Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938)[1] is an American actor. Among his best-known roles are Emmett "Doc" Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family and its sequel Addams Family Values, and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as Jim Ignatowski in the television series Taxi.
Lloyd has used his vocal talents in animation, frequently voicing villains. He provided the voice of the character Hacker on the animated PBS series Cyberchase. Lloyd has won three Primetime Emmy Awards and an Independent Spirit Award, and has been nominated for two Saturn Awards and a Daytime Emmy Award.
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Early life[edit | edit source]
Lloyd was born in Stamford, Connecticut, the son of Samuel R. Lloyd, a lawyer, and his wife Ruth (née Lapham), a singer and sister of San Francisco mayor Roger Lapham.[2] He is the youngest of four girls and three boys, one of whom, Samuel Lloyd, was an actor in the 1950s and 1960s.[1] Lloyd's maternal grandfather, Lewis Lapham, was one of the founders of the Texaco oil company,[3] and Lloyd is also a descendant of Mayflower passengers including John Howland.[2] Lloyd attended the Fessenden School, a preparatory school in Newton, Massachusetts. Lloyd was raised in New Canaan, Connecticut, and attended high school in nearby Westport.[1]
Career[edit | edit source]
Lloyd began acting when he was 14, and started apprenticing in summer stock.Template:Ifsubst He took acting classes in New York City at age 19--some at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner[1]--and made his New York theater debut in Fernando Arrabal's play And They Put Handcuffs on the Flowers. Lloyd recalled, "I was a replacement and it was my first sort of job in New York."[1] He made his Broadway debut in the short-lived Red, White and Maddox, and went on to Off-Broadway roles in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Kaspar, The Harlot and the Hunted, The Seagull, Total Eclipse, Macbeth, In the Boom Boom Room, Cracks, Professional Resident Company, What Every Woman Knows, 'The Father, King Lear, and Power Failure. He returned to Broadway for the musical Happy End.[1]
His first movie role was as a psychiatric patient in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.[4] He is perhaps best known for his roles as "Reverend" Jim Ignatowski, the ex-hippie cabbie on the TV sitcom Taxi, and the eccentric inventor Emmett "Doc" Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy of science-fiction films, for which he was nominated for a Saturn Award. In 1986, he played the reviled Professor B.O. Beanes in the television series Amazing Stories, and the villainous Major Bartholomew 'Butch' Cavendish in The Legend of the Lone Ranger and its numerous spin-offs, and appeared in that role in a variety of other incarnations as well. Some of his other notable roles include Klingon Commander Kruge in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Professor Plum in Clue, Professor Dimple in an episode of Road to Avonlea (for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series), the title role in The Pagemaster, the villain Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a wacky sound-effects man named Zoltan in Radioland Murders, and Uncle Fester in the big-screen adaptations of The Addams Family.
In 1994, he played an angel named Al in the movie "Angels in the Outfield". In 1999, he was reunited onscreen with Michael J. Fox in an episode of Spin City entitled "Back to the Future IV — Judgment Day", in which Lloyd plays Owen Kingston--the former mentor of Fox's character, Mike Flaherty's--who stops by City Hall to see him, only to proclaim himself God. That same year, Lloyd starred in the movie remake of the 1960s series My Favorite Martian. Also in November 2007, Lloyd was reunited onscreen with his former Taxi co-star Judd Hirsch in the Season 4 episode "Graphic" of the TV series Numb3rs. He starred in the television series Deadly Games in the mid-1990s, and was a regular in the TV series Stacked in the mid-2000s.
Lloyd portrayed the star character in the point-and-click adventure game Toonstruck, released in November 1996. He played Ebenezer Scrooge in a 2008 production of A Christmas Carol at the Kodak Theatre with John Goodman and Jane Leeves. In 2009, he appeared in a trailer for a "fake horror" film entitled Gobstopper, in which he played Willy Wonka as a horror-movie-style villain.[5] In October 2009, he did a two-man show with comic performer Joe Gallois in several Midwest cities. Lloyd also played Mr. Goodman in the 2010 remake Piranha 3D.
