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Pierce is known for his distinctive voice and, similar to his ''[[Frasier]]'' co-star, Kelsey Grammer, he is often called upon to provide voice work. His notable roles include the narrator of the movie "[[The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human]]" in 1999, [[Phasmatodea|walking stick insect]] Slim in ''[[A Bug's Life]]'', Doctor Delbert Doppler in Disney's film ''[[Treasure Planet]]'', and the amphibian [[Abe Sapien]] in ''[[Hellboy (film)|Hellboy]]''.<ref name="showperson"/> Pierce refused credit for his ''Hellboy'' role because he felt it was the performance of [[Doug Jones (actor)|Doug Jones]], and not his own voice, which ultimately brought the character of Abe Sapien to life.<ref>{{cite interview|subject=Doug Jones|interviewer=Staci Layne|url=http://www.horror.com/php/article-1596-1.html|format=transcript|program=''Horror.com''|date=May 11, 2007|accessdate=2008-06-11}}</ref> He was the voice for Drix, a cold pill in the animated comedy ''[[Osmosis Jones]]''. |
Pierce is known for his distinctive voice and, similar to his ''[[Frasier]]'' co-star, Kelsey Grammer, he is often called upon to provide voice work. His notable roles include the narrator of the movie "[[The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human]]" in 1999, [[Phasmatodea|walking stick insect]] Slim in ''[[A Bug's Life]]'', Doctor Delbert Doppler in Disney's film ''[[Treasure Planet]]'', and the amphibian [[Abe Sapien]] in ''[[Hellboy (film)|Hellboy]]''.<ref name="showperson"/> Pierce refused credit for his ''Hellboy'' role because he felt it was the performance of [[Doug Jones (actor)|Doug Jones]], and not his own voice, which ultimately brought the character of Abe Sapien to life.<ref>{{cite interview|subject=Doug Jones|interviewer=Staci Layne|url=http://www.horror.com/php/article-1596-1.html|format=transcript|program=''Horror.com''|date=May 11, 2007|accessdate=2008-06-11}}</ref> He was the voice for Drix, a cold pill in the animated comedy ''[[Osmosis Jones]]''. |
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In a deliberate [[in-joke]], he voiced [[ |
In a deliberate [[in-joke]], he voiced [[Cecil bob|Cecil]], the brother of [[Kelsey Grammer]]-voiced [[Sideshow Bob]], in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Brother from Another Series]]", in which the two characters parallel the Frasier-Niles relationship. At one point in the episode, Cecil mistakes Bart for [[Maris Crane|Maris]], the unseen wife of Niles on ''Frasier''. He returned as Cecil in the Season 19 episode "[[Funeral for a Fiend]]" where ''[[Frasier]]'' co-star [[John Mahoney]] (who starred as [[Frasier Crane|Frasier]] and [[Niles Crane|Niles']] father in the show) voices Dr. Robert Terwilliger, Sr., the father of Cecil and Sideshow Bob. Pierce also provided the voice of Mr. Daedalus in the 1998 Disney show ''[[Hercules: The Animated Series]]''. In 2006, he co-starred in the animated pilot for ''[[The Amazing Screw-On Head]]'' as the Screw-On Head's nemesis Emperor Zombie; however, the series was not picked up. His commercial voiceover work included ads for the [[Tassimo]] coffee system, Seattle's Metro Transit and home furnishings retailer [[IKEA]] Canada.<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9lyydAbWiY|title=IKEA Pax: Our Pre-Wedding Photographer Lives in Advertising|publisher=Youtube.com|date=2011-06-08|accessdate=2011-10-28}}</ref> |
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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After years of media speculation about his sexuality, Pierce [[coming out|came out]] in 2007 and later confirmed through his publicist that he and television writer, director and producer [[Brian Hargrove]] were a couple.<ref>{{cite news|author=The Associated Press|title='Frasier' brother finds home on stage|work=CNN|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070629112910/http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/30/theater.davidhydepierce.ap/index.html|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/30/theater.davidhydepierce.ap/index.html|archivedate=2007-06-29|date=May 30, 2007|accessdate=2008-06-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title= David Hyde Pierce joins list of out gay actors|url=http://www.afterelton.com/people/2007/5/davidhydepierce|work=AfterElton|date=May 30, 2007|accessdate=2008-06-11}}</ref> When accepting his Tony Award for ''[[Curtains (musical)|Curtains]]'', Pierce thanked "my partner, Brian, because it's 24 years of listening to your damn notes—that's why I'm up here tonight."