Barry Primus (born February 16, 1938) is an American television and film actor, director, and writer.
Career
While Primus is primarily an actor, he has also worked as a writer and director in films in which he has acted. For the first decade of his career, he was employed as a stage actor. He gained some experience on TV in shows like The Defenders, East Side/West Side and The Virginian.
He then made his initial film appearance in the Manhattan-filmed The Brotherhood (1968). His other films include Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me (1971), Boxcar Bertha (1972), Autopsy (1975), Heartland (1979), The Rose (1979), Night Games (1980), Absence of Malice (1981), and Guilty by Suspicion (1991). He had a recurring role on the TV series Cagney and Lacey (1982 — 1988) as Christine Cagney (Sharon Gless)'s boyfriend, Sergeant Dory McKenna, whose drug problem compromises his performance as a fellow police officer.
After working as second unit director on Mark Rydell's The Rose (1979), Primus increased his behind-the-camera activities; in 1992, he directed his first theatrical feature, the "inside" Hollywood comedy/drama Mistress.
A member of the Actors Studio, Primus has taught acting and directing classes at the American Film Institute, Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, the UCLA campus, and at The Maine Media Workshops in Maine. He has taught acting at Loyola Marymount University and at Columbia University.
Primus's recent film work includes Jackson, a film directed by J.F. Lawton. He had cameos in Righteous Kill with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, American Hustle, Grudge Match, and The Irishman.
Personal life Primus has been married to choreographer Julie Arenal for over 50 years.
Filmography
Film
Television
+ Year Title Role Notes1977The Streets of San FranciscoInspector Dave Lambert1 Episode 1981 Les Uns et les Autres TV miniseries1986 The Equalizer Walter Wesley Episode: "Out of the Past" Murder, She Wrote Det. Sgt. Len Berger Episode: "Menace, Anyone?"1993 Law & Order Gary Silver Episode: "Extended Family" The X-Files Robert Dorlund 1 episode 1998 The Practice Porn Film Director Goodwin 1 episode 1999 Black and White Priest TV movie 2001 James Dean Nicholas Ray TV movie 2007 Boston Legal Professor Jeffrey Benoit Episode: "The Object of My Affection" 2011 The Trivial Pursuits of Arthur Banks George Epstein 3 Episodes
References
External links