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Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
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Joe Viterelli to Orson Welles
Michael Wager Biography (1925-)
Born Emanuel Weisgal, April 29, 1925, in New York, NY; son of Meyer W. and Shirley (Hirshfeld) Weisgal; married Mary Jo Van Ingen, December 21, 1948 (divorced, 1955); married Susan Blanchard Fonda, June 9, 1962 (divorced); children: (first marriage) one daughter; (second marriage) one son. Addresses:OFFICE--126 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011. HOME--Painter Hill Road, Roxbury, CT.
Favorite roles: Dauphin in Saint Joan; Prince Hal in Henry IV, Part I; Andreiin The Three Sisters; Mesa in Noontide.
- Nationality
- American
- Gender
- Male
- Birth Details
- April 29, 1925
- New York, New York, United States
Famous Works
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Credits
- STAGE DEBUT--Boy, The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife, Harvard Dramatic Club,Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, MA, 1941.
- BROADWAY DEBUT--Young collector, A Streetcar Named Desire, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, 1949.
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Credits; PRINCIPAL STAGE APPEARANCES
- Castro, The Girl of the Golden West, Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, CT, 1947.
- Henry, The Skin of Our Teeth, Westport Country Playhouse, 1948.
- Adolphus Cusins, Major Barbara, O'Connor, Shadow and Substance, both Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, MA, 1948.
- Julian, Martine, Lenox Hill Playhouse, New York City, 1949.
- Peter Mitchell, The Small Hours, National Theatre, New York City, 1951.
- Vernon Kinswood, Bernardine, Playhouse Theatre, New York City, 1952.
- Lorenzo, The Merchant of Venice, City Center Theatre, New York City, 1953.
- Bentley Summerhays, Misalliance, City Center Theatre, then Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City, both 1953.
- Wilbur Fifield, The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker, Coronet Theatre, New YorkCity, 1953.
- Roderigo, Othello, Prince Hal, Henry IV, Part I, both City Center Theatre, 1955.
- son, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Phoenix Theatre, New York City, 1955.
- Dauphin, Saint Joan, Phoenix Theatre, then Coronet Theatre, New York City, both 1956.
- Hermes, Prometheus Bound, Theatre of Herodus Atticus, Athens, Greece, 1957.
- Shendi, The Firstborn, Coronet Theatre, then Habimah Theatre, Tel Aviv, Israel, both 1958.
- Nick, The Deserters, Theatre Royal, Brighton, U.K., 1958.
- Sir Andrew Auguecheek, Twelfth Night, Malcolm, Macbeth, both Cambridge Drama Festival, Cambridge, MA, 1959.
- Sasha, The Cradle Will Rock, New York City Opera Company, City Center Theatre, 1960.
- Mesa, Noontide, Marquee Theatre, New York City, 1961.
- Andrei, The Three Sisters, Morosco Theatre, New York City, 1964.
- Benya Crick, Sunset, 81st Street Theatre, New York City, 1966.
- Charles Bodie, The Penny Friend, Stage 73, New York City, 1966.
- Carlos, The Cuban Thing, Henry Miller's Theatre, New York City, 1968.
- Ferdinand Gadd, Trelawny of The Wells, Public Theatre, New York City, 1970.
- Petruchio, The Taming of the Shrew, Roundabout Theatre, New York City, 1972.
- John Dickinson, 1776, Paper Mill Playhouse, Milburn, NJ, 1974.
- Thesee, Syllabaire pour Phedre, Metropolitan Opera House, New York City,1974.
- William Burroughs, Visions of Kerouac, Lions Theatre Club, New York City,1977.
- Buckingham, Richard III, Actors Studio, New York City, 1978.
- Trigorin, The Seagull, Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, CT, 1979.
- Carl "Cubby" Steinbeck, Rhinestone, Richard Allen Center, New York City,1982.
- Also appeared in Brecht on Brecht, Theatre de Lys, New York City, 1962; Marc Blitzstein Memorial Concert, Philharmonic Hall, New York City, 1964; TheInterview, Pittsburgh Playhouse, Pittsburgh, PA, 1976; Songs at Twilight, LaMama Experimental Theatre Club, New York City, 1977; and as speaker, OedipusRex (opera), Boston Symphony Orchestra; narrator, Historie du Soldat, ChamberMusic Society of Lincoln Center, New York City; and as narrator, Lelio.
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Credits; PRINCIPAL STAGE WORK
- Director, Brecht on Brecht, Washington Theatre Club, Washington, DC, 1963.
- producer, Where's Daddy?, Billy Rose Theatre, New York City, 1966.
- director, Nag's Head, New Theatre, New York City, 1969.
- Also stage director, Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, CT, 1947- 48.
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Credits; MAJOR TOURS
- Young collector, A Streetcar Named Desire, U.S. cities, 1950.
- James Browne, The Dream, U.S. cities, 1977.
- Also toured with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Israeli and German cities, 1978.
- FILM DEBUT--Allen Goodman, Hill 24 Does Not Answer, 1954.
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Credits; PRINCIPAL FILM APPEARANCES
- David Ben Ami, Exodus, United Artists, 1960.
- Thomas, King of Kings, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1961.
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Credits; PRINCIPAL TELEVISION APPEARANCES; EPISODIC
- Blind lover, Mr. Om, NBC, 1948.
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Writings;PLAYS
- (Co-adaptor with Sir Tyrone Guthrie) Six Characters in Search of an Author, Phoenix Theatre, New York City, 1955.
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