<ref>{{cite news|title=Rants & Raves|work=The Advocate|pages=26, issue 989|date=July 17, 2007}}</ref> They married in California on October 24, 2008, just days before [[California Proposition 8 (2008)|Proposition 8]] was adopted as law, banning [[same-sex marriage]]s in the state.<ref>Show Person: the David Hyde Pierce website</ref> On May 28, 2009, while a guest on ''[[The View (U.S. TV series)|The View]]'', he publicly announced his marriage to Hargrove and expressed his anger over the approval of Proposition 8.<ref>AP staff report, "David Hyde Pierce says he married longtime partner," May 29, 2009. Found at [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090529/ap_on_en_tv/us_people_david_hyde_pierce_1 yahoo news]. Accessed May 29, 2009.</ref><ref name="NYDailyNews">{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/05/29/2009-05-29_david_hyde_pierce_reveals_hes_been_secretly_married_to_partner_of_25_years.html|title=David Hyde Pierce reveals he's been secretly married to partner of 25 years|date=29 May 2009|work=New York Daily News|accessdate=2009-05-30}}</ref> Pierce and Hargrove divide their time between [[New York]] and [[Los Angeles]]. |
After years of media speculation about his sexuality, Pierce [[coming out|came out]] in 2007 and later confirmed through his publicist that he and television writer, director and producer [[Brian Hargrove]] were a couple.<ref>{{cite news|author=The Associated Press|title='Frasier' brother finds home on stage|work=CNN|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070629112910/http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/30/theater.davidhydepierce.ap/index.html|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/30/theater.davidhydepierce.ap/index.html|archivedate=2007-06-29|date=May 30, 2007|accessdate=2008-06-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title= David Hyde Pierce joins list of out gay actors|url=http://www.afterelton.com/people/2007/5/davidhydepierce|work=AfterElton|date=May 30, 2007|accessdate=2008-06-11}}</ref> When accepting his Tony Award for ''[[Curtains (musical)|Curtains]]'', Pierce thanked "my partner, Brian, because it's 24 years of listening to your damn notes—that's why I'm up here tonight."<ref>{{cite news|title=Rants & Raves|work=The Advocate|pages=26, issue 989|date=July 17, 2007}}</ref> They married in California on October 24, 2008, just days before [[California Proposition 8 (2008)|Proposition 8]] was adopted as law, banning [[same-sex marriage]]s in the state.<ref>Show Person: the David Hyde Pierce website</ref> On May 28, 2009, while a guest on ''[[The View (U.S. TV series)|The View]]'', he publicly announced his marriage to Hargrove and expressed his anger over the approval of Proposition 8.<ref>AP staff report, "David Hyde Pierce says he married longtime partner," May 29, 2009. Found at [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090529/ap_on_en_tv/us_people_david_hyde_pierce_1 yahoo news]. Accessed May 29, 2009.</ref><ref name="NYDailyNews">{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/05/29/2009-05-29_david_hyde_pierce_reveals_hes_been_secretly_married_to_partner_of_25_years.html|title=David Hyde Pierce reveals he's been secretly married to partner of 25 years|date=29 May 2009|work=New York Daily News|accessdate=2009-05-30}}</ref> Pierce and Hargrove divide their time between [[New York]] and [[Los Angeles]]. |
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He and ''[[Frasier]]'' co-star [[John Mahoney]] are godparents to ''[[Frasier]]'' co-star [[Jane Leeves]]' son, Finn.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1354896/Jane-Leeves-Hot-Cleveland-struck-sitcom-gold-again.html|title=Jane Leeves in Hot in Cleaveland has struck sitcom gold again|publisher=Dailymail|date=2011-02-13|accessdate=2011-03-20|first=Jane|last=Mulkerrins}}</ref> Pierce has spent years working with the [[Alzheimer's Association]] on behalf of Americans with [[Alzheimer's disease]]. He has appeared in [[Washington D.C.]] to testify in support of expanding funding for treatment, and he has publicly campaigned for the (ultimately successful) National Alzheimer's Project Act. He told [[MSNBC]] in 2011, "it is up to us, to all of us, to the American people and to their representatives about whether we face the challenges and make all the effort necessary or if we ignore it and just let this sort of tidal wave crash over us."<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44966598/ns/us_news-giving/#.Twu3g_nJYxQ</ref> |
