John Lithgow

John Arthur Lithgow
1945 -
American born Rochester, New York

Height 6' 4" (1.93 m) . If "born to the theater" has meaning in determining a person's life path, then John Lithgow is a prime example of this truth. Son of a retired actress and a father who was both a theatrical producer and director, he moved frequently as a child while his father founded and managed local and college theaters and Shakespeare festivals throughout the midwest of the United States. Not until he was 16, and his father became head of the McCarter Theater in Princeton New Jersey, did the family settle down. But for John, the theater was still not a career. He won a scholarship to Harvard University, where he finally caught the acting bug (as well as found a wife). Harvard was followed by a Fulbright scholarship to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Returning from London, his rigorous dramatic training stood him in good stead, and a distinguished career on Broadway gave him one Tony award for "The Changing Room", a second nomination in 1985 for "Requiem for a Heavyweight", and a third in 1988 for "M. Butterfly". But with critical acclaim came personal confusion, and in the mid '70s he and his wife divorced. He entered therapy, and in 1982 his life started in a new direction, the movies - he received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Roberta Muldoon in The World According to Garp (1982). A second Oscar nomination followed for Terms of Endearment (1983), and he met a UCLA economics professor who became his second wife. As the decade of the '90s came around he found that he was spending too much time on location, and another career move brought him to television in the hugely successful series "3rd Rock from the Sun" (1996). This production also played a role in bringing him back together with the son from his first marriage, Ian Lithgow, who has a regular role in the series as a dim-witted student. Spouse Mary Yeager (1981 - present) 1 son, Nathan, 1 daughter, Phoebe, Jean Taynton (10 September 1966 - 1980) (divorced) 1 son, Ian.

The Smurfs (2008) , Dreamgirls (2006) , "Twenty Good Years"(2006) , E=mc² (2005) , Kinsey (2004) , The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004) , Untitled Aisha Tyler Project (2004) , Shrek 4-D (2003), Orange County (2002) , "3rd Rock from the Sun" (2001) , Shrek (2001) , Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party (2001) , Rugrats in Paris: The Movie - Rugrats II (2000) , Don Quixote (2000) , C-Scam (2000) , A Civil Action (1998) , Homegrown (1998) , Johnny Skidmarks (1998) , Officer Buckle and Gloria (1998) , Hollow Point (1996) , The Tuskegee Airmen (1995) , Redwood Curtain (1995) , "Frasier"(1995) , My Brother's Keeper (1995) , "Tales from the Crypt" (1995) , Silent Fall (1994) , Princess Caraboo (1994) , A Good Man in Africa (1994) , The Pelican Brief (1993) , The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale (1993) , Love, Cheat & Steal (1993) , The Wrong Man (1993) , Cliffhanger (1993) , Raising Cain (1992) , At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991) , Ricochet (1991) , The Boys (1991) , L.A. Story (1991) , Memphis Belle (1990) , Ivory Hunters (1990) , Traveling Man (1989) , Out Cold (1989) , Distant Thunder (1988) , Harry and the Hendersons (1987), Baby Girl Scott (1987) , The Manhattan Project (1986) , "Amazing Stories" (1986) , Resting Place (1986) , Mesmerized (1986) , Santa Claus (1985) , 2010 (1984) , The Glitter Dome (1984) , The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) , Footloose (1984) , "Faerie Tale Theatre" (1984) , The Day After (1983) , Terms of Endearment (1983) , Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) , Not in Front of the Children (1982) , The World According to Garp (1982) , I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982) , Blow Out (1981) , Big Blonde (1980) , Mom, the Wolfman and Me (1980) , The Oldest Living Graduate (1980) , All That Jazz (1979), Rich Kids (1979) , The Big Fix (1978) , Secret Service (1977) , Obsession (1976) , The Country Girl (1974) , Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972)