Basil Hoffman

Basil Hoffman

Born: January 18, 1938
Died: September 17, 2021
in Houston, Texas, USA
Basil Harry Hoffman (January 18, 1938 — September 17, 2021) was an American actor with a film and television career spanning five decades, mostly in supporting roles. He starred in films with many award-winning directors, including Alan Pakula and Robert Redford. He has also authored two books about acting, including Acting and How to Be Good at It.

Hoffman was born in Houston, Texas in January 1938, the son of Beulah (née Novoselsky) and David Hoffman, an antique dealer. He graduated from Tulane University; and he spent two years at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, receiving a scholarship for the second, graduating year.

His thirteen years of work in New York included many plays, some roles in episodic television, a recurring character on One Life to Live on ABC, hundreds of commercials and a film role in Lady Liberty with Sophia Loren, directed by Mario Monicelli.

He made his first trip to Los Angeles in 1974. In that season, he filmed a theatrical feature, At Long Last Love, for Peter Bogdanovich. In the years that followed he appeared in two television movies, television episodes of Kung Fu, The Rockford Files, Sanford and Son (2 roles), Police Woman, Columbo, Kojak, M*A*S*H (2 roles), Barney Miller and several TV commercials. He had recurring roles as the fingerprint technician on Ellery Queen and as Principal Dingleman on Square Pegs.

Although most of his work was in film and television, he made a few stage appearances, most notably in Sand Mountain, by Romulus Linney, for which he won a Drama-Logue Award, the first staged reading of Martin E. Brooks’ Joe and Flo at the Actors Studio, and the world premiere of William Blinn's Walking Peoria.

He was best known for his work with distinguished film directors, including Peter Bogdanovich, Mario Monicelli, Richard Benjamin, Carl Reiner (twice), Peter Medak (six times) and Alan J. Pakula (twice); Academy Award winners Joel and Ethan Coen, Paolo Sorrentino, Michel Hazanavicius, Steven Spielberg, Delbert Mann, Blake Edwards, Stanley Donen, Sydney Pollack, Ron Howard and Robert Redford (twice as director); and others. His films include: All the President's Men, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, My Favorite Year, The Box, The Electric Horseman, Night Shift, Lucky Lady, Switch, The Milagro Beanfield War, Rio, I Love You, The Pineville Heist, and the Academy Award-winning Best Pictures Ordinary People and The Artist, among many others.

A long-time private acting teacher and coach, he was also a frequent guest lecturer and teacher at prestigious professional and academic institutions, including the American Film Institute, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Emerson College, the University of Southern California, Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and the Academie Libanaise des Beaux Arts in Beirut, Lebanon.

In 2008, he returned to Beirut as a U.S. State Department Cultural Envoy to Lebanon to teach acting and directing at the University of Balamand's Academie Libanaise des Beaux Arts, Lebanese University, Notre Dame University and St. Joseph University's Institut D'Etude Sceniques Audiovisuelles et Cinematographiques. ...

Source: Article "Basil Hoffman" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Movies for Basil Hoffman...

