| Robert Picardo |
Picardo at Gatecon |
| Born |
Robert Picardo
October 27, 1953 (1953-10-27) (age 55)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Spouse(s) |
Linda Pawlik (1984-present) |
Robert Picardo (born October 27, 1953) is an Emmy Award-nominated American actor. He may be best known for his portrayals of Dr. Dick Richards on ABC's China Beach, the Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH) also known as The Doctor, on UPN's Star Trek: Voyager, as The Cowboy in Innerspace, as Joe "The Meat Man" Morton on Home Improvement, Coach Cutlip on The Wonder Years and as Richard Woolsey in Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.
Biography
Early life
Picardo was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Joe Picardo. He is Italian American, with his father's family originating from Naples and his mother's from Bomba in Abruzzo.[1] He graduated from William Penn Charter School in 1971 and originally entered Yale University as a pre-med student, but opted to act instead. While he was at Yale University, he was a member of the Society of Orpheus & Bacchus, an undergraduate a cappella singing group. On Broadway he appeared in Gemini (1977) and Tribute (1978).
Career
Picardo made his feature film debut as Eddie Quist, the serial killer werewolf in the Joe Dante film The Howling (1981). He also had a recurring role in the sitcom Alice. He played a number of roles in Dante's 1985 children's sci-fi film Explorers, and later appeared in Dante's The 'Burbs, Looney Tunes: Back In Action, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Small Soldiers, where he had a minor role as Ralph, the scientist responsible for the creation of the X-1000 series munitions microprocessor that was central to the story, and Innerspace, in the memorable role as the Cowboy. Picardo is no stranger to playing roles under layers of prosthetic latex, having also played the swamp dwelling hag Meg Mucklebones in Ridley Scott's film Legend. He also had a small role as a funeral director in John Landis's Amazon Women on the Moon. He voices Pfish in two Pfish & Chip shorts as seen on Cartoon Network's What-A-Cartoon! Show. Picardo also portrays the voice of the robotic Johnny Cab in Total Recall.
From 1995 to 2001, he played the role of the Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH) in Star Trek Voyager.
In 2004, he began playing the recurring role of International Oversight Advisory (IOA) member Richard Woolsey in both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. His first appearance in those series was in "Heroes (Part 2)".
In 2007, he starred in the independent feature film by director Russ Emanuel, "P.J.", alongside John Heard and Vincent Pastore.[2] He also more recently starred in Russ Emanuel's "Chasing the Green" (2008), alongside William Devane, Jeremy London, and Ryan Hurst.
Picardo has also appeared on E-Ring as a media rep in The Pentagon, as an enraged father in Cold Case, and as a police officer in CSI: NY.
Away from acting, Picardo is a member of the Board of Directors' Advisory Council of The Planetary Society, where he has served since the late 1990s. In 2002, Picardo authored the book The Hologram's Handbook, published by Pocket Books. Other career highlights include performing in Leonard Bernstein's Mass in D during its European debut tour, performing with the Yale University Society of Orpheus & Bacchus a cappella singing group as an undergraduate, and appearing in dozens of other television and film roles, including the upcoming film Ghost in the Machine.
On February 5, 2008, it was announced that Picardo would be joining the regular cast of Stargate Atlantis full-time for the show's fifth and final season. He will be taking over the role of mission commander of the Atlantis Expedition.[3] Recently, Picardo performed the voice of Loki in the Xbox 360 video game Too Human. He will also be appearing in Pushing Daisies.
Personal life
Picardo is also a keen hobbyist; his most notable achievements include placing fifth in the SOCAL Hula Dance Championships in both 1982 and 1993. Picardo has been married to Linda Pawlik since 1984 and has two daughters, Gina and Nikky.
Picardo is a member of The Planetary Society, with his current pre-recorded voice appearing on Planetary Radio.
Picardo is a lover of sweets, he has recently said he has taken up confectionary as a hobby and currently produces sweets in his basement. He has said when his acting career is finished he hopes to open a sweet shop.
References
External links
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