, for Sweet Smell of Success.

WRITINGS:

Under the Gun, produced by WBAI-FM (New York, NY), 1972-1973.

Kaufman at Large (solo show; based on letters of George S. Kaufman), produced at Phoenix Theatre, New York, NY, 1981.

Babysongs Presents John Lithgow's Kid-size Concert (video), Backyard Productions/Propaganda Films/Pancake Productions (Beverly Hills, CA), 1990.

Singin' in the Bathtub (children's musical album), Sony Wonder (New York, NY), 1999.

The Remarkable Farkle McBride (children's book), illustrated by C. F. Payne, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2000.

Marsupial Sue (children's book; with compact disc), illustrated by Jack E. Davis, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2001.

Farkle and Friends (children's musical album), Rhino Records (Los Angeles, CA), 2002.

Micawber (children's book; with compact disc), illustrated by C. F. Payne, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2002.

I'm a Manatee (children's book; with compact disc), illustrated by Ard Hoyt, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2003.

Carnival of the Animals (adapted from author's ballet; with compact disc), illustrated by Boris Kulikov, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2004.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A Lithgow Palooza! 101 Ways to Entertain and Inspire Your Kids, for Simon & Schuster (New York, NY).

SIDELIGHTS: John Lithgow "is that rare thing, a great character actor who's become a star," playwright John Guare told W interviewer Hilary De Vries. Lithgow grew up around the theater, traveling around the country to the community theaters and Shakespeare festivals where his father directed and produced. Lithgow first made a name for himself in acting at Harvard University, where he performed admirably enough to win a Fulbright scholarship to study drama further at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Upon his return to the United States, Lithgow acted both on Broadway and in Hollywood films, in a wide variety of roles. Broadway aficionados may remember Lithgow for his Tony award-winning performances in The Changing Room and Sweet Smell of Success; for those more inclined to film, Lithgow's most memorable role may be that as Roberta Muldoon from The World according to Garp, a performance that won him an Academy Award nomination. Lithgow has also won critical acclaim—and an Emmy award—for his small-screen role as High Commander Dick Solomon, the zany father figure of a family of aliens disguised as humans, on the television series 3rd Rock from the Sun.

In a departure from his acting career, Lithgow has also turned his hand to writing children's books, including The Remarkable Farkle McBride, Marsupial Sue, and Micawber. He has also written the text for a children's ballet, Carnival of the Animals, which he adapted into a picture book of the same name. The Remarkable Farkle McBride and its related music album, Farkle and Friends, seek to introduce children to the various components of an orchestra. Farkle is a musical prodigy, a child who by the age of nine has mastered the violin, the flute, the trombone, and the entire percussion section, but who always grows frustrated with his accomplishments and destroys his instruments a short time after learning them. It is only when Farkle is called upon to conduct the orchestra that he learns where his place in the musical world really is.

Lithgow has been involved in creating music for children since the sing-along video Babysongs Presents John Lithgow's Kid-size Concert was released in 1990, but every time he approached an organization about doing something with classical music for children they wanted his production to have more educational value. So "I devised a piece of music using various instruments and then wrote a story about a boy to go along with it … that demonstrates everything an orchestra can do," Lithgow told Publishers Weekly interviewer Sally Lodge. Then, when he had finished the story, he said to himself, "My goodness, I've written a children's book!," so he found an illustrator and sent it off to a publisher. The Remarkable Farkle McBride has also been performed several times as Lithgow intended it, on stage with a full orchestra, with Lithgow sitting in front in an easy chair, reading the book to the orchestra's accompaniment. "The words are delightful, the music sublime, and kids are left with a solid foundation in orchestral education," Billboard reviewer Moira McCormick declared of one such performance.

