William H. Macy

Infobox actor

---

imagesize = 250px
caption = Macy during the Writer's Guild strike in Los Angeles, November 2007
birthname = William Hall Macy, Jr.
birthdate = birth date and age|1950|3|13
birthplace = Miami, Florida, USA
yearsactive = 1971-present
spouse = Felicity Huffman (1997-present)
emmyawards = Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
2003 "Door to Door"
Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special
2003 "Door to Door"
sagawards = Outstanding Actor - Miniseries or TV Movie
2003 "Door to Door"
awards = NBR Award for Best Cast
1999 "Magnolia"
2000 "State and Main"

William Hall Macy, Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an Academy Award-nominated, double Emmy- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actor. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though he has appeared in summer action films as well.Abele, Robert; Interview with William H. Macy; "Maxim" magazine; July 2001; Page 84.] Macy has described his screen persona as "sort of a Middle American, WASPy, Lutheran kind of guy... Everyman". [ [http://www.reel.com/reel.asp?node=features/interviews/whmacy Reel.com: William H. Macy ] ]

Biography

Early life

Macy was born in Miami, Florida, and grew up in Georgia and Maryland. His father, William Hall Macy, Sr., was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal for flying a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber in World War II; he later ran a construction company in Atlanta and worked for Dun & Bradstreet before taking over a Cumberland, Maryland-based insurance agency when Macy was nine years old. His mother, Lois, was a war widow who met Macy's father after her first husband died in 1943; Macy has described her as a "Southern belle". [ [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800019192/bio William H. Macy Biography - Yahoo! Movies ] ] [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/63/William-H-Macy.html William H. Macy Biography (1950-) ] ] Macy has a half-brother, Fred Merrill, from his mother's first marriage.

Macy describes himself as a "jokester", though he was relatively shy until high school. After his brother taught him to play guitar, he sang a song in a talent show, much to the crowd's approval. He later ran for class president, though he had a poor academic record. After graduating in 1968 from Allegany High School in Cumberland, Maryland, he participated in the anti-war hippie movement, and took copious amounts of drugs, including marijuana and LSD. Macy studied veterinary medicine at Bethany College of West Virginia. By his own admission, a "wretched student," he transferred to Goddard College and became involved in theatre. He moved to Chicago, Illinois, after graduating in 1971 and got a job as a bartender to pay the rent. Within a year he and David Mamet, among others, founded the successful St. Nicholas Theater Company, where Macy originated roles in a number of Mamet's plays, such as "American Buffalo" and "The Water Engine". [cite book
last=Harris
first=Andrew B.
title=Broadway Theatre
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=SqM46zulAGwC&pg=PT123&lpg=PT123&dq=%22st+nicholas+theater%22&source=web&ots=TykO_1DuyW&sig=TMoX5Ew1R4x8-fHiqXLaMdOmShg&hl=en
accessdate=2008-04-16
year=1994
publisher=Routledge
location= |language=
isbn=041510520X
pages=98
quote=By 1975, David Mamet and the St Nicholas Theater had settled in Chicago. ]

Career

After spending some time in Los Angeles, California, he moved to New York in 1980. While living there he had roles in over fifty off-Broadway and Broadway plays. One of his on-screen roles was as a turtle named Socrates in the direct to video film, "The Boy Who Loved Trolls" (1984), under the name W. H. Macy. He has appeared in films that Mamet wrote and/or directed, such as "House of Games", "Things Change", "Homicide", "Oleanna" (playing a role he reprised after originating the role in the play of the same name), and more recently, "Wag the Dog", "State and Main", and "Spartan".

Macy may be best known for his lead role in "Fargo", in a role for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and helped boost his career and recognizability. His film work also includes "Benny & Joon", "Above Suspicion", "Mr. Holland's Opus", "Ghosts of Mississippi", "Air Force One", "Boogie Nights", "Pleasantville", Gus Van Sant's remake of "Psycho", "Happy, Texas", "Mystery Men", "Magnolia", "Jurassic Park III", "Focus", "Panic", "Welcome to Collinwood", "Seabiscuit", "The Cooler", and "Sahara".

