Peter Riegert (born April 11, 1947), appeared twice as Private Igor Straminsky, on M*A*S*H, in the Season 6 episodes "Change Day" and "War of Nerves". Peter is well recognized for his roles in the films The Mask, Animal House, Local Hero, and We Bought a Zoo. He has also had recurring roles in The Good Wife (with Josh Charles, who played his son in Sports Night), The Sopranos, One Tree Hill and Damages. He also appeared as Jay Rydell in the ABC-TV series Sports Night.
Early life[]
Born in The Bronx, the son of Lucille, a piano teacher, and Milton Riegert, a food wholesaler, Riegert grew up in Hartsdale, New York, and was raised in a nonobservant Jewish household. He graduated from Ardsley High School in 1964 and later from the University at Buffalo. He worked at a number of jobs, including teaching, waiting tables, and social worker before settling on acting as a career.
Career[]
Stage work[]
He made his Broadway debut in the musical Dance with Me. Other Broadway credits include The Old Neighborhood, An American Daughter, The Nerd, and Censored Scenes From King Kong. Off-Broadway he has appeared in Road to Nirvana, The Birthday Party, Isn't It Romantic, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and A Rosen by Any Other Name.
Directing/writing[]
Peter made his screenwriting and directorial debuts with By Courier, based on a short story by O. Henry. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film and won him the Festival Award for Best First Feature at the Marco Island Film Festival.
Riegert directed and co-wrote King of the Corner, a 2004 film featured at the Newport Film Festival. It stars Peter Riegert and Isabella Rossellini, and includes Eric Bogosian, Dominic Chianese, Beverly D'Angelo and Rita Moreno.
Voice work[]
Riegert narrated the audiobook of Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union, which was nominated for a 2008 Audie Award in literary fiction. He narrated the audiobook of The Voyage of the Narwhal, a mid-nineteenth century romance with the Arctic,[1] and also read the stories of Raymond Carver.
He was also the narrator for The First Basket, a documentary film on professional basketball's influence on Jewish culture.[2]