Like The Remarkable Farkle McBride, Marsupial Sue began its life musically, as a song Lithgow performed in his concerts for children; a compact disc of Lithgow performing the song is included with the book. Sue is a kangaroo who does not want to be a kangaroo anymore, so she wanders off through Australia and tries living like other animals do. She tries to climb trees with the koalas, but falls out of a tree and injures herself. Then she spends a day at the beach with a platypus, but eating so much seafood upsets her tummy. Only when she encounters a group of wallabies (a smaller version of kangaroos) does Sue realize that she does not really mind being a kangaroo. "Though the tone of the book is humorous and light, the 'Be happy with who you are' message will not be lost on storytime audiences," Patti Gonzales wrote in School Library Journal.

Lithgow's 2002 picture book, Micawber, features a Central Park squirrel who stows away in the paint box of an art student at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the squirrel, named Micawber, likes to go and peer in the windows. Micawber sneaks out into the student's apartment at night and experiments with her paints using his tail as a brush. Soon Micawber has created enough art of his own to have a gala gallery opening party atop the carousel in Central Park. Lithgow's "jaunty rhymes," as a critic described them in Kirkus Reviews, were widely praised, and despite his use of many large words unfamiliar to many children, the text remains "completely accessible," Wendy Lukehart commented in School Library Journal.

In Carnival of the Animals Lithgow does for dance what he did for orchestra with The Remarkable Farkle McBride. This ballet features a young boy who hides out in the Museum of Natural History overnight and finds his dreams colonized by the animals around him, who appear in the guise of people he knows. Not only did Lithgow write the story and serve as the narrator for the performances, he also danced as the boy's school nurse, who takes the form of an elephant, when the ballet premiered in New York. For the role, Lithgow wore a massive amount of padding and a gigantic chiffon dress with hot pink feathers for trim, a sight found hilarious by many critics. Overall, the ballet Carnival of the Animals is "a rollicking delight," stated Back Stage reviewer Jennie Schulman. In 2004, Lithgow adapted his ballet to the printed page, in a picture book illustrated by Boris Kulikov.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

America, February 8, 1997, James Martin, review of 3rd Rock from the Sun, pp. 26-27.

Back Stage, June 6, 2003, Jennie Schulman, review of Carnival of the Animals, pp. 11-12.

Billboard, October 21, 2000, Moira McCormick, review of Farkle and Friends, p. 73.

Daily Variety, May 16, 2003, Charles Isherwood, review of Carnival of the Animals, p. 6.

Entertainment Weekly, February 2, 1996, Kristen Baldwin, interview with Lithgow, p. 47; December 27, 1996, Lisa Schwarzbaum, review of 3rd Rock from the Sun, pp. 32-33; August 18, 2000, Clarissa Cruz, review of The Remarkable Farkle McBride, pp. 120; May 25, 2001, Ken Tucker, review of 3rd Rock from the Sun, pp. 61.

Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2001, review of Marsupial Sue, p. 1215; August 1, 2002, review of Micawber, p. 1135.

Mothering, fall, 1991, Joan Horvath, review of Kid-size Concert, p. 73.

People, July 4, 1983, Gail Buchalter, profile of Lithgow, pp. 69-71; May 7, 1990, Ralph Novak, review of Kid-size Concert, p. 45.

Publishers Weekly, July 24, 2000, review of The Remarkable Farkle McBride, p. 93; September 11, 2000, Sally Lodge, interview with Lithgow, p. 32; July 23, 2001, review of Marsupial Sue, p. 75; August 5, 2002, review of Farkle and Friends, p. 29; July 21, 2003, review of I'm a Manatee, p. 195; September 8, 2003, p. 14.

School Library Journal, September, 2000, Carol Ann Wilson, review of The Remarkable Farkle McBride, p. 204; November, 2001, Patti Gonzales, review of Marsupial Sue, pp. 128-129; September, 2002, Wendy Lukehart, review of Micawber, pp. 198-199; November, 2002, Beverly Bixler, review of Farkle and Friends, p. 89.

Time, January 8, 1996, Ginia Bellafonte, review of 3rd Rock from the Sun, p. 68; October 16, 2000, Evan Levy, review of The Remarkable Farkle McBride, p. F20.

Variety, May 26, 2003, Charles Isherwood, review of Carnival of the Animals, p. 44.

W, March, 2002, Hilary De Vries, interview with Lithgow, p. 176.*