Lucky Louie
Title: Lucky Louie
Character: Wilbert Moser
Released: May 2, 2023
Type: Movie
A retired cop teams up with four ex-convicts and a behavioral science student to solve a fifty year old bank robbery.
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Third Act
Title: Third Act
Character: Uncle Paul
Released: January 1, 2022
Type: Movie
"Third Act" follows a beloved theater troupe facing eviction, prompting them to scheme a bank heist while filming on-site. Combining the humor of 'The Office' with the cinematic essence of 'Birdman', the film intertwines comedy and a behind-the-scenes vibe of the entertainment world.
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Mr. Roberts
Title: Mr. Roberts
Character: Mr. Roberts
Released: May 17, 2019
Type: Movie
The question is...do you ever really know anyone?
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The Last Word
Title: The Last Word
Character: Christopher Georrge
Released: March 3, 2017
Type: Movie
A retired businesswoman – who tries to control everything around her – decides to write her own obituary. A young journalist takes up the task of finding out the truth, and the result is a life-altering friendship.
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The Pineville Heist
Title: The Pineville Heist
Character: Principal Parker
Released: April 6, 2016
Type: Movie
A high school teen stumbles into the aftermath of a bank robbery gone wrong and finds himself locked inside his school trying to keep himself and his teacher alive as one of the psychotic robbers hunts them down.
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Hail, Caesar!
Title: Hail, Caesar!
Character: Stu Schwartz (Accounting)
Released: February 5, 2016
Type: Movie
When a Hollywood star mysteriously disappears in the middle of filming, the studio sends their fixer to get him back.
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The French American
Title: The French American
Character: Monsieur Tissot
Released: October 15, 2015
Type: Movie
The French American is a drama film directed by Darla Rae
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Throwdown
Title: Throwdown
Character: Judge Eller
Released: December 31, 2014
Type: Movie
A young criminal defense attorney struggles with a homicide case that is not as cut and dry as it appears while battling a drinking habit. The story goes beyond the lives of those directly related to the case and shines a much needed spotlight on the horrific world of human trafficking in the United States.
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Rio, I Love You
Title: Rio, I Love You
Character: James (segment "La Fortuna")
Released: September 12, 2014
Type: Movie
The third episode of the Cities of Love franchise, Rio, I Love You is an anthology, created by 10 visionary directors from across the globe. The story line of each segment focuses on an encounter of love in a different neighborhood of the city, demonstrating the distinctive qualities and character of that location. The film serves to bridge gaps between cultures, educating and entertaining the audience, while celebrating unique and universal expressions of love.
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3 Geezers!
Title: 3 Geezers!
Character: Victor
Released: May 22, 2013
Type: Movie
Follow actor J Kimball as he researches what it's like to be old for a role in an upcoming movie. When he meets the residents at The Coconuts convalescent home, he quickly discovers that his perceptions of the elderly may be off from today's reality. After being on the wrong end of some pranks, J enlists the help of his Hollywood friends to turn the tides. Mayhem ensues.
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Surreal Estate
Title: Surreal Estate
Character: Mr. Black
Released: October 20, 2011
Type: Movie
“SURREAL ESTATE” is a dark comedy short about a man, Mr. Smith, who attempts to rent a house and everything that can go wrong…does. It’s for anyone who has ever been to the DMV, changed checkout lines in a supermarket, or tried to navigate an automated telephone menu. It's the absurd chaos that develops in our minds as fantasy, but for Mr. Smith, it's all too real.
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The Artist
Title: The Artist
Character: Auctioneer
Released: October 12, 2011
Type: Movie
Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break.
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When Life Gives You Lemons
Title: When Life Gives You Lemons
Character: Calvin Adams
Released: January 1, 2010
Type: Movie
Retired Oscar-winning actor Calvin Adams attempts to outwit some neighborhood kids in a battle to sell the most lemonade.
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The Box
Title: The Box
Character: Don Poates
Released: October 29, 2009
Type: Movie
Norma and Arthur Lewis, a suburban couple with a young child, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. However pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world; someone they don't know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.
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Down with Love
Title: Down with Love
Character: C. W. (uncredited)
Released: May 8, 2003
Type: Movie
In 1962 New York City, love blossoms between a playboy journalist and a feminist advice author.
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Hefner: Unauthorized
Title: Hefner: Unauthorized
Character: Lawyer
Released: December 8, 1999
Type: Movie
The unauthorized biography of Hugh Hefner and the birth of the Playboy empire.
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Title: The West Wing
Character: Congressman
Released: September 22, 1999
Type: TV
