Ronald Arthur Ron Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor, director, producer, radio host and political activist. Silver was born in New York City, the son of May (née Zimelman), a substitute teacher, and Irving Roy Silver, a clothing sales executive. Silver was raised Jewish on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and attended Stuyvesant High School. Silver went on to graduate from SUNY at Buffalo with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Chinese, and received a masters degree in Chinese History from St. Johns University in New York and the College of Chinese Culture in Taiwan. Silver also attended Columbia Universitys Graduate School of International Affairs and studied acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio, and later at The Actors Studio. Silver made his stage debut starring in El Grande de Coca Cola in 1974. Producers Richard Flanzer and Roy Silver (no relation) opened it at the famed Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. The production ran for more than a year. Silver and his co-star, actor Jeff Goldblum, were discovered by Hollywood Film Agents during this shows historic run. He made his film debut in Tunnel Vision in 1976. From 1976-78, he had a recurring role as Gary Levy in the sitcom Rhoda, a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Additional screen roles include a performance as the devoted son of Anne Bancroft in Garbo Talks (1984), an incompetent detective in Eat and Run (1986), the pistol-wielding psychopath stalking Jamie Lee Curtis in 1989s Blue Steel, and the lead in Paul Mazurskys Oscar-nominated Enemies: A Love Story (1989). He starred as Jerry Lewiss characters son in the episode Garment District Arc of the crime show Wiseguy (1988). He portrayed defense attorney Alan Dershowitz in the true story Reversal of Fortune (1990), based on the trial of Claus von Bülow. From 1991-2000, Silver served as president of the Actors Equity Association. He played a film producer in Best Friends opposite Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn and a film director in Mr. Saturday Night (1992). Silver portrayed a corrupt, rogue senator in the 1994 Jean-Claude Van Damme sci-fi thriller Timecop. In 1998, he starred opposite Kirstie Alley for season two of her TV comedy series Veronicas Closet. Silver portrayed real life attorney Robert Shapiro in American Tragedy (2000), the story of the O.J. Simpson trial. He portrayed tennis player Bobby Riggs in the TV docudrama When Billie Beat Bobby (2001), about Riggs real-life exhibition tennis match against Billie Jean King, which Riggs lost. Silver was featured as Muhammad Alis boxing trainer and cornerman Angelo Dundee in the biopic Ali (2001), directed by Michael Mann. From 2001-02 and again from 2005–06, he had a recurring role as presidential campaign advisor Bruno Gianelli on the NBC series The West Wing. Silver provided the narration for the 2004 political documentary film FahrenHYPE 9/11 that was produced as a conservative political response to the award-winning and controversial Michael Moore documentary film, Fahrenheit 9/11. One of his final film performances was as a judge in another true story, 2006s Find Me Guilty, directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Vin Diesel. In February 2008, Silver began hosting The Ron Silver Show on Sirius Satellite Radio, which focused on politics and public affairs. The show aired live from 9–11am ET, on Indie Talk, Sirius 110. Silver travelled to more than 30 countries and spoke fluent Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. He taught at the high school level and was a social worker for the Department of Social Services. In 1975 he married another social worker, later Self magazine editor, Lynne Miller. The marriage lasted until 1997. He was a co-founder in 1989 of the entertainment industry political advocacy organization the Creative Coalition. Silver, a longtime smoker, died on March 15, 2009 of esophageal cancer, which had been diagnosed two years earlier. He was 62 years old. Silver is survived by both parents, brothers Mitchell and Keith, son Adam, and daughter Alexandra. His remains were interred at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 03:36:47 +0000
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