William Atherton

William Atherton Knight (born July 30, 1947) is an American actor, best known for portraying Richard Thornburg in Die Hard and its sequel and Walter Peck in Ghostbusters.

For other people named William Atherton, see William Atherton (disambiguation).
William Atherton
Atherton in February 2009
Born
William Atherton Knight

(1947-07-30) July 30, 1947
Orange, Connecticut, United States
OccupationActor
Years active1972–present
Spouse(s)Bobbi Goldin (1980-present)

Early life

Atherton was born in Orange, Connecticut, the son of Robert Atherton Knight and Myrtle (maiden name Robison).[1] He studied acting at the Drama School at Carnegie Tech and graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1969.[1][2]

Career

Atherton was successful on the New York stage immediately after graduating and worked with many of the country's leading playwrights including David Rabe, John Guare, and Arthur Miller, winning numerous awards for his work on and off Broadway.[3]

He got his big break playing hapless fugitive Clovis Poplin in The Sugarland Express (1974), the feature film debut of Steven Spielberg. After this, he garnered major roles in dark dramas such as The Day of the Locust (1975) and Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977),[4] as well as the big-budget disaster film The Hindenburg (1975).[5] Atherton also starred as cowboy Jim Lloyd in the miniseries Centennial (1978), based on the novel by James Michener. Atherton appeared in the comedy Ghostbusters (1984) as the EPA agent Walter Peck. K. Thor Jensen wrote, "Atherton, who plays cowardly EPA lawyer Walter Peck, is the real villain of the movie (his releasing the ghosts from the containment unit added to the chaos in New York), was so hated that after the movie came out he was harassed on the street and challenged to fights in bars."[6]

Martha Coolidge chose Atherton to play Professor Jerry Hathaway in the teen comedy Real Genius (1985). Atherton played reporter Richard "Dick" Thornburg in the blockbuster action film Die Hard (1988), and reprised the role in its sequel Die Hard 2 (1990).[7]

Other film credits include No Mercy (1986), The Pelican Brief (1993), Bio-Dome (1996), Mad City (1997), The Crow: Salvation (2000), The Last Samurai (2003), Grim Prairie Tales (1990), the TV movies Buried Alive (1990), Headspace (2005) and Virus (1995). He has also made guest appearances on such television series as The Twilight Zone, Murder, She Wrote, Desperate Housewives, Law & Order, The Equalizer, Boston Legal, Castle and Monk. Atherton provided the voice of Dr. Destiny on Justice League. He had a recurring role in NBC's detective drama Life.

While starring in The Day of the Locust, Atherton was offered and accepted the opportunity to provide lead vocals for "What'll I Do", the main title theme for the Robert Redford film version of The Great Gatsby. His 2007 appearances included the film The Girl Next Door, an adaptation of the best-selling Jack Ketchum novel of the same name. He has reprised his role as Walter Peck in Ghostbusters: The Video Game, released on June 16, 2009.[8]

Atherton was cast in the final season of ABC's Lost.[9] He appeared in the musical Gigi for the Reprise Theatre in Los Angeles as "Honoré Lachailles" in 2011.[10]

Following his work on the musical, he stepped into a comedic role in Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012), produced by Will Ferrell's Funny or Die, Gary Sanchez Productions and Abso Lutely Productions.[11][12]

In summer 2014, Atherton was cast in a recurring role as Viceroy Mercado in the Syfy series Defiance's second season.

Atherton co-starred in the 2017 Netflix thriller, Clinical,[13] and appears in several upcoming documentaries on his most iconic films. The first to be released is the 2019 Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters which features the original 1984 cast.[14][15]

Personal life

Atherton has been married to writer Bobbi Goldin since December 8, 1980.[16][17]

Atherton claimed to be a "former homosexual" and talked of how Aesthetic Realism turned him into a heterosexual.[18][19] He discussed this on The David Susskind Show in 1983.[20]

Atherton has sung in various productions in later years. In 2011, he performed "I Remember It Well," a popular song from Gigi with his former Reprise Theater co-star, Millicent Martin, at a sold-out performance in Palm Springs for Michael Childers' One Night Only, benefiting the Jewish Family Service of the Desert.[21] He returned in 2013 to the same sold-out event to sing the classic, "Isn't It Romantic?"[22]

As an avid promoter of education, Atherton has worked with the Library Foundation of Los Angeles in readings benefiting the Los Angeles Public Library. He appeared twice with his former co-star, Stephanie Zimbalist in the Gregory Peck Reading Series and they were directed by the iconic Gregory Peck. One of these evenings was a tribute to actor Roddy McDowall who emceed their evening for the Library's benefactors.[23]

In December 2018 Atherton participated in the Library Foundation's reading of excerpts from book editor and critic, David Kipen's best-seller, Dear Los Angeles: The City in Diaries and Letters, 1542 to 2018.[24]

Atherton has also coached young adults in school programs, working directly with students in their class productions of Shakespearean plays and other well-known works.

Select filmography

Film

Documentary film

  • Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters (2019)

Video games

Television

References
  1. "William Atherton profile at". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
  2. "William Atherton Biography". Movies.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
  3. "Professional Bio". William Atherton. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  4. Canby, Vincent (October 20, 1977). "Film: 'Goodbar' Turns Sour". The New York Times.
  5. Canby, Vincent (December 26, 1975). "Screen: George Scott in 'Hindenburg'". The New York Times.
  6. Jensen, K. Thor. "7 Things You Didn't Know About Ghostbusters". IFC.com. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  7. Maslin, Janet (July 3, 1990). "Attention, Claims Adjusters! Willis Is Back in 'Die Hard 2.'". The New York Times.
  8. Miller, Greg (15 June 2009). "GHOSTBUSTERS: THE VIDEO GAME REVIEW". IGN.
  9. "Executive Producer Reveals Lost Guest Star on Twitter". tvguide.com. October 28, 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  10. Mayank Keshaviah (2011-02-24). "LA Weekly Calendar 'Gigi". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
  11. "William Atherton back on the big screen!". Moviehole. 2011-03-03. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
  12. Weinstein, Joshua L. (2010-01-14). "'Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie' Ramps Up With Galifianakis, Ferrell". Thewrap.com. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
  13. Rotten Tomatoes - Clinical
  14. Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters (2019)
  15. Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters (2019)
  16. "With a Little Bit of Luck". Los Angeles Times. 1990-01-20. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  17. "William Atherton Biography (1947-)". www.filmreference.com. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  18. Aesthetic Realism Foundation, Inc. (May 27, 1980). "We Have Changed from Homosexuality". New York Daily News. Queens, NY. p. 667 (print page 46). Retrieved March 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. Schiavi, Michael. Celluloid Activist: The Life and Times of Vito Russo. Univ of Wisconsin Press, 2011, pg. 142.
  20. David Susskind Show Former Gays / Restaurants
  21. Tickets Sold Out For "One Night Only"; April 18, 2011
  22. WILLIAM ATHERTON: EXCLUSIVE CINEMA RETRO INTERVIEW; May 30, 2013
  23. A Tribute to Roddy McDowall
  24. Dear Los Angeles: The City in Diaries and Letters, 1542 to 2018
  25. "Update 1.12 - Planet Coaster: Ghostbusters Coming Soon".
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