In September 2010, he reprised his role as Doctor Emmett Brown in Back to the Future: The Game, an episodic adventure game series developed by Telltale Games.[6][7]
In the summer of 2010, he starred as Willy Loman in a Weston Playhouse production of Death of a Salesman.[8]
On January 21, 2011, he appeared in an episode of the J. J. Abrams television series Fringe.[9]
In August 2011, he reprised the role of Dr. Emmett Brown (from Back to the Future) as part of an advertising campaign for Garbarino,[10] an Argentine appliance company, and also as part of the Nike Company's "Back For the Future" campaign for the benefit of The Michael J. Fox Foundation. In 2012 and 2013, Lloyd reprised the role of Brown in two episodes of the claymation series Robot Chicken. He will be a guest star on the 100th episode of the USA Network sitcom, Psych as Martin Khan on March 27, 2013.
Personal life[edit | edit source]
Lloyd seldom appears in public or gives interviews. His nephew, Sam Lloyd, is best known for playing Ted Buckland, the lawyer on Scrubs.
Lloyd's home was destroyed in the Tea Fire of November 2008 in Montecito, California.(citation needed) On May 1, 2010, he appeared at an outdoor screening of Back to the Future held by the Tampa Theatre at The River Tower Park in Tampa, Florida, where he participated in a question-and-answer session.[11]
Filmography[edit | edit source]
Awards[edit | edit source]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Max Taber | |||
| 1978 | Goin' South | Deputy Towfield | |||
| Taxi (TV) (1978-83) | Reverend Jim Ignatowski | Emmy Award[12] for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (1982 & 1983) | |||
| Three Warriors | Steve Chaffey | ||||
| 1979 | The Onion Field | Jailhouse lawyer | |||
| The Lady in Red | Frognose | ||||
| Stunt Seven | Skip Hartman | ||||
| 1980 | Schizoid | Gilbert | |||
| 1981 | The Legend of the Lone Ranger | Maj. Bartholomew "Butch" Cavendish | |||
| The Postman Always Rings Twice | |||||
| 1983 | Mr. Mom | Larry | |||
| To Be or Not to Be | S.S. Captain Schultz | ||||
| 1984 | Cheers (TV) | Phillip Semenko | Episode "I'll Be Seeing You" (season 2, episode 21) | ||
| Star Trek III: The Search for Spock | Klingon Commander Kruge | ||||
| The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension | John Bigbooté | ||||
| National Lampoon's Joy of Sex | Coach Hindenberg | ||||
| 1985 | Back to the Future | "Doc" Emmett L. Brown | Nomination - Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor | ||
| Clue | Professor Plum | ||||
| Street Hawk (TV) | Anthony Corrido | Special guest star in pilot episode | |||
| 1986 | Miracles | Harry | |||
| 1987 | Walk Like a Man | Reggie Shand / Henry Shand | |||
| 1988 | Track 29 | Henry Henry | |||
| Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Judge Doom | Nomination - Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor | |||
| Eight Men Out | Bill Burns | ||||
| 1989 | The Dream Team | Henry Sikorsky | |||
| Back to the Future Part II | "Doc" Emmett L. Brown | ||||
| 1990 | Back to the Future Part III | "Doc" Emmett L. Brown | |||
| Why Me? | Bruno Daley | ||||
| DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp | Merlock the Magician | Voice talent | |||
| 1991 | Back to the Future: The Ride | "Doc" Emmett L. Brown | Simulator ride | ||
| Back to the Future: The Animated Series | "Doc" Emmett L. Brown | Live action segments | |||
| Suburban Commando | Charlie Wilcox | ||||
| The Addams Family | Uncle Fester Addams / Gordon Craven | ||||