The West Wing provides a glimpse into presidential politics in the nation's capital as it tells the stories of the members of a fictional presidential administration. These interesting characters have humor and dedication that touches the heart while the politics that they discuss touch on everyday life.
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Title: Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
Character: Gerald Stanley (segment "The Dresser")
Released: November 4, 1998
Type: TV
Can you tell the difference between fact and fiction? Several stories of strange, mysterious and incredible occurrences are chronicled during each episode. It is up to the viewer to decide which stories actually happened and which were completely fabricated by the show’s writers. The answer is revealed by Jonathan Frakes at the conclusion of each episode.
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Culture
Title: Culture
Released: October 1, 1997
Type: Movie
Culture is a 1997 short film directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, with Greg Germann, Florence Stanley, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.
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Title: The Practice
Character: Tucker's Atty. Art Hardiman (uncredited)
Released: March 4, 1997
Type: TV
A provocative legal drama focused on young associates at a bare-bones Boston firm and their scrappy boss, Bobby Donnell. The show's forte is its storylines about “people who walk a moral tightrope.”
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Title: Kindred: The Embraced
Character: Charon the Coroner
Released: April 2, 1996
Type: TV
Kindred: The Embraced is an American television series produced by John Leekley Productions and Spelling Television. Loosely based on the role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade, the series premiered on Fox on April 2, 1996, and ran for eight episodes before it was canceled on May 9, 1996. The series focused on San Francisco Police Detective Frank Kohanek who discovers his city is home to numerous vampires while investigating alleged mobster, Julian Luna. Julian is the "prince" of the city, ruler of five groups of vampires in the city, collectively called "The Kindred". The vampires survive through the "masquerade", disguising themselves as humans, and Julian strictly enforces the laws that govern them to protect their anonymity. Julian and Frank form an uneasy bond as they work together to try to prevent a vampire war and Julian struggles with his romantic feelings for human reporter Caitlin Byrne. The eight episodes of the series have been released on VHS and DVD.
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The Elvira Show
Title: The Elvira Show
Character: Dr. Marvin Zislis
Released: January 1, 1993
Type: Movie
Filmed for CBS in 1993, this unaired pilot features the witch Elvira, her aunt, and their pet cat welcoming a long-lost niece into their new Kansas home and contending with a couple of overzealous cops.
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The Ice Runner
Title: The Ice Runner
Character: J.C. Kruck
Released: January 1, 1992
Type: Movie
US-agent West travels to Moscow for the CIA in order to buy Russian weapons and to send them to the rebels in Afghanistan. When West gets caught he hides his identity and receives 15 years in a working camp in Siberia as penalty
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Mimi & Me
Title: Mimi & Me
Character: Professor Sauer
Released: September 7, 1991
Type: Movie
Mimi, a free spirited girl out shopping, is given a mysterious box by a dying man, who instructs her not to give it to his killers. While being chased by the thugs who killed him, she meets Howard, an uptight dental student, who enlists his private detective uncle to help them find out the truth about the box.
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Switch
Title: Switch
Character: Higgins
Released: May 10, 1991
Type: Movie
Steve Brooks, a sexist womanizer, is killed by a group of his angry former lovers. In heaven, he makes a bargain with God for redemption and agrees to return to Earth. Once there, he must have a sincere relationship with a female and make her fall in love with him. If not, Steve's soul will become the property of the devil. But the devil hedges his bet, and Steve is reincarnated as a woman named Amanda Brooks.
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Lambada
Title: Lambada
Character: Superintendent Leland
Released: March 16, 1990
Type: Movie
Kevin Laird is a Beverly Hills school teacher by day and a mystery man by night. Using his lambada dance moves to first earn the kid's respect and acceptance, Kevin then teaches them academics. But when a jealous student exposes Kevin's double life, his two worlds collide, threatening his job and reputation.
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Communion
Title: Communion
Character: Dr. Friedman
Released: November 10, 1989
Type: Movie
A novelist's wife and son see him changed by an apparent encounter with aliens in the mountains.
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Title: Seinfeld
Character: Salesman
Released: July 5, 1989
Type: TV
A stand-up comedian and his three offbeat friends weather the pitfalls and payoffs of life in New York City in the '90s. It's a show about nothing.
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The Milagro Beanfield War
Title: The Milagro Beanfield War
Character: In the Governor's Office
Released: March 18, 1988
Type: Movie
The accidental breakdown of an irrigation valve launches a hot confrontation between the mainly Latino farmers in a tiny New Mexico town and the real estate developers and politicians determined to acquire their land for a golf resort.
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Title: Sledge Hammer!