Macy has also had a number of roles on television, the most recent being a guest appearance on "The Unit" as the President of the United States. In 2003, he won two Emmy Awards, one for starring in the lead role and one as co-writer of the made-for-TNT film "Door to Door". "Door to Door" is a drama based on the true story of Bill Porter, a door-to-door salesman in Portland, Oregon, born with cerebral palsy. The film is composed of several stories, each taking up a whole period between commercials.

His work on "ER" and "Sports Night" has also been recognized with Emmy nominations. His character in "ER", David Morgenstern, is responsible for a sage piece of advice that has been handed down throughout the series. In the pilot episode, when Juliana Margulies' character, nurse Carol Hathaway, is brought to the hospital with a drug overdose, Morgenstern tells Dr. Greene (Anthony Edwards) that he needs to "set the tone" to get the unit through the difficulty of treating one of its own. "You set the tone" is repeated several times in the series, once jokingly by Doug Ross (George Clooney) to Greene and at two other key moments. When Greene, dying from a brain tumor, leaves the ER for the last time, he tells Dr. Carter (Noah Wyle), "You set the tone, Carter." It was a moment that represented the passing of the torch. And a few seasons later, in Carter's farewell episode, he passes a drunk and nauseous Dr. Morris (Scott Grimes), a notoriously bumbling character on the show, and tells him, "You set the tone, Morris." to which an ailing Morris replies, "What?" Carter, realizing that Morris is, to say the least, not cut out of the mold of Morgenstern and Greene, smiles and tells him, "Never mind."

In a November 2003 interview with "USA Today", Macy stated that he wants to star in a big-budget action movie "for the money, for the security of a franchise like that". He serves as director-in-residence at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York, where he teaches a technique called Practical Aesthetics. A book describing the technique, "A Practical Handbook for the Actor" (ISBN 0-394-74412-8), is dedicated to Macy and Mamet.

In 2007 Macy starred in "Wild Hogs", a film about middle-aged men reliving their youthful days by taking to the open road on their Harley-Davidson motorcycles from Cincinnati to the Pacific Coast. Macy will appear as David "Boom Boom" Curran, a character loosely based on Donald Trump, in the film "Yes Man" set to release in 2009. He recently completed filming on "The Lonely Maiden", a comedy that co-stars Morgan Freeman and Christopher Walken.

On June 23, 2008, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced Macy and his wife, Felicity Huffman, will each receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the upcoming year.

Personal life

Since 1997, Macy has been married to Academy Award nominated actress Felicity Huffman. The couple have two daughters, Sofia Grace (born August 1, 2000) and Georgia Grace (born March 14, 2002). They live in Los Angeles, California, and have had a cabin in Vermont since the 1980s. Macy is a Lutheran. [ [http://www.oregonlive.com/special/billporter/index.ssf?/special/oregonian/billporter/carlin_071402.html OregonLive.com: 'Door to Door' brings tears to Porter's eyes ] ] He is known for his liberal leanings; he and Huffman appeared at a rally for John Kerry in 2004. [ [http://www.dailyceleb.com/production/index.php?view=event&eid=2272&c
] ] [ [http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/William_H_Macy.php NEWSMEAT ▷ William H Macy's Federal Campaign Contribution Report ] ] Macy also plays the ukulele and is an avid woodturner, even appearing on the cover of the specialist magazine "Fine Woodworking". He is a national ambassador for the United Cerebral Palsy Association. [ [http://www.ucp.org/ucp_generaldoc.cfm/1/3/12211/12211-12211/4258 UCP: About UCP - National Ambassadors ] ]

Macy in popular culture

American post-punk/pop dance band, Head Automatica, perform a song entitled 'I Shot William H. Macy', appearing on their 2004 album, "Decadence". During their recent 2006 'Lashings of Lucifer' tour, amongst many big name bands, including Taking Back Sunday and Angels & Airwaves, upon playing this song, crowds replied with cheers and shouts of "hang H. Macy" à la The Smiths' 1986 single, 'Panic'. There is also a popular joke from "The Colbert Report" in which Stephen Colbert combines Macy and his wife's name into "Filliam H. Muffman", as a jab at celebrity couples getting nicknamed by the media.

