Judd Saymore Hirsch was born on March 15, 1935 at 7.20 EST in the Bronx, borough of New York City, USA to Sally & Joseph Sidney Hirsch with one sibling Roland Hirsch. His father was a Jew from New York & his mother was a Russian Jew. He grew up in Brooklyn and Bronx both, got graduated from Dewitt Clinton High school, Bronx in 1952. Hirsch then enrolled at the City college of New York to study Engineering which was not his cup of tea. After his engineering, he started studying acting at American Academy of Dramatic Arts & the Herbert Berghof Studio, Greenwich Village, New York.
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Hirsch served in United States army after his under graduation in physics. He also served as an engineer in Westinghouse before getting into theatre and made his stage debut in early 1960’s.Hirsch’s biography will be incomplete without mentioning his achievements in acting, theatre. His first professional acting job was with a stock company in Colorado in 1962 followed by another stage production of “A Thousand Clowns” at the Woodstock playhouse.
After frequent appearances on television in the 1970’s, Hirsch gained stardom as pragmatic Alex Rieger in comedy series “Taxi” (1978-1983).This show was an instant hit for which Hirsch won the Emmy for Lead Actor role in the comedy series in 1981 to 1983.
Hirsch’s career path was at its peak when he got nominations for Oscar for his work as a psychiatrist in the highly regarded movie “Ordinary People” in the year 1980.He took Golden Globe in the year 1989 for his incomparable work in a bittersweet comedy “Dear John” featuring Hirsch as a teacher adjusting to single life after being left by his wife.
Hirsch continued playing prominent roles in feature films and TV Series back to back. His super hit blockbuster drama films included Ordinary People, Without a Trace, Teachers, The Good Bye People, Running on Empty, Independence Day, A Beautiful Mind, Altered Minds, The Muppets, Tower Hiest and many more. Hirsch co-starred in various TV Series like Regular Joe, George & Leo, crime drama Numbr3rs, Damages, Forever, Maron, Medical story, Columbo, detective series Delvecchio and many more. He earned a widespread attention for his stage work in “The Hot I Baltimore” & a classic crime thriller “Serpico”. Hirsch won 2 Tony awards as Best Actor in “I’m Not Rappaport” & for “Conversations With my Father” both written by Herb Gardener. He was also awarded the 1979 Drama-Logue Award for Outstanding Performance in “Talley’s Folly” & “5th of July”.
Hirsch was married to Elisa Sadauna in 1956, gifted with a baby boy Alexander in 1966, divorced in 1967.He was married to his second wife, Bonni Sue chalkin, a fashion designer in the year 1992 that lasted till 2005.From his second wife, Judd had 2 kids, a daughter Montana and Son London.
In 2016, Hirsch appeared on the comedy series “The Big Bang Theory” Season 9 playing Leonardo’s father. Hirsch has an estimated net worth of $12 million. He acquired his net worth investing his efforts in acting appearing in TV serials, films, plays etc.
Last Modified: Apr 7, 2020
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