He and ''[[Frasier]]'' co-star [[John Mahoney]] are godparents to ''[[Frasier]]'' co-star [[Jane Leeves]]' son, Finn.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1354896/Jane-Leeves-Hot-Cleveland-struck-sitcom-gold-again.html|title=Jane Leeves in Hot in Cleaveland has struck sitcom gold again|publisher=Dailymail|date=2011-02-13|accessdate=2011-03-20|first=Jane|last=Mulkerrins}}</ref> Pierce has spent years working with the [[Alzheimer's Association]] on behalf of Americans with [[Alzheimer's disease]]. He has appeared in [[Washington D.C.]] to testify in support of expanding funding for treatment, and he has publicly campaigned for the (ultimately successful) National Alzheimer's Project Act. He told [[MSNBC]] in 2011, "it is up to us, to all of us, to the American people and to their representatives about whether we face the challenges and make all the effort necessary or if we ignore it and just let this sort of tidal wave crash over us."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44966598/ns/us_news-giving/#.Twu3g_nJYxQ |title=David Hyde Pierce: Don't forget Alzheimer's - US news - Giving | NBC News |publisher=MSNBC |date=2011-10-19 |accessdate=2014-06-10}}</ref> |
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==Filmography== |
==Filmography== |
Revision as of 20:42, 10 June 2014
David Hyde Pierce | |
---|---|
Born | |
Alma mater | Yale University |
Occupation(s) | actor, comedian |
Years active | 1982–present |
Spouse | Brian Hargrove (m. 2008) |
David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is an American actor and comedian. Pierce is known for playing the psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the hit NBC sitcom Frasier, for which he won four Emmy Awards during the show's run.
Early life
The youngest of four siblings, Pierce was born in Saratoga Springs, New York. His father, George (deceased), was an aspiring actor, and his mother, Laura Marie (née Hughes) (deceased), was an insurance agent. Pierce has three older siblings: Barbara, Nancy, and Thomas,[1] and added his middle name "Hyde" to avoid confusion with another actor named David Pierce.[2]
As a child, Pierce frequently played organ at the local Bethesda Episcopal Church, Saratoga Springs.[3] He began acting while in high school, earning recognition as best Dramatic Arts student. In 1977, Pierce received the Yaddo Medal for character and scholarship and worked in theater while a counselor at Camp Kabeyun in New Hampshire.[4] However, his love of music was still strong, so he decided to study classical piano at Yale University. However, Pierce soon grew bored with music history lessons and found that he was not dedicated enough to practice the required hours to become a successful concert pianist. Instead, he graduated in 1981 with a double major in English and Theatre Arts, continuing to play piano as a hobby.
While attending Yale, Pierce performed and directed student productions, appearing as Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B., in the Yale Gilbert & Sullivan Society's production of H.M.S. Pinafore. He also directed the Gilbert & Sullivan Society's operetta Princess Ida and occasionally accompanied rehearsals on the piano. Among other roles Pierce played at Yale were in Waiting for Godot, Saint Joan, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.
Career
After his graduation, Pierce moved to New York City, where during the 1980s and early 1990s he was employed in various jobs, such as selling ties at Bloomingdale's and working as a security guard, while pursuing an acting career and studying at Michael Howard Studios. During this period he played Laertes in a popular off-Broadway production of Hamlet and made his Broadway debut in Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy in 1982.[5]
Pierce's first big television break came in the early 1990s with Norman Lear's political comedy The Powers That Be, in which Pierce played Theodore, a Congressman.[6] Despite positive reviews from critics, the show was canceled after a brief run.
In part due to his close physical resemblance to Kelsey Grammer,[7] the producers of the Cheers spin-off Frasier created the role of Niles Crane (Frasier Crane's younger brother) for him.[6] Although prior to Frasier going into production, Pierce had petitioned the Screen Actors Guild to change his billing to David Pierce, the name he had used on the stage, the use of his middle name in the show's credits helped reinforce the actor's and the character's "snooty" image.[7] For his work on Frasier, Pierce was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Emmy a record eleven consecutive years, winning in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2004.
