Michael Beck
Michael Beck | |
---|---|
Born | John Michael Beck Taylor (1949-02-04) February 4, 1949 Memphis, Tennessee, United States |
Residence | California |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1971–2005, 2015 |
Spouse(s) | Cari Beck (1980–present) |
Children | 2 |
John Michael Beck Taylor (born February 4, 1949), commonly known as Michael Beck, is an American actor, known for his role as Swan in the 1979 film, The Warriors,[1] and as Sonny Malone in Xanadu.
Contents
1 Life and career
1.1 Early life
1.2 Career
2 Selected filmography
2.1 Film
2.2 Television
3 References
4 External links
Life and career
Early life
Beck was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the third of nine children. He attended Memphis University School and then Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, on a football scholarship. While in college he was initiated into Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. After graduating with a degree in economics, he was one of 30 (out of 2,500) applicants chosen for London's Central School of Speech and Drama. Beck's stage credits, beginning with college, include: Camelot (he was King Arthur); Of Mice and Men (he was George Milton); Romeo and Juliet (he was Tybalt); and Cat On a Hot Tin Roof.
Career
Beck is known predominantly for his roles as Swan in the action film The Warriors (1979), Sonny Malone in Xanadu (1980),[2] Lieutenant Commander Dallas in Megaforce (1982), and Koda in Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1983). Both the Xanadu and Megaforce roles garnered him Razzie nominations, for Worst Actor and Worst Supporting Actor, respectively.[citation needed] Beck has appeared in other movies such as Warlords of the 21st Century (1982), Wes Craven's Chiller (1985), Gone to Texas (1986, as James Bowie) and Forest Warrior (1996).[citation needed] He also read for, but did not get, the role of Lancelot in John Boorman's film Excalibur.
Beck appeared as Hans Helms in the 1978 TV miniseries Holocaust, and starred in a short-lived television series, Houston Knights (1987). More recently, he appeared in such television shows as JAG, Walker, Texas Ranger, In the Heat of the Night, as the Mars-born terrorist-turned-cyborg assassin Abel Horn in Babylon 5 (episode "Spider in the Web"), and as Mr. Jones in the spinoff series Crusade.
Beck has narrated numerous audiobooks of John Grisham's novels. He has also narrated Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz; A Darkness More Than Light by Michael Connelly; State of the Union by David Callahan; and the unabridged version of Bill Clinton's My Life. He also reprised his role as Swan in 2005, lending his voice to the popular video game adaptation of The Warriors.[3]
Selected filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1971 | The Hard Ride | Highway Thug | Uncredited |
1979 | The Warriors | Swan | |
1979 | Mayflower: The Pilgrims' Adventure | John Alden | Television movie |
1980 | Xanadu | Sonny Malone | Nominated—Razzie Award for Worst Actor |
1980 | Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story | Clarence Carnes | Television movie |
1981 | Fly Away Home | Mark | Television movie |
1982 | Battletruck | Hunter | aka Warlords of the 21st Century and Destroyers |
1982 | Megaforce | Dallas | Nominated—Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor |
1983 | Triumphs of a Man Called Horse | Koda | |
1983 | The Golden Seal | Crawford | |
1984 | The Last Ninja | Kenjiro Sakura | Television movie |
1984 | The Streets | Sgt. Danny Wreade | Television movie |
1984 | Rearview Mirror | Jerry Sam Hopps | Television movie |
1985 | Chiller | Miles Creighton | Television movie (aka Wes Craven's Chiller) |
1985 | Blackout | Mike Patterson | Television movie |
1986 | Gone to Texas | James Bowie | Television movie (aka Houston: The Legend of Texas) |
1990 | Only One Survived | Paul Haskel | Television movie |
1991 | Deadly Game | Peterson | Television movie |
1991 | Stranger at My Door | Jimmy Lee Dancey | Television movie |
1991 | Final Judgement | Delaney | Television movie |
1993 | Fade to Black | Braith | Television movie |
1996 | Forest Warrior | Arlen Slaighter | |
1998 | The Jungle Book: Search for the Lost Treasure | Prof. Gershwin Donovan | |
2015 | The Grace of Jake | Henry Haynes | |
2015 | The Warriors: Last Subway Ride Home | Swan |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1977 | Ryan's Hope | N/A | 2 episodes |
1978 | Holocaust | Hans Helm | 3 episodes |
1984 | Celebrity | T.J. Luther | 3 episodes |
1987–88 | Houston Knights | Sgt. Levon Lundy | 30 episodes |
1989 | Murder, She Wrote | Danny Schubert | Episode: "The Search for Peter Kerry" |
1990 | Murder, She Wrote | Justin Fields | Episode: "Trials and Tribulations" |
1993 | In the Heat of the Night | Sonny Roper | Episode: "A Deadly Affection" |
1993 | Murder, She Wrote | Brian Bentall | Episode: "The Big Kill" |
1994 | Robin's Hoods | Det. Stephen DeCosta | 3 episodes |
1994 | Babylon 5 | Abel Horn | Episode: "Spider in the Web" |
1995 | McKenna | Jon Doe / Alex | Episode: "Racing in the Streets" |
1996−98 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Adam McGuire | 2 episodes |
1997 | Diagnosis: Murder | Frank Waldeck | Episode: "Deadly Games" |
1998 | Born Free | Luke | Episode: "The Reunion" |
1999 | Crusade | Mr. Jones | Episode: "The Well of Forever" |
2001 | Nash Bridges | Adult Bobby Bridges | Episode: "Quack Fever" |
2004 | JAG | Senator Carter Innes | Episode: "Whole New Ball Game" |
References
^ Maslin, Janet (February 10, 1979). "The Warriors (1979) Movie: 'Warriors' Creates Visual Style That Is Stark:The Cast". The New York Times..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Maslin, Janet (August 9, 1980). "Xanadu (1980) MISS NEWTON-JOHN IN 'XANADU'". The New York Times.
^ Schiesel, Seth (October 16, 2005). "Gangs of New York". The New York Times.
External links
Michael Beck on IMDb
Michael Beck at AllMovie