Jeffrey Combs

Combs was born in Oxnard, California, to Jean Owens (formerly Sullins, 1921–1986) and Eugene "Gene" Combs (1922–1999), and raised in Lompoc. A graduate of Lompoc High School, as a senior Combs played the lead role of Captain Fisby in a stage production of The Teahouse of the August Moon. Combs then attended Santa Maria's Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and later developed his acting skills in the Professional Actor's Training Program at the University of Washington.[2]

In 1980, after spending several years performing in playhouses on the West Coast, Combs moved to Los Angeles. He landed his first role in the film Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), in which he played an unnamed drive-in teller. His first horror film role came two years later in Frightmare (1983).[3]

Combs's best-known horror role is Herbert West, the main character in the film Re-Animator (1985),[4] and its two sequels.[1] He portrayed author H. P. Lovecraft (creator of the Herbert West character) in the film Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993) and has starred in eight H.P. Lovecraft adaptations. Other film credits include The Attic Expeditions (2001), FeardotCom (2002), House on Haunted Hill (1999), I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), and The Frighteners (1996).[5]

Combs has had roles in many science fiction television series. He starred as the telepath Harriman Gray in first-season episode "Eyes" (1994) of Babylon 5. In 2001, he played the sinister Dr. Ek in The Attic Expeditions. In August 2005, he appeared for the first time on the science fiction series The 4400 as Dr. Kevin Burkhoff which had become a recurring role by 2006. In early 2007, he played a highly fictionalized Edgar Allan Poe in "The Black Cat" episode of Masters of Horror.[6]

Combs has worked extensively as a voiceover artist. His voiceover roles include the Scarecrow in The New Batman Adventures, the Question in Justice League Unlimited, Ratchet in Transformers: Prime, the Leader in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Rat King in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Brainiac in Injustice 2.[5] He also narrated the 25th Anniversary of Re-Animator at the 2010 FanTasia.[7]

In July 2009, Combs returned to his stage roots and reprised his role as Edgar Allan Poe in a one-man theatrical show entitled Nevermore...an Evening with Edgar Allan Poe at The Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood, CA.[8] Although only supposed to run for a month, the show enjoyed much success and sold-out crowds, and was extended four times. Nevermore as it is now simply known, closed its run in Los Angeles on December 19, 2009. The show had its East Coast debut on January 23 and 24, 2010 at Westminster Hall in Baltimore, MD, Poe's final resting place.[9] A tour of the Saturn Award nominated[10] Nevermore is now in the works, with stops possibly including Chicago, New York, and Seattle, and a confirmed two-date run in San Diego in February.[11]

Combs starred with Andrew Divoff in the 2012 Screen Media Films release Night of the Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation, a prequel to the 2006 film Night of the Living Dead 3D directed by Jeff Broadstreet. In 2012, he also played the sadistic Dr. Lambrick in another horror-thriller, Would You Rather.[5]

• Voisin, Scott, Character Kings: Hollywood's Familiar Faces Discuss the Art & Business of Acting BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 978-1-59393-342-5.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jeffrey Combs.

• Jeffrey Combs at IMDb
• Jeffrey Combs at AllMovie