David Emmanuel Paymer (born August 30, 1954) is an American actor and television director. He is known for his character actor roles on stage and screen. He has received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Awards, a Grammy Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Paymer was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing a caring brother and exhausted agent in the showbiz drama Mr. Saturday Night (1992). He is also known for his comedic roles in: Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), Crazy People (1990), City Slickers (1991), Get Shorty (1995), The American President (1995), Carpool (1996), State and Main (2000), and In Good Company (2004) as well as dramatic roles in Quiz Show (1994), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), Nixon (1995), Amistad (1997), The Hurricane (1999), Ocean's Thirteen (2007) and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014).
Contents
Early life and education
Paymer was born in Oceanside, New York on August 30, 1954. He is the son of Sylvia, a travel agent, and Marvin Paymer, a pianist and musical director who originally worked in the scrap metal business. They divorced in 1973. Paymer is Jewish. He has a brother, Steve. His mother was born in Belgium and left for the United States to escape the Nazi occupation.
Paymer graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in theater and psychology.
Career
Paymer played a cab driver in his film debut The In-Laws. He has appeared in over 90 films in his career. He has also appeared in many popular television shows, including: Taxi, Happy Days, L.A. Law, Cheers, Ghost Whisperer, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Entourage, Diff'rent Strokes, The Good Wife, and Family Ties. He has had recurring roles on Cheers, Murphy Brown, and The Larry Sanders Show. He has also appeared in such films as: Amistad, City Hall, RFK and Into the West. He received an Academy Award nomination for Mr. Saturday Night. His voice-over work includes Sheldon in the Kids' WB cartoon series Channel Umptee-3, and neurotic Welsh Terrier Mel in Balto 3: Wings of Change.
Paymer has directed episodes of several popular television series, including: Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill, Melrose Place, Everwood, Brothers & Sisters and Bunheads.
Personal life
He is married to Liz Georges. They have two children, including singer Jules Paymer.
