William Atherton

Infobox actor
name = William Atherton

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caption =
birthdate = Birth date and age|1947|7|30|mf=y
birthplace = Orange, Connecticut
occupation =Film, television, stage actor

William Atherton Knight II (born July 30, 1947) is an American film, stage and television actor.

Atherton was born in Orange, Connecticut, the son of Myrtle (née Robison) and Robert Atherton Knight. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/42/William-Atherton.html William Atherton Biography (1947-) ] ] He attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Pasadena Playhouse. [ [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800048276/bio William Atherton Biography - Yahoo! Movies ] ] After a handful of small film roles, Atherton got his big break playing hapless fugitive Clovis Poplin in "The Sugarland Express", the feature film debut of Steven Spielberg. After this, he garnered major roles in dark dramas such as "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" and "The Day of the Locust", as well as the big-budget disaster film "The Hindenburg". He also played the lead in the 1978 miniseries "Centennial", based on the novel by James Michener.

Atherton entered pop culture history in 1984, when he appeared in the hit comedy "Ghostbusters" as the overbearing EPA agent Walter Peck. Atherton was almost injured on the set when 200 pounds of shaving cream were dumped on him from a crane to simulate a torrent of molten marshmallow engulfing him, nearly knocking him off his feet. After the big success of "Ghostbusters", Atherton has said that people have yelled "Dickless" at him when they see him in public (Peck is called "Dickless" by Dan Aykroyd's character in the movie). [ [http://mymovie.medialife.org/?action=movieDetails&movieID=457 My Movie Journal is Better Than Yours ] ]

In 1985, Martha Coolidge chose Atherton to play Professor Jerry Hathaway in the teen comedy "Real Genius". In 1988, Atherton played the reporter Dick Thornburg in the blockbuster action film "Die Hard", as well as its 1990 sequel. Other film credits include "No Mercy", "The Pelican Brief", "Bio-Dome", "Mad City", "", "The Last Samurai", the TV movies "Buried Alive", "Headspace" and "Virus". He has also made guest appearances on such TV shows as "The Twilight Zone", "Desperate Housewives", "The Equalizer", "Law & Order" & "Monk". Atherton also provided the voice of Dr. Destiny on "Justice League".

According to writer/director Kevin Smith, Atherton was his first choice to play the odious Jared Svenning, the chief villain of his 1995 film "Mallrats". Atherton turned it down as he saw the film to be too childish, although Smith humorously added that Atherton had elected instead to play a role in the Pauly Shore vehicle "Bio-Dome". [Kevin Smith's comments on the "Mallrats" audio commentary.]

His 2007 appearances included "Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door", an adaptation of the best selling novel "The Girl Next Door".

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*imdb name|id=0040472|name=William Atherton
*amg name|2:2687