Age: 98
male
Paul Dooley (born Paul Brown; February 22, 1928) is an American actor, writer and comedian. Dooley was born Paul Brown in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Ruth Irene (née Barringer), a homemaker, and Peter James Brown, a factory worker.[1] He has said that Parkersburg had few attractions that interested him; there were no theaters or cultural opportunities, and his family had no television set. He enjoyed listening to comedians on the radio, especially Jimmy Durante.[2] Dooley was a cartoonist as a youth and drew a strip for a local paper in Parkersburg. He joined the United States Navy. Dooley then returned home and graduated from West Virginia University in 1952.[3] After graduating from West Virginia University, Dooley went to New York City to try his luck in the entertainment industry. He initially found work as a clown for children's birthday parties.[4] In New York he soon found success as a regular on the stage. In the early 1950s, he made his debut on the New York stage and was discovered by Mike Nichols. The director gave him his first break by casting him in 1965's The Odd Couple on Broadway. Dooley played a poker buddy and understudied Art Carney, who played Felix Unger. Eventually when Carney left the play Dooley got the part. He got an agent at William Morris Agency thanks to a referral from Walter Matthau, who played Oscar Madison in the play.[3] Also having an interest in comedy, Dooley was a stand-up comedian for five years, eventually landing on The Tonight Show,[4] and a member of the Compass Players and The Second City troupe in New York City. Fellow members of The Second City at that time were Alan Arkin and Alan Alda.[5] Dooley also worked as a writer. He created and was one of the head writers on The Electric Company, produced by the Children's Television Workshop (now called Sesame Workshop) for PBS in the United States. Dooley wrote "runners", a series of short sketches with 8 or 10 characters that were broadcast over the course of several weeks. He found out years later that Carl Reiner had recommended him for the job.[2] Dooley formed a company with Andrew Duncan and Lynne Lipton called All Over Creation to create commercials for radio and television. They produced around 500 TV commercials and 1,000 radio spots.[4] A character named Paul the Gorilla that appeared in television commercials was named after him. Dooley wrote[2] Easy Reader (Morgan Freeman), Fargo North, Decoder (Skip Hinnant) and Love of Chair. Dooley has appeared in such films as Sixteen Candles, Popeye, Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure, Breaking Away, and the voice of Sarge in the Disney/Pixar films Cars, Cars 2 and Cars 3. He worked with Robert Altman regularly and is known as a prolific journeyman character actor.[3] After Altman saw Dooley in the Jules Feiffer comedy Hold Me, he signed him for a role in his film A Wedding.[4] He and Altman co-wrote the film Health.[2] He was also in the director's cut of Little Shop of Horrors, but was replaced by Jim Belushi in the final cut. Dooley has worked with Christopher Guest on a number of films.[4] Dooley has also appeared as a variety of recurrent characters on numerous television shows, including My So-Called Life, Dream On, Grace Under Fire, thirtysomething, Curb Your Enthusiasm, ALF (playing Whizzer Deaver) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine where he played the recurring role of Enabran Tain. He guest starred in other primetime shows like Bewitched, The Wonder Years, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Golden Girls, Hot in Cleveland, and Desperate Housewives. Dooley starred in the short-lived comedy about a couple living in an Arizona retirement community, Coming of Age, opposite veteran actors Phyllis Newman, Glynis Johns an Alan Young. In 2000, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role as an eccentric judge on The Practice. In 2010, Dooley played the part of the head chef at Camp Victory, a fictional fat camp, on the short-lived ABC Family original series Huge, which was created and written by his wife and daughter.[6] In 2014 he appeared in an episode of the NBC series Parenthood as Rocky, a fellow vet and retiree to Craig T. Nelson's Zeek Braverman.[7] In 2017 he appeared in the episode "22 Steps" of the ABC series The Good Doctor as Glenn, a 72 year old man with a failing heart who breaks his pacemaker because he wants to die due to the constant pain he is suffering. Dooley co-wrote the play, Assisted Living, with his wife Winnie Holzman.[5] It was their first theatrical collaboration. The play premiered on April 5, 2013.[8] Dooley has been married to Winnie Holzman since November 18, 1984.[5] They first met at an improv acting class in New York[9] but were both in relationships with other people at the time.[2] The couple have a daughter named Savannah[2][10] and live in Toluca Lake in Los Angeles, California.[9] He was previously married to Donna Lee Wasser on September 19, 1958, but their marriage ended in divorce. He has three children from his first marriage: Robin, Adam, and Peter.[1] His sister-in-law still lives in Parkersburg at the Willows Center.
