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F. Murray Abraham
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Fahrid Murray Abraham[1] (born October 24, 1939) is an American actor. He became known during the 1980s, after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Amadeus, and has since appeared in many roles, both leading and supporting, in films, television, and on stage.
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 1.1 Early life
- 1.2 Career
- 2 Popular Culture Mentions
- 3 Filmography
- 4 Theatre credits
- 5 Footnotes
- 6 External links
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Biography
Early life
Abraham, whose surname is an anglicisation of "Ibrahim",[1] was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Josephine, a housewife, and Fahrid Abraham, an auto mechanic.[1] His father was an Assyrian[2] Christian who immigrated from Syria during the 1920s famine; his paternal grandfather was a chanter in the Syriac Orthodox Church.[1] Abraham's mother, one of fourteen children, was an Italian American, the daughter of an immigrant who worked in the coal mines of Western Pennsylvania.[1] Abraham was raised in El Paso, Texas, near the Mexican border, where he was a gang member during his teenage years.[1] He attended the University of Texas at Austin, then studied acting under Uta Hagen in New York City. He began his acting career on the stage, debuting in a Los Angeles production of Ray Bradbury's The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit.
Career
Abraham won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as
Antonio Salieri in
Amadeus (1984). His career after
Amadeus inspired the name of the phenomenon dubbed "
F. Murray Abraham syndrome", attributed to actors who, after winning an Oscar, have difficulty obtaining comparable success and recognition despite having recognizable talent.
[3]
However, Abraham himself has shrugged off the notion that winning the Oscar has hurt his career. When asked in an interview about the "Oscar jinx," Abraham replied, "The Oscar is the single most important event of my career. I have dined with kings, shared equal billing with my idols, lectured at Harvard and Columbia. If this is a jinx, I'll take two."
In a post-Amadeus interview televised on the North American morning show Good Morning America, Abraham was once asked how he felt about the difficulty of the acting profession, and what happens when young, aspiring actors simply cannot cope with all the stress and rejection. Abraham replied that struggling actors who could not handle the trials of the business should leave the industry and make room for those who could.
Abraham has focused on stage work throughout his career, giving notable performances as Pozzo in Mike Nichols' production of Waiting for Godot, Malvolio in Twelfth Night for the New York Shakespeare Festival, and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Abraham has been married to Kate Hannan since 1962; they have two children.
[4] He taught Theater at
Brooklyn College.
Popular Culture Mentions
Filmography
Theatre credits
Footnotes
