A graduate of NYU, American actor Richard Masur has been seen in supporting TV and movie roles since the early 1970s. His pliable facial features, boyish demeanor and indeterminate age have enabled Masur to play a rich variety of roles: a mentally retarded stockboy on All in the Family, a hotshot program manager on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and even a "friendly stranger" child molester in the 1981 TV movie Fallen Angel. Masur's film credits include Semi-Tough (1977); Who'll Stop the Rain (1978); My Girl (1991), as Jamie Lee Curtis' prickly ex-husband; and the deservedly maligned Heaven's Gate (1980). Masur has also been a regular on several TV series: From 1975 through 1976, for example, he was divorcee Bonnie Franklin's much-younger boyfriend (and almost her second husband) on One Day at a Time. In 1987, Masur made his film directorial bow with the Oscar-nominated short subject Love Struck, but he continues to work primarily as an actor in both TV and film.
Richard Masur
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- Studied premed in college before changing his major to theater arts.
- Made his Broadway debut in 1973 in The Changing Room, which was seen by television writer-producer Norman Lear, who gave Masur his first TV role on All in the Family.
- His directorial debut, 1987's Love Struck, was nominated for a Best Short Film Academy Award.
- Served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild between 1995 and 1999, but lost his third bid for the position to William Daniels.
- Appeared in Mike Leigh's Off-Broadway play Two Thousand Years in 2008.