Character: Sam Steinway
Released: September 23, 1986
Type: TV
Sledge Hammer! is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from 1986 to 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector Sledge Hammer, a preposterous caricature of the standard "cop on the edge" character. Al Jean and Mike Reiss, best known for their work on The Simpsons, wrote for the show and worked as story editors.
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Title: The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Character: Dr. Michaels
Released: September 29, 1985
Type: TV
The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1985 to 1986, and on the USA Network from 1987 to 1989. The series is an updated re-imagining of the classic 1955 series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
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Title: The Twilight Zone
Character: Mr. Steward
Released: September 27, 1985
Type: TV
This 1980s revival of the classic sci-fi series features a similar style to the original anthology series. Each episode tells a tale (sometimes two or three) rooted in horror or suspense, often with a surprising twist at the end. Episodes usually feature elements of drama and comedy.
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The Ratings Game
Title: The Ratings Game
Character: Frank Friedlander
Released: December 15, 1984
Type: Movie
A New Jersey trucker creates a hit TV show with help from his girlfriend in the ratings business.
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All of Me
Title: All of Me
Character: Court Clerk
Released: September 21, 1984
Type: Movie
Just before stubborn millionaire Edwina Cutwater dies, she asks her uptight lawyer, Roger Cobb, to amend her will so that her soul will pass to the young, vibrant Terry Hoskins – but the spiritual transference goes awry. Edwina enters Roger's body instead, forcing him to battle Edwina for control of his own being.
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Welcome Home, Jellybean
Title: Welcome Home, Jellybean
Released: March 24, 1984
Type: Movie
A CBS Schoolbreak Special about a 12-year-old mentally-challenged girl whose parents decide to remove her from the institution where she was raised, and try to give her a home life.
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Title: Night Court
Character: Duane Sedgwick
Released: January 4, 1984
Type: TV
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone. It was created by comedy writer Reinhold Weege, who had previously worked on Barney Miller in the 1970s and early 1980s.
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Games Mother Never Taught You
Title: Games Mother Never Taught You
Character: Dwayne Hilson
Released: November 27, 1982
Type: Movie
Hard-working career wife Laura becomes the first female executive in an all-male office and is dismayed to find she now has to learn the rules of the corporate game.
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My Favorite Year
Title: My Favorite Year
Character: Herb Lee
Released: October 1, 1982
Type: Movie
Fledgling comic Benjy Stone can't believe his luck when his childhood hero, the swashbuckling matinee idol Alan Swann, gets booked to appear on the variety show he writes for. But when Swann arrives, he fails to live up to his silver screen image. Instead, he's a drunken womanizer who suffers from stage fright. Benjy is assigned to look after him before the show, and it's all he can do to keep his former idol from going completely off the rails.
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Night Shift
Title: Night Shift
Character: Drollhauser
Released: July 30, 1982
Type: Movie
A nebbish of a morgue attendant gets shunted back to the night shift where he is shackled with an obnoxious neophyte partner who dreams of the "one great idea" for success. His life takes a bizarre turn when a prostitute neighbor complains about the loss of her pimp. His partner, upon hearing the situation, suggests that they fill that opening themselves using the morgue at night.
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Title: Hill Street Blues
Character: Ed Greenglass (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: January 15, 1981
Type: TV
A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.
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Scout's Honor
Title: Scout's Honor
Character: Alexander
Released: September 30, 1980
Type: Movie
Gary Coleman stars as little Joey Seymour, a clever but lonely orphan shuffled from one foster home to the next, who is also determined to be the best Cub Scout ever. Pearl Bartlett (Katherine Helmond) is a hard-working executive who dislikes children, but she must take on a troop of Cub Scouts and become a den mother to save her job. Somewhere along the way, Joey teaches Pearl the true meaning of caring.
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Ordinary People
Title: Ordinary People
Character: Sloan
Released: September 19, 1980
Type: Movie
Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having difficulty being supportive to Conrad. Calvin is trapped between the two trying to hold the family together.
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The Electric Horseman
Title: The Electric Horseman
Character: Toland
Released: December 21, 1979
Type: Movie
A former champion rodeo rider is reduced to using his saddle skills to promote a breakfast cereal in a gaudy Las Vegas show. When he's asked to perform with a $12 million horse, he discovers it is being doped to remain docile. He flees into the desert astride the beast in an act of defiance. A story-hungry female reporter gives chase.
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Love at First Bite