Pierce also appeared alongside Jodie Foster in Little Man Tate, with Anthony Hopkins in Oliver Stone's Nixon, and with Ewan McGregor in Down With Love.[6] He provided the voice for Doctor Doppler in Disney's 42nd animated feature, Treasure Planet, Slim, a stick insect in Pixar's A Bug's Life and Abe Sapien in Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy. In 2001, he starred in the cult 1980s summer camp comedy Wet Hot American Summer as the befuddled astrophysicist, Prof. Henry Newman. In his role in Sleepless in Seattle, Pierce played the brother of Meg Ryan's character, a professor at Johns Hopkins University. The movie was released just three months before the start of Frasier.[6]
In 2005, Pierce joined Tim Curry and others in the stage production of Spamalot.[6] In August and September 2006, he starred as Lieutenant Frank Cioffi in Curtains, a new Kander and Ebb musical staged at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. In March 2007, Curtains opened on Broadway[6] and on June 10, 2007 Pierce won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical at the 61st Tony Awards for his performance.[6] In his acceptance speech, Pierce said the first words he spoke on a Broadway stage were, "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."[8]
On November 19, 2007, Pierce was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degree from Niagara University in Lewiston, New York. He was earlier awarded, (1999), an Honorary Degree from Skidmore College, located in his native Saratoga Springs. In 2010, Pierce appeared in a revival of David Hirson's play La Bête directed by Matthew Warchus. The production debuted on London's West End before moving to New York.[9] Also in 2010, Pierce had his first starring film role as Warwick Wilson in the dark comedy/psychological thriller The Perfect Host.
Voice acting
Pierce is known for his distinctive voice and, similar to his Frasier co-star, Kelsey Grammer, he is often called upon to provide voice work. His notable roles include the narrator of the movie "The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human" in 1999, walking stick insect Slim in A Bug's Life, Doctor Delbert Doppler in Disney's film Treasure Planet, and the amphibian Abe Sapien in Hellboy.[6] Pierce refused credit for his Hellboy role because he felt it was the performance of Doug Jones, and not his own voice, which ultimately brought the character of Abe Sapien to life.[10] He was the voice for Drix, a cold pill in the animated comedy Osmosis Jones.
In a deliberate in-joke, he voiced Cecil, the brother of Kelsey Grammer-voiced Sideshow Bob, in The Simpsons episode "Brother from Another Series", in which the two characters parallel the Frasier-Niles relationship. At one point in the episode, Cecil mistakes Bart for Maris, the unseen wife of Niles on Frasier. He returned as Cecil in the Season 19 episode "Funeral for a Fiend" where Frasier co-star John Mahoney (who starred as Frasier and Niles' father in the show) voices Dr. Robert Terwilliger, Sr., the father of Cecil and Sideshow Bob. Pierce also provided the voice of Mr. Daedalus in the 1998 Disney show Hercules: The Animated Series. In 2006, he co-starred in the animated pilot for The Amazing Screw-On Head as the Screw-On Head's nemesis Emperor Zombie; however, the series was not picked up. His commercial voiceover work included ads for the Tassimo coffee system, Seattle's Metro Transit and home furnishings retailer IKEA Canada.[11]
Personal life
After years of media speculation about his sexuality, Pierce came out in 2007 and later confirmed through his publicist that he and television writer, director and producer Brian Hargrove were a couple.[12][13] When accepting his Tony Award for Curtains, Pierce thanked "my partner, Brian, because it's 24 years of listening to your damn notes—that's why I'm up here tonight."[14] They married in California on October 24, 2008, just days before Proposition 8 was adopted as law, banning same-sex marriages in the state.[15] On May 28, 2009, while a guest on The View, he publicly announced his marriage to Hargrove and expressed his anger over the approval of Proposition 8.[16][17] Pierce and Hargrove divide their time between New York and Los Angeles.
