George Dzundza

Dzundza was born in Rosenheim, Germany, to a Ukrainian Unterlander father and Polish Galitzianer mother who were forced into factory labour by the Nazis.[2] He spent the first few years of his life in displaced persons camps with his parents and one brother.[3]

Before emigrating to the United States in 1956, the family lived in Amsterdam for some years. His family then moved to the US, settling in New York City, where George attended Xavier High School. He is a naturalized U.S. citizen.[4]

Dzundza had his own 1981 sitcom series Open All Night, about the owner of a "Store 364" convenience store in Inglewood, California.[5] He portrayed American Nazi leader Frank Collin in the 1981 made-for-television movie Skokie.[6]

In 1987, Dzundza played Sam Hesselman, a disabled man in a wheelchair, in No Way Out[7] and Commander Daskal in The Beast. [8]His other major film roles include The Deer Hunter, White Hunter Black Heart, Streamers, Basic Instinct, Crimson Tide, and Dangerous Minds.

He was an original cast member of the long-running NBC drama Law & Order, playing NYPD Sergeant Max Greevey in the first season only. He was disappointed when he realized that Law & Order would be more of an ensemble show rather than a show starring him. Though his castmates liked his portrayal of Greevey, they increasingly felt uncomfortable around Dzundza, who was also under stress from the commute between New York City and his home in Los Angeles. Dzundza quit after the first season of the show,[9] making his last full appearance in the season finale, "The Blue Wall". His character (portrayed by an extra with his back to the camera) was murdered in the second season premiere episode, "Confession".

His other acting work includes an appearance on The Waltons (1975), playing the Archie Bunker-like father in the short-lived Christina Applegate sitcom Jesse, and voicing supervillain the Ventriloquist in Batman: The Animated Series and Perry White in Superman: The Animated Series, as well as numerous minor roles within both shows. His Broadway theatre credits include Terrence McNally's The Ritz.

In 2005, he played Anubis (aka "Jim") in the Stargate SG-1 Season 8 episode "Threads". Dzundza portrayed George O'Malley's father Harold on Grey's Anatomy.

• George Dzundza at IMDb