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John Lithgow

Although perhaps known for his long-running starring role as Dr. Dick Solomon on the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock From the Sun (1996–2001), John Lithgow's career achievements are many. He has won four Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also been nominated twice for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

On screen, Lithgow earned back-to-back Oscar nominations for The World According to Garp (1982) and Terms of Endearment (1983). He's appeared in more than 30 films, including All That Jazz (1979), Blow Out (1981), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), Footloose (1984), 2010 (1984), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), Raising Cain (1992), Cliffhanger (1993), Shrek (2001) as the voice of Lord Farquaad, Kinsey (2004) and Dreamgirls (2006).

On the small screen, Lithgow has been nominated for 10 Emmys, winning four times: one for an episode of Amazing Stories, and three for his role on 3rd Rock From the Sun. In the show's six-year run, Lithgow won a Golden Globe, two SAG Awards and an American Comedy Award, and he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Other television credits include The Day After, Resting Place, Baby Girl Scott, My Brother's Keeper, TNT's Don Quixote and HBO's The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. Lithgow currently stars in Showtime's Dexter.

Lithgow won a Tony Award three weeks after his 1973 Broadway debut in David Storey's The Changing Room. Since then, he has appeared on Broadway 19 times, earning another Tony, three Tony Award nominations and four Drama Desk Awards, and he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame. Major roles include parts in My Fat Friend, Trelawny of the Wells, Comedians, Anna Christie, Bedroom Farce, M. Butterfly, The Front Page and the musicals Sweet Smell of Success (for which he won his second Tony) and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. In 2007, Lithgow made his Royal Shakespeare Company debut in Neil Bartlett's production of Twelfth Night. Lithgow presented his critically acclaimed one-man show, John Lithgow: Stories by Heart, at Lincoln Center and the National Theatre in London. He recently returned to the stage in Broadway's revival of the Arthur Miller classic All My Sons.

Lithgow has written eight New York Times bestselling children's picture books, created two activity books for parents and children, developed readers for use in elementary schools and compiled 50 classic poems aimed at young people. He's earned two Parents' Choice Silver Honor Awards and received four Grammy nominations. Simon & Schuster recently released his newest children's book, I Got Two Dogs. Lithgow has also performed concerts for children with the Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Baltimore and San Diego symphonies, and at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's. He's released three kids' albums.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2010.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

John Lithgow Facts

Birth NameJohn Arthur Lithgow
OccupationActor
BirthdayOctober 19, 1945 (78)
SignLibra
BirthplaceRochester, New York, USA
Height6' 4" (1m93)  How tall is John Lithgow compared to you?
Awards2010 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie (for Dexter)
1998 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Best Male Actor in a Comedy Series (for 3rd Rock From the Sun)
1997 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy (for 3rd Rock from the Sun)
1997 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Best Male Actor in a Comedy Series (for 3rd Rock From the Sun)

Selected Filmography

The Accountant
Footloose
The Tuskegee Airmen
Shrek
3rd Rock from the Sun: The Complete Series
Orange County
Rugrats In Paris: The Movie
This is 40
The Campaign
Continue » Find more details on the John Lithgow Movies page