He and Frasier co-star John Mahoney are godparents to Frasier co-star Jane Leeves' son, Finn.[18] Pierce has spent years working with the Alzheimer's Association on behalf of Americans with Alzheimer's disease. He has appeared in Washington D.C. to testify in support of expanding funding for treatment, and he has publicly campaigned for the (ultimately successful) National Alzheimer's Project Act. He told MSNBC in 2011, "it is up to us, to all of us, to the American people and to their representatives about whether we face the challenges and make all the effort necessary or if we ignore it and just let this sort of tidal wave crash over us."[19]
Filmography
Film | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1988 | The Appointments of Dennis Jennings | Businessman | Short |
1988 | Bright Lights, Big City | Bartender at Fashion Show | |
1988 | Crossing Delancey | Mark | |
1988 | Rocket Gibraltar | Monsieur Henri | |
1989 | Vampire's Kiss | Theater Guy | |
1990 | Across Five Aprils | Union Soldier | |
1991 | Little Man Tate | Garth Emmerick | |
1991 | The Fisher King | Lou Rosen | |
1993 | Sleepless in Seattle | Dennis Reed | |
1993 | Addams Family Values | Delivery Room Doctor | |
1994 | Wolf | Roy | |
1995 | Ripple | Peter | Short |
1995 | Nixon | John Dean | Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
1998 | A Bug's Life | Slim (voice) | |
1999 | The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human | Narrator (voice) | |
2000 | Isn't She Great | Michael Hastings | |
2000 | Chain of Fools | Mr. Kerner | |
2000 | The Tangerine Bear | Bird (voice) | |
2001 | Wet Hot American Summer | Henry Newman | |
2001 | Happy Birthday | Barney | Short |
2001 | Osmosis Jones | Drix (voice) | |
2001 | Laud Weiner | Laud Weiner | Short |
2002 | Full Frontal | Carl | |
2002 | Treasure Planet | Doctor Doppler (voice) | |
2003 | Down with Love | Peter MacMannus | |
2004 | Hellboy | Abe Sapien (voice) | |
2008 | Forever Plaid: The Movie | Narrator (voice) | |
2009 | Stingray Sam | Narrator (voice) | |
2010 | The Perfect Host | Warwick Wilson |
Theatre
- Beyond Therapy (1982)
- The Heidi Chronicles (1990)
- A Wonderful Life (2005)
- Children and Art (2005)
- Spamalot (2005)
- Curtains (2007)
- Accent on Youth (2009)
- La Bête (2010–2011)
- Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (2012)
- The Landing (2013)
References
- ^ "David Hyde Pierce profile". Rootsweb. 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ "I did not come out of the womb with the name 'Hyde'. It was my middle name from my dad's side of the family. His mom's maiden name. So when our film union said there was already a David Pierce, I added the name 'Hyde'", interview with Cindy Adams, New York Post, June 29, 2011
- ^ Barbara S Wilson, Arlene Flancher, and Susan T. Erdey, The Episcopal Handbook (Moorhouse [Church] Publishing 2008), pp. 106-7, ISBN 978-0-8192-2329-6.
- ^ "The Yaddo Medal". Saratoga Springs School District. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-08-17. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ The Broadway League. "Profile at IBDb". Ibdb.com. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Showperson; the DHP Website". Archived from the original on 2008-06-02. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
- ^ a b Newman, Bruce (1998-03-01). "All In Their Family". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- ^ "David Hyde Pierce Acceptance Speech Tony Award". YouTube. 2007. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
- ^ "Rylance, Lumley and Hyde Pierce bring La Bête to West End". London, UK. 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-27.
- ^ Doug Jones (May 11, 2007). (Interview). Interviewed by Staci Layne http://www.horror.com/php/article-1596-1.html. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
{{cite interview}}
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ignored (help) - ^ "IKEA Pax: Our Pre-Wedding Photographer Lives in Advertising". Youtube.com. 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- ^ The Associated Press (May 30, 2007). "'Frasier' brother finds home on stage". CNN. Archived from the original on 2007-06-29. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ "David Hyde Pierce joins list of out gay actors". AfterElton. May 30, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ "Rants & Raves". The Advocate. July 17, 2007. pp. 26, issue 989.
- ^ Show Person: the David Hyde Pierce website
- ^ AP staff report, "David Hyde Pierce says he married longtime partner," May 29, 2009. Found at yahoo news. Accessed May 29, 2009.
- ^ "David Hyde Pierce reveals he's been secretly married to partner of 25 years". New York Daily News. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
- ^ Mulkerrins, Jane (2011-02-13). "Jane Leeves in Hot in Cleaveland has struck sitcom gold again". Dailymail. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
- ^ "David Hyde Pierce: Don't forget Alzheimer's - US news - Giving | NBC News". MSNBC. 2011-10-19. Retrieved 2014-06-10.