| 1992 | Amazing Stories: Book Two (TV) | Professor B.O. Beanes | |||
| Road to Avonlea (TV) | Professor Dimple-Guest star role | Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | |||
| T bone 'N' Weasel | William 'Weasel' Weasler | ||||
| Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster | Frank Iarossi | ||||
| 1993 | Dennis the Menace | Switchblade Sam | |||
| Addams Family Values | Uncle Fester Addams | ||||
| Twenty Bucks | Jimmy | Independent Spirit Award | |||
| 1994 | Angels in the Outfield | Al "The Boss" Angel | |||
| Camp Nowhere | Dennis Van Welker | ||||
| The Pagemaster | Mr. Dewey / The Pagemaster | ||||
| In Search of Dr. Seuss | Mr. Hunch | ||||
| 1995 | Rent-a-Kid | Lawrence 'Larry' Kayvey | |||
| Deadly Games | Jordan Kenneth Lloyd / Sebastian Jackal | ||||
| Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead | Pieces | ||||
| 1996 | Cadillac Ranch | Wood Grimes | |||
| Toonstruck | Drew Blanc | Point-and-click adventure game | |||
| 1997 | Quicksilver Highway | Aaron Quicksilver | |||
| Anastasia | Grigori Rasputin | speaking voice talent | |||
| Angels in the Endzone | Al "The Boss" Angel | ||||
| The Real Blonde | Ernst | ||||
| 1999 | My Favorite Martian | Uncle Martin | |||
| Alice in Wonderland | The White Knight | ||||
| Baby Geniuses | Heep | ||||
| Convergence | Morley Allen | Original film title: Premonition | |||
| Man on the Moon | Jim Ignatowski,Taxi Remake | ||||
| Spin City | Owen Kingston | Episode: Back to the Future IV | |||
| It Came From the Sky | Jarvis Moody | ||||
| 2001 | Wit | Dr. Harvey Kelekian | |||
| When Good Ghouls Go Bad | Uncle Fred Walker | ||||
| Kids WorldTemplate:Ifsubst | Leo | ||||
| The Tick (TV) | Mr FishLadder | (uncredited)Template:Ifsubst (pilot episode) | |||
| 2002 | Interstate 60 | Ray | |||
| Wish You Were Dead | Bruce | ||||
| Hey Arnold!: The Movie | Coroner | ||||
| Cyberchase (TV) | Hacker | Voice talent and lead role | |||
| The Big Time (TV) | Doc Powers[13] | ||||
| 2003 | Haunted Lighthouse | Cap'n Jack | |||
| Tremors (TV) | Cletus Poffenberger | ||||
| 2004 | I Dream (TV) | Prof. Toone | |||
| Malcolm in the Middle (TV) | Hal's Father | ||||
| 2005 | Stacked (TV) | Professor Harold March | |||
| Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie | Seymour S. Sassafrass | ||||
| Bad Girls From Valley High | Mr. Chauncey | ||||
| The West Wing (TV) | Lawrence Lessig | Portrayed the real life Lawrence Lessig | |||
| 2006 | A Perfect Day (TV) | Michael | |||
| Valerie on the Stairs (TV) | Everett Neely | Episode of Masters of Horror | |||
| 2007 | Numb3rs (TV) | Ross Moore | |||
| Flakes | Willie B | ||||
| 2008 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV) | Carmine | Episode Vanishing Act | ||
| Fly Me to the Moon | Grandpa | ||||
| The Tale of Despereaux | Hovis | ||||
| 2009 | Meteor (TV) | Dr. Lehman | |||
| Knights of Bloodsteel (TV) | Tesselink | ||||
| Call of the Wild | 'Grandpa' Bill Hale | ||||
| Foodfight! | Mr. Clipboard | ||||
| Santa Buddies | Stan Cruge | ||||
| 2010 | Piranha 3-D | Mr. Goodman | |||
| The Chateau Meroux | Nathan | ||||
| Snowmen | The Caretaker | ||||
| Chuck (TV) | Dr. Leo Dreyfus | Episode S03E16: "Chuck Versus the Tooth" | |||
| Jack and the Beanstalk | Headmaster | ||||
| Back to the Future: The Game | "Doc" Emmett L. Brown | Video game | |||
| 2011 | Fringe (TV) | Roscoe Joyce | Episode S03E10: "The Firefly" | ||
| Love, Wedding, Marriage | Dr. George | ||||
| 2012 | Robot Chicken (TV) | Doc Emmett Brown | season 5, episode "Casablankman 2" | ||
| Dorothy and the Witches of Oz | Wizard of Oz[14] | ||||
