Jump to content

Larry Bryggman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Larry Bryggman
Born
Arvid Laurence Bryggman

(1938-12-21) December 21, 1938 (age 85)
Concord, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1962–present
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1982; div. 1987)​
Tracey Hanley
​
(m. 1999)​
Children5

Arvid Laurence Bryggman[1] (born December 21, 1938)[1] is an American actor. He is known for playing the role of Dr. John Dixon on the CBS Daytime soap opera As the World Turns (1969 to 2004, 2010). He won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his work on As the World Turns in 1984 and 1987. He received six other Daytime Emmy Award nominations. He has also appeared in the films Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995) and Spy Game (2001).

Early life

[edit]

Bryggman was born on December 21, 1938 in Concord, California. He was raised in Oakland.[2] He is of Swedish descent. His father worked for a neon sign company and his mother was a piano teacher. Bryggman learned to play the piano, drums and various woodwinds, including the bassoon. He also learned to play the accordion, at his father's request.[3]

He graduated from Piedmont High School.[citation needed] He attended the City College of San Francisco, earning a Bachelor's Degree.[4] He also studied at the American Theatre Wing in New York City.[citation needed] Bryggman served in the U.S. army.[4]

Career

[edit]

In the early 1960s, Bryggman co-starred with Mildred Dunnock and Albert Dekker in a touring production of Death of a Salesman.[2] He made his off-Broadway debut in 1962, appearing on stage in A Summer Ghost.[1] He played a police sergeant in Live Like Pigs and Pozzo in Waiting for Godot, both produced by the Theater Company of Boston.[5] He spent five years as a principal member of the company.[6]

In 1969, Bryggman made his debut at the New York Shakespeare Festival, performing in Mod Donna.[1] He co-starred with Elke Sommer in a touring production of the musical Irma La Douce.[6][2] On television, he had a brief role on Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.[4]

Bryggman was cast in the contract role of Dr. John Dixon on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns, first airing on July 18, 1969. In his early years on the show, John was a villain who blackmailed and raped his wife, Kim Sullivan Hughes (then known as Kim Dixon).[7] Bryggman was confronted by angry fans when he was out in public, including a woman who almost hit him in front a supermarket.[8] The character was eventually redeemed and became a trusted doctor in the fictional city of Oakdale.[7]

Bryggman appeared on Broadway in The Lincoln Mask in 1972.[6][2] He also appeared in the short film The Witches of Salem: The Horror and the Hope (1972). He had a role in the television film Strike Force (1975).[4] In 1974, he had multiple roles in the Broadway play Ulysses in Nighttown, directed by Burgess Meredith and co-starring Zero Mostel.[9][4] In 1976, he played Dr. Sheldon Henning in the original Broadway cast of Checking Out. The play ran from September 14 to September 25, 1976 at the Longacre Theatre in New York.[6]

He has also made several notable appearances in major films, most notably ...And Justice for All, Die Hard with a Vengeance and Spy Game.

In December 2004, Bryggman's photo suddenly stopped appearing in the opening credits of As the World Turns. Although many actors were rarely seen on the show, ATWT had a history of keeping its veteran actors under contract. After a few weeks of not appearing in the opening credits, it was revealed that Bryggman decided to quit after being offered a large pay cut.[10] Though no onscreen attempt was made to explain the character's absence—his character simply stopped appearing—vintage clips of Bryggman were featured in ATWT's fiftieth anniversary show in April 2006. Beginning on August 27, 2010, Bryggman returned to ATWT for 12 of the final 16 episodes, as the show finished its run on September 17, 2010. For these final episodes of the series, it was explained that Dixon had been working at Johns Hopkins for an undisclosed period of time, but had been asked by Dr. Reid Oliver to return to Oakdale Memorial to consult on the ailing Christopher Hughes.

In 2005, Bryggman starred as the Judge in the Atlantic Theater Company's off-Broadway and Los Angeles productions of the David Mamet farce Romance, for which he received universal rave reviews and a nomination for the 2005 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. James C. Taylor of the Los Angeles Times called Bryggman's performance "one of the finest comedic performances seen on an American stage this decade".[11]

Bryggman has twice been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play; in 1994 for Picnic,[12] and in 2001 for Proof.[13]

Personal life

[edit]

Bryggman married his As the World Turns co-star, Jacqueline Schultz, in 1982. In two separate relationships, he had three children: sons Jeffrey and Michael and daughter Heidi. Michael died in 1993. He married Tracey Hanley Bryggman, an assistant director on Guiding Light when their son Ryan was born; they had their second child, daughter Riley, in 2003.[2]

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1971 The One Arm Bandit Man with Briefcase Short film
1972 The Witches of Salem: The Horror and the Hope Reverend Burroughs Short film
1979 ...And Justice For All Warren Fresnell
1982 Hanky Panky Stacy
1995 Die Hard with a Vengeance Arthur Cobb
2000 Crash Pad! The Husband Short film
2001 Spy Game Troy Folger
2008 Side by Each Salty
2013 Blood from a Stoner Bernard Short film
2017 If I Forget Lou Fischer
2018 Family Games Roan
2024 Poems Without Words Husband

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1969–2004; 2010 As the World Turns Dr. John Dixon Contract role: 1969–2004, Recurring role: 2010
1975 Strike Force Pharmacist Television film

Uncredited

2001 Law & Order Defense Attorney Rowan Episode: "Myth of Fingerprints"
2003; 2019 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Defense Attorney Rowan; D.A. Patrick Keane Episodes: "Mercy", "Murdered at a Bad Address"
2011 The Good Wife Professor Noah Fineman Episode: "A New Day"
2013 Person of Interest Martin Baxter Episode: "Trojan Horse"
2016 Crisis in Six Scenes Doctor Miniseries
2019 The Blacklist Rod Uhlman Episode: "The Pawnbrokers (No. 146/147)"
2021 New Amsterdam George Helms Episode: "The Legend of Howie Cournemeyer"

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Larry Bryggman". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "About the Actors: Larry Bryggman". Soap Central. Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  3. ^ Larry Bryggman | Biography
  4. ^ a b c d e Rout, Nancy E.; Buckley, Ellen (1992). The Soap Opera Book: Who's Who in Daytime Drama. Todd Publications. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-915344-23-9.
  5. ^ "Waiting for Godot Program (1966)". University of Southern Maine Digital Commons. Archived from the original on August 6, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "Checking Out". Playbill. Archived from the original on April 16, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Who's Who in Oakdale: Dr. John Dixon, M.D." Soap Central. Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  8. ^ Potter, Joan (March 20, 1977). "The Soaps Face Real Life". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  9. ^ "Larry Bryggman: Life Events". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  10. ^ Kroll, Dan J (2004-12-05). "ATWT vet Larry Bryggman sent packing". Soap Central. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  11. ^ Side By Each - Cast
  12. ^ http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4603/ [dead link]
  13. ^ Internet Broadway Database: Proof Production Credits
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Larry_Bryggman&oldid=1244026159"