F. Murray Abraham Biography
Born: October 24, 1939
Birth Name: Fahrid Murray Abraham
Date of Birth: October 24, 1939
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, F. Murray Abraham attended the University of Texas before training for the stage with Uta Hagen in New York. He made his professional debut in the 1965 Los Angeles production of The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit. He would then move back to New York to perform in the long-running The Fantasticks. For the next ten years, Abraham would work at his art without becoming famous.
On stage he appeared in Brodway's Triumph of Love, Angels in America and starred with Helen Mirren in A Month in the Country. He also spent time on the London stage starring in Tolstoy and playing the title role in King Lear.
On television, Abraham landed roles in the miniseries Marco Polo, Nightside, Gor Vidal's Lincoln, and the TV movies And Quiet Flows the Don and Sex and Married Women. He was also seen on several commercials, including a then-famous spot for Fruit Of the Loom underwear.
Abraham wouldn't find fame until he started working in the big screen. He was made a star almost overnight in 1984, when he was cast as the covetous composer Salieri in Amadeus. His brilliant, bravura performance won him Oscar and Golden Globe awards as well as a nomination for a BAFTA award.
Since Amadeus (1984), Abraham has been so selective in his film roles that he rarely works at all. Highlights in the last two decades of the 20th century included The Name of the Rose (1985) in which Abraham, playing a 14th-century monk, was deliberately made up to look like a "living gargoyle;" An Innocent Man (1989); The Mighty Aphrodite (1995); Star Trek Insurrection (1998) playing the skin-pulled alien leader, Ad'har Ru'afo; Finding Forrester (2000) with Sean Connery and Anna Paquin; and 13 Ghosts (2001).
A respected drama teacher, Abraham has taught as Professor of Theater at Brooklyn College. He has been married to Kate Hannan since 1962 and the couple have two children.
Filmography:
Isle of Dogs (2018)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Last Action Hero (2011)
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2005)
Papa Rua Alguem 5555 (2002)
Amadeus, The Director's Cut (2002)
The Hire: Ticker (2002)
Joshua (2001)
13 Ghosts (2001)
Finding Forrester (2000)
Excellent Cadavers (1999)
Muppets From Space (1999)
All New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy: For Love or Mummy (1998)
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Eruption (1997)
Una Vacanza all'inferno (1997)
Mimic (1997)
Children of the Revolution (1996)
Looking for Richard (1996)
Baby Face Nelson (1995)
Dillinger and Capone (1995)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Jamila (1994)
Surviving the Game (1994)
Nostradamus (1994)
Fresh (1994) (uncredited)
L'Affaire (1994)
Last Action Hero (1993)
Sweet Killing (1993)
Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
By the Sword (1991)
The Little Match Girl (1991)
Mobsters (1991)
Cadence (1991) (uncredited)
La Batalla de los Tres Reyes (1990)
Money (1990)
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) (uncredited)
Beyond the Stars (1989)
Eye of the Widow (1989)
An Innocent Man (1989)
Performance Pieces (1989)
Russicum - I giorni del diavolo (1989)
Slipstream (1989)
The Favorite (1989)
La Rosa dei nomi (1987)
The Name of the Rose (1986)
On the Wing (1986) (voice)
Amadeus (1984)
Scarface (1983)
The Big Fix (1978)
Madman (1978)
The Ritz (1976)
All the President's Men (1976)
The Sunshine Boys (1975)
The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1974)
Serpico (1973) (uncredited)
Might Be Giants (1971)