Robert Picardo

Infobox actor

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caption = Picardo at Gatecon
birthname = Robert Picardo
birthdate = birth date and age|1953|10|27
birthplace = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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spouse = Linda Pawlik (1984-present)
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Robert Picardo (born October 27, 1953) is an Emmy Award-nominated American actor. He may be best known for his portrayals of Dr. Dick Richards on ABC's "China Beach", the Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH) also known as The Doctor, on UPN's "", as The Cowboy in "Innerspace", as Joe "The Meat Man" Morton on "Home Improvement", Coach Cutlip on "The Wonder Years" and as Richard Woolsey in "Stargate SG-1" and "Stargate Atlantis".

Biography

Early life

Picardo was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Joe Picardo. He is Italian American, with his father's family originating from Naples and his mother's from Bomba in Abruzzo. [ [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/community/chat/archive/transcript/1245.html Robert Picardo ("The Doctor" - VOY)] ] He graduated from William Penn Charter School in 1971 and originally entered Yale University as a pre-med student, but opted to act instead. While he was at Yale University, he was a member of the Society of Orpheus & Bacchus, an undergraduate a cappella singing group. On Broadway he appeared in "Gemini" (1977) and "Tribute" (1978).

Career

Known for his portrayals of Dr. Dick Richards in "China Beach" and The Doctor in "Voyager", Picardo also lent his voice to portray his role as The Doctor on Activision's ', the related expansion pack and Star Trek: The Experience's Borg Invasion 4-D. He also played Lewis Zimmerman, the Doctor's creator, and repeated the role in the ' episode "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?". Picardo also made a brief appearance in the feature film '. He also played Coach Cutlip on the television series "The Wonder Years", where he received an Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series. Before he became The Doctor, in 1993, he became Joe "The Meat Man" Morton, in two episodes of Tim Allen's ABC sitcom Home Improvement. He appeared in "A Sew, Sew Evening," and "Blow-Up," both in the series' third season. A long-time friend of Joe Dante, Picardo's first appearance in his productions was for the 1981 werewolf film, "The Howling", as Eddie Quist, which was his screen debut after being discovered on Broadway. In 1983 he had a supporting comedic role in "Get Crazy", playing by-the-book fire inspector Connell O'Connell. He also had a recurring role in the sitcom Alice. He played a number of roles in Dante's 1985 children's sci-fi film "Explorers," and later appeared in Dante's "The 'Burbs", ', "", "Small Soldiers", where he had a minor role as Ralph, the scientist responsible for the creation of the X-1000 series munitions microprocessor that was central to the story, and "Innerspace", in the memorable role as the Cowboy. Picardo is no stranger to playing roles under layers of prosthetic latex, having also played the swamp dwelling witch Meg Mucklebones in Ridley Scott's film "Legend." He also had a small role as a funeral director in John Landis's "Amazon Women on the Moon". He voices Pfish in two "Pfish & Chip" shorts as seen on Cartoon Network's "What-A-Cartoon! Show". Picardo also portrays the voice of the robotic "Johnny Cab" in Total Recall.

In 2002, 2004 and 2005, Picardo provided the voice of Amazo on the cartoon series "Justice League" and "Justice League Unlimited". This is only the most prominent of the characters he has done for the DCAU, having also voiced a tough small-time gangster in one episode of "" and Blackhawk on "Justice League".

In 2004, he began playing the recurring role of International Oversight Advisory (IOA) member Richard Woolsey in both "Stargate SG-1" and "Stargate Atlantis". His first appearance in those series was in "Heroes (Part 2)".

In 2007, he starred in the independent feature film by director Russ Emanuel, "P.J.", alongside John Heard and Vincent Pastore. [ [http://www.pjthemovie.com Independent feature film "P.J."] ] He also more recently starred in Russ Emanuel's "Chasing the Green" (2008), alongside William Devane, Jeremy London, and Ryan Hurst.

Picardo has also appeared on "E-Ring" as a media rep in The Pentagon, as an enraged father in "Cold Case", and as a police officer in "".

Away from acting, Picardo is a member of the Board of Directors' Advisory Council of The Planetary Society, where he has served since the late 1990s. In 2002, Picardo authored the book "The Hologram's Handbook", published by Pocket Books. Other career highlights include performing in Leonard Bernstein's Mass in D during its European debut tour, performing with the Yale University Society of Orpheus & Bacchus a cappella singing group as an undergraduate, and appearing in dozens of other television and film roles, including the upcoming film Ghost in the Machine.

On February 5, 2008, it was announced that Picardo would be joining the regular cast of Stargate Atlantis full-time for the show's fifth and final season. He will be taking over the role of mission commander of the Atlantis Expedition. [ [http://www.gateworld.net/news/2008/02/robert_picardo_joins_iatlantisi_.shtml GateWorld - Robert Picardo joins Atlantis cast ] ]

In the Smallville Season 7 Episode 19 (May 2008), Robert Picardo has a guest appearance as Edward Teague.

is currently a three city tour with John de Lancie. Picardo and de Lancie narrate around the orchestral performance, explaining the history of the music in Star Trek.

Recently, Picardo performed the voice of Loki in the Xbox 360 video game "Too Human".

Personal life

Picardo is also a keen hobbyist; his most notable achievements include placing fifth in the SOCAL Hula Dance Championships in both 1982 and 1993. Picardo has been married to Linda Pawlik since 1984 and has two daughters, Gina and Nikky.

Picardo is a member of The Planetary Society, with his current pre-recorded voice appearing on "Planetary Radio".

References

External links

*imdb|0000585
* [http://www.robertpicardo.com/ The Official Robert Picardo website]
*memoryalpha
* [http://planetary.org/home/ The Planetary Society Home Page]