Paul Dooley
Mr. Mushnik
for Mr. Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors
Suggested by olivialukenbill
Seymour Krelborn and his colleague, Audrey, work at Mushnik's Flower Shop in a run-down, rough neighborhood referred to as "Skid Row" in the slums of New York City. They lament that they cannot escape the neighborhood. Struggling from a lack of customers, Mr. Mushnik decides to close the store, but Audrey suggests he may have more success by displaying an unusual plant that Seymour owns. Immediately attracting a customer, Seymour explains he bought the plant, which he dubbed "Audrey II", from a Chinese flower shop during a solar eclipse. Attracting business to Mushnik's shop, the plant soon starts dying, worrying Seymour. Accidentally pricking his finger, he then discovers Audrey II needs human blood to thrive. Audrey II continues to grow rapidly and Seymour becomes a local celebrity. Seymour soon attempts to ask Audrey out, but she turns him down because she has a date with her sadistic, mean-spirited dentist boyfriend Orin Scrivello. Despite this, Audrey is interested in Seymour, dreaming of marrying him and escaping Skid Row. After Seymour closes up shop, Audrey II begins to talk to Seymour, demanding more blood than Seymour can give. The plant proposes that Seymour murder someone in exchange for fame and fortune: Seymour initially refuses, but agrees after witnessing Orin beating Audrey. After Orin finishes with his masochistic patient, Arthur Denton, who requested "a long, slow, root canal", Seymour books an appointment with Orin and arms himself with a revolver; however, he cannot bring himself to use it. Orin, who abuses nitrous oxide, puts on a type of venturi mask to receive a constant flow of the gas. Accidentally breaking an intake valve and unable to remove the mask, Orin begs Seymour for help removing it, but Seymour does nothing. When Orin asks Seymour what he ever did to him, Seymour coldly replies, "Nothing, it's what you did to her." Orin dies from asphyxiation and Seymour drags his body back to Audrey II. While dismembering the body to feed to the plant, Seymour is unknowingly witnessed by Mushnik, who flees in fear. After feeding Orin's parts to Audrey II, which has grown to enormous size, Seymour discovers the police investigating Orin's disappearance. Audrey, feeling guilty about wishing Orin would disappear, is comforted by Seymour and the two admit their feelings for each other. That night, Mushnik confronts Seymour about what he saw and holds Seymour at gunpoint, threatening to report him to the police. Mushnik then changes his mind, saying that since Seymour was "like a son" to him, he'll allow Seymour to leave town, leaving the plant to Mushnik. With no choice, Seymour steadily backs him towards the plant, which swallows Mushnik whole. Despite widespread success, Seymour worries about Audrey II's growth and unbridled appetite. Offered money and a contract for a botany TV show, Seymour plans to escape Skid Row with Audrey using the money, leaving the plant to starve. After Audrey accepts Seymour's marriage proposal, Audrey II catches Seymour leaving and demands another meal: Seymour agrees, but insists on meat from a butcher. While Seymour is gone, the plant telephones Audrey, coaxes her into the shop, and then tries to eat her. Seymour, returning in time to save Audrey, escapes the store with her. Explaining that he fed the plant to become successful and win Audrey's heart, Seymour discovers she has always loved him. Approached by an executive from a botanical company named Patrick Martin, Seymour is offered a contract to breed Audrey II and sell the saplings worldwide. Horrified by the idea, Seymour drives Martin away, and realizes he must destroy Audrey II for the sake of humanity. Returning to the shop, Seymour learns that Audrey II is actually an alien from outer space. Audrey II traps Seymour and destroys the shop, but Seymour grabs an exposed electrical cable and electrocutes Audrey II. Leaving the destroyed shop, Seymour safely reunites with Audrey. The two wed and move to the suburbs: arriving at their new home, which is the one seen in Audrey's daydreams, a smiling Audrey II bud can be seen among the flowers in their front yard.