The writers and producers of "The Simpsons" have noted that, if a live-action version of the franchise were ever made, he would be the perfect choice to portray Ned Flanders.Fact|date=September 2008 He made a guest appearance as himself on the Season 17 episode "Homer's Paternity Coot."

Filmography

* "The Awakening Land" (1978) – Will Beagle
* "Foolin' Around" (1980) – Bronski (as W.H. Macy)
* "Somewhere in Time" - Critic
* "Without a Trace" (1983) – Reporter
* "The Boy Who Loved Trolls" (1984) – Socrates the turtle
* "The Last Dragon" (1985) – J.J.
* "Kate & Allie" (1986) – Carl
* "House of Games" (1987) – Sgt. Morgan
* "Radio Days" (1987) - Radio Actor
* "The Murder of Mary Phagan" (1988) – Randy
* "Things Change" (1988) – Billy Drake
* "The Water Engine" (1992) - Charles Lang
* "Being Human" (1993) – Boris
* "Benny & Joon" (1993) – Randy Burch
* "Searching for Bobby Fischer" (1993) – Tunafish Father
* "ER" (1994–1998) – Dr. David Morgenstern
* "Dead on Sight" (1994) – Steven Meeker
* "The Client" (1994) - Dr. Greenway
* "Mr. Holland's Opus" (1995) – Vice Principal Gene Wolters
* "Fargo" (1996) – Jerry Lundegaard
* "Andersonville" (1996) - Col Chandler
* "Down Periscope" (1996) – Commander Carl Knox (USS "Orlando")
* "Ghosts of Mississippi" (1996) – Charlie Crisco
* "Air Force One" (1997) – Major Caldwell
* "Boogie Nights" (1997) – Little Bill
* "Wag the Dog" (1997) – CIA Agent Charles Young
* "Pleasantville" (1998) – George Parker
* "Psycho" (1998) – Milton Arbogast
* "A Civil Action" (1998) – James Gordon
* "The Con" (1998) – Bobby Sommerdinger
* "Happy, Texas" (1999) – Sheriff Chappy Dent
* "Mystery Men" (1999) – The Shoveller
* "Magnolia" (1999) – Quiz Kid Donnie Smith
* "State and Main" (2000) – Walt Price
* "Panic" (2000) as Alex
* "Jurassic Park III" (2001) – Paul Kirby
* "Focus" (2001) – Lawrence 'Larry' Newman
* "Door to Door" (2002) – Bill Porter
* "It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie" (2002) - Glenn
* "The Cooler" (2003) – Bernie Lootz
* "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" (2003) – narrator (documentary)
* "Seabiscuit" (2003) – Tick Tock McGlaughlin
* "Reversible Errors" (2004) - Arthur Raven
* "Cellular" (2004) – Mooney
* "In Enemy Hands" (2004) - Chief of Boat Nathan Travers
* "Spartan" (2004) – Stoddard
* "The Wool Cap" (2005) – Gigot
* "Sahara" (2005) – Admiral James Sandecker
* "Edmond" (2005) – Edmond Burke
* "Thank You for Smoking" (2005) – Senator Ortolan K. Finistirre
* "Doogal" (2006) – Brian the snail
* "": “Umney's Last Case” (2006-07-19) – Sam Landry, Clyde Umney
* "Bobby" (2006) – Paul
* "Curious George" (2006) – Narrator (Season 1)
* "Everyone's Hero" (2006) – Lefty Maginnis (Voice)
* "Choose Your Own Adventure DVD Series" (2006) - Rudyard North
* "Inland Empire" (2006) – Announcer
* "Wild Hogs" (2007) – Dudley Frank
* "He Was a Quiet Man" (2007) - Gene Shelby
* "The Deal" (2008) - Charlie Berns
* "Bart Got a Room" (2008) - Ernie Stein
* "The Tale of Despereaux" (2008) (voice) - Lester
* "The Maiden Heist" (2009) - George

References

External links

*
*

###@@@KEY@@@### s-achsuccession box
title = Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
years = 2003
for "Door to Door"
before= Ben Kingsley
for ""
after = Al Pacino
for "Angels in America"

Persondata
NAME = Macy, William H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Macy, William Hall
SHORT DESCRIPTION = actor
DATE OF BIRTH = March 13, 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH = Miami, Florida, United States
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =