Robert Wuhl
American actor, comedian and writer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Wuhl (born October 9, 1951) is an American actor, comedian, and writer.[1] He is best known as the creator and star of the television comedy series Arliss (1996–2002)[2][3] and for his portrayal of newspaper reporter Alexander Knox in Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and Larry in Bull Durham (1988).
- Actor
- comedian
- writer
Robert Wuhl | |
|---|---|
Wuhl in 1998 | |
| Born | October 9, 1951 Union, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Education | Union High School |
| Alma mater | University of Houston |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1980–present |
Early life
Wuhl was born in Union, New Jersey, to a Jewish family.[4][5] His father worked as a produce distributor.[6] After attending Union High School, Wuhl headed to the University of Houston,[2] where he was active in the drama department and the Epsilon-Omicron chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Wuhl was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater in April 2012.[citation needed]
Career
Wuhl's first role in movies was a starring role in the 1980 comedy The Hollywood Knights along with other fledgling actors Tony Danza, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Fran Drescher, followed by a small role in the film Flashdance (1983). Wuhl had larger roles in films including Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) with Robin Williams,[7] Bull Durham (1988) with Kevin Costner,[2][3] Tim Burton's 1989 Batman (as reporter Alexander Knox) with Michael Keaton,[2][4] Blaze (1989) with Paul Newman,[4] Missing Pieces (1991) with Eric Idle, Mistress (1992) with Robert De Niro, Blue Chips (1994) with Nick Nolte, and Cobb (1994) with Tommy Lee Jones.[8][9] He wrote two of the six episodes for the TV series Police Squad! in 1982 and did an audio commentary for its release on DVD in 2006.
He appeared with Keith Carradine in the 1985 music video to Madonna's "Material Girl". In 1992, he appeared in The Bodyguard as host of the Oscars. Wuhl won two Emmy Awards for co-writing the Academy Awards in 1990 and 1991 with Billy Crystal, Bruce Vilanch, David Steinberg, and others.[10]
From 1996 to 2002, he wrote and starred in the HBO series Arliss as the title character, an agent for high-profile athletes.[11] From 2000 to 2001, he was a frequent panelist on the ESPN game show 2 Minute Drill, often quizzing the contestants on sports-related movies.
In 2006, he starred on HBO in a one-man-show, Assume the Position with Mr. Wuhl,[2] where he taught a history class to show how history is created and propagated in a similar fashion to pop culture. A second chapter entitled Assume the Position 201 with Mr. Wuhl aired on HBO in July 2007.
Wuhl hosted a sports, sports business, and entertainment daily talk-radio show,[12] for Westwood One (now Dial Global) from January through December 2011. Wuhl occasionally fills in for Boomer Esiason on the Boomer and Carton show.
Wuhl played Herb Tucker in a revival of Neil Simon's play I Ought to Be in Pictures.[1] In 2017, he appeared with Don Most in another Simon play, The Sunshine Boys, at Judson Theatre Company.[13]
Wuhl has appeared as himself in four episodes of American Dad! - the 2015 episode "Manhattan Magical Murder Mystery Tour", the 2017 episode "The Talented Mr. Dingleberry", the 2019 episode "One-Woman Swole", and the 2021 episode "Cry Baby".[14]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | The Hollywood Knights | Newbomb Turk | |
| 1983 | Flashdance | Mawby's Regular | |
| 1987 | Good Morning, Vietnam | Marty Lee Dreiwitz | |
| 1988 | Bull Durham | Larry Hockett | |
| 1989 | Batman | Alexander Knox | |
| Wedding Band | Waiter | ||
| Blaze | Red Snyder | ||
| 1991 | Missing Pieces | Lou Wimpole | |
| 1992 | Mistress | Marvin Landisman | |
| The Bodyguard | Oscar Host | ||
| 1993 | Sandman | Victor Giles | |
| 1994 | Blue Chips | Marty | |
| Cobb | Al Stump | ||
| 1995 | Open Season | Stuart Sain | |
| Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde | Man with Lighter | ||
| 1997 | Good Burger | Angry Customer | |
| 1998 | Welcome to Hollywood | Himself | |
| 2013 | Contest | Zack Conti | |
| 2020 | Shirley | Randy Fisher | |
| 2022 | The People's Joker | Himself | |
| 2024 | Saturday Night | Dave Wilson |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Moonlighting | Nut in Holding Cell | Episode: "Blonde on Blonde" |
| Falcon Crest | Stand-up Comic | Episode: "Topspin" | |
| L.A. Law | Crutchfeld | Episode: "Pigmalion" | |
| 1988 | CBS Summer Playhouse | Sid Barrows | Episode: "Sniff" |
| 1989 | Tales from the Crypt | Barker | Episode: "Dig That Cat... He's Real Gone" |
| Not Necessarily the News | Commentator | Episode #7.9 | |
| 1993 | Percy & Thunder | Jim Keisling | Television film |
| 1996–2002 | Arliss | Arliss Michaels | 80 episodes |
| 1997 | The Last Don | Bobby Bantz | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | The Last Don II | Bobby Bantz | 2 episodes |
| 2006–2007 | Assume the Position with Mr. Wuhl | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Everybody Hates Chris | Abe Himmelfarb | Episode: "Everybody Hates DJs" |
| Boston Legal | Bob Binder | Episode: "Oral Contracts" | |
| 2012–2013 | Franklin & Bash | Hon. Maxwell Nulis | 2 episodes |
| 2015–2023 | American Dad! | Himself | 5 episodes |
| 2016 | Blue Bloods | Captain Ward Gibson | Episode: "Whistleblowers" |
| 2019 | Supergirl | Alexander Knox | Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One" |
| 2020 | Home Movie: The Princess Bride | The Grandfather | Episode: "Chapter Eight: Ultimate Suffering" |
| 2020–2021, 2025 | The George Lucas Talk Show | Himself | 13 episodes |