Title: Love at First Bite
Character: Hotel Manager (uncredited)
Released: April 26, 1979
Type: Movie
Dracula and Renefield relocate to 70's era New York in search of Cindy Sondheim, the reincarnation of Dracula's one true love, Mina Harker. "Trouble adjusting" is a wild understatement for the Count as he battles Cindy's psychiatrist, Jeffrey Rosenberg, a descendant of Van Helsing, who may almost certainly, possibly, may be in love with Cindy too.
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Jennifer: A Woman’s Story
Title: Jennifer: A Woman’s Story
Character: Neil Turner
Released: March 5, 1979
Type: Movie
The widow of a wealthy shipbuilder tries to hold onto his business and becomes involved with boardroom intrigue in her bitter struggle to maintain control of the company. Based on British TV series "The Foundation." Pilot to a prospective series.
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Comes a Horseman
Title: Comes a Horseman
Character: George Bascomb
Released: October 25, 1978
Type: Movie
Ella Connors is a single woman who gets pressured to sell her failing cattle farm to her corrupt ex-suitor, Jacob Ewing. She asks for help from her neighbor, Frank Athearn. As Ella and Frank fight back through stampedes, jealousy, betrayal, and sabotage... they eventually find love.
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Love’s Dark Ride
Title: Love’s Dark Ride
Character: Dr. Kanlan
Released: April 2, 1978
Type: Movie
A young advertising executive, blinded in a gun accident, attempts to rebuild his life and career by living through a nightclub entertainer who befriends him.
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Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Title: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Character: Longly (uncredited)
Released: December 14, 1977
Type: Movie
After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
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All the President's Men
Title: All the President's Men
Character: Assistant Metro Editor
Released: April 9, 1976
Type: Movie
During the 1972 elections, two reporters' investigation sheds light on the controversial Watergate scandal that compels President Nixon to resign from his post.
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Ellery Queen: Too Many Suspects
Title: Ellery Queen: Too Many Suspects
Character: Fingerprint Expert
Released: March 23, 1975
Type: Movie
When a famous fashion designer is found murdered, Inspector Richard Queen of the NYPD is baffled by her dying clue, prompting him to bring in his son, mystery writer Ellery Queen, to help in the investigation. This was the pilot film for the short-lived TV series.
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Cage Without a Key
Title: Cage Without a Key
Character: Judge
Released: March 14, 1975
Type: Movie
A high school girl who needs a ride accepts one from a boy she doesn't know. He then forces her to participate in a robbery, in which a clerk is killed. They are soon caught, and the girl, despite her protestations of innocence, is convicted of first-degree murder and sent to prison. Once she gets there, she finds out that her troubles are just beginning.
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At Long Last Love
Title: At Long Last Love
Character: Movie Theatre Manager
Released: March 1, 1975
Type: Movie
Four socialites unexpectedly clash: heiress Brooke Carter runs into gambler Johnny Spanish at the race track while playboy Michael O. Pritchard nearly runs into stage star Kitty O'Kelly with his car. Backstage at Kitty's show, it turns out she and Brooke are old friends who attended public school together. The foursome do the town, accompanied by Brooke's companion Elizabeth, who throws herself at Michael's butler and chauffeur Rodney James.
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Title: Barney Miller
Character: Allen Korbel
Released: January 23, 1975
Type: TV
Barney Miller is an American situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker. Noam Pitlik directed the majority of the episodes.
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The Great Ice Rip-Off
Title: The Great Ice Rip-Off
Character: Richards
Released: November 6, 1974
Type: Movie
A retired cop goes up against a slick jewel thief and his gang, who have pulled a diamond heist and are trying to smuggle the diamonds cross-country.
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Title: Kojak
Character: Charlie Winston
Released: October 24, 1973
Type: TV
A bald, lollipop sucking police detective with a fiery righteous attitude battles crime in New York City.
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Title: M*A*S*H
Character: Major Pfiefer
Released: September 17, 1972
Type: TV
The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is stuck in the middle of the Korean war. With little help from the circumstances they find themselves in, they are forced to make their own fun. Fond of practical jokes and revenge, the doctors, nurses, administrators, and soldiers often find ways of making wartime life bearable.
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Lady Liberty
Title: Lady Liberty
Character: Willett (uncredited)
Released: December 22, 1971
Type: Movie
The story concerns the difficulties and reactions of Maddalena (Sophia Loren), an Italian visitor to New York City. She has come to the country carrying a huge mortadella sausage which she intends as a gift for her fiancé. But Customs do not allow processed meat to enter the U.S., so she is held at JFK airport...
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Title: Columbo
Character: Jason Danziger
Released: September 15, 1971
Type: TV
Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.