| Piranha 3DD | Mr. Goodman | ||||
| Last Call | Pete | post-production | |||
| The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure | Lero Sombrero | Excuse Me for Living | Lars | ||
| Mickey Matson and the Copperhead Conspiracy | Grandpa Jack | ||||
| 2013 | Robot Chicken | Doc Emmett Brown | season 6, episode "Eaten by Cats" | ||
| Raising Hope (TV) | Dennis Powers | Episode S03E11: "Credit Where Credit is Due" | |||
| 2013 | Psych"" | Martin Kahn | Episode S07E5: "100 Clues" |
| Year | Award | Category | Production / Role | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Drama Desk Award | Best Performance | Kaspar | |
| 1982 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Taxi | Won |
| 1983 | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Taxi | Won | |
| 1986 | Saturn Award | Best Supporting Actor | Back to the Future | Won |
| 1990 | Best Supporting Actor | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Nominated | |
| 1992 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Dramatic Series | Road to Avonlea: Another Point of View | Won |
| 1994 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Supporting Male | Twenty Bucks | Won |
| 2008 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program | Cyberchase | Nominated |
Further reading[edit | edit source]
- Napoleon, Davi. Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater. Includes discussion of Lloyd's early work off-Broadway, including the production of Happy End at the Chelsea Theater Center and on Broadway, Kaspar, and Total Eclipse. Iowa State University Press, 1991. ISBN-0-8138-1713-7
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lovece, Frank. "Christopher Lloyd Is as Mysterious as Character", Newspaper Enterprise Association via The Daily News (Bowling Green, Kentucky, December 2, 1991.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Christopher Allen Lloyd. Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-10-17.
- ↑ "Lewis H. Lapham, Financier, 76, Dies; Retired Leather Merchant Was a Founder of Texas Corporation, an Oil Concern", The New York Times, June 11, 1934. Retrieved on February 4, 2013. “The near relatives who survive [include] ... two daughters, Mrs. Elinor Ford of Washington, D.C., and Mrs. Samuel Lloyd of Stamford, Conn., and two sons [including] Roger D. Lapham of San Francisco, president of the American Hawaiian Steamship Company....”
- ↑ Harris, Will. "Christopher Lloyd on playing a vampire, a taxi driver, a toon, and more", The A.V Club, October 12, 2012. Retrieved on October 12, 2012. .
- ↑ Gobstopper The Movie. Gobstopper The Movie. Retrieved on 2009-10-17.
- ↑ Meghan Watt. Back to the Future video games to include the voice of Christopher Lloyd.
- ↑ Snider, Mike. "Telltale Games times 'Back to the Future' project", USA Today, 2010-09-01. Retrieved on 2010-09-01.
- ↑ Itzkoff, Dave. "Christopher Lloyd stars in 'Death of a Salesman'", NYTimes.com, 2010-08-25. Retrieved on 2010-09-08.
- ↑ Tucker, Ken (2011-01-21). The return of 'Fringe' recap: 'The Firefly' glowed with love, loss, and Christopher Lloyd. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2011-01-25.
- ↑ Campaña publicitaria del Doc Emmet Brown es un éxito en YouTube. La Gaceta. Retrieved on 2012-06-14.
- ↑ 'Doc Brown' is in Tampa Bay? Whoa, that’s heavy: Christopher Lloyd hitting sci-fi and movie fests.
- ↑ Christopher Lloyd Emmy Nominated
- ↑ The Big Time (TV 2002). Retrieved on Nov. 5, 2010.
- ↑ Could The Wizard of Oz 2 Be The Most Demented Film Of 2010?.
