Joshua Elias "Josh" Mostel (born December 21, 1946) is an American actor who is best known for his roles in Jesus Crist Superstar and two Adam Sandler films, Billy Madison and Big Daddy.
Life and Career[]
Mostel was born in New York City, New York, the son of Kathryn Celia, an actress, dancer, and writer, and comic actor Zero Mostel. His brother Tobias is a painter, ceramic artist and professor of art, teaching in Florida.
Mostel started his career as a boy soprano at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He graduated from Brandeis University. When a student at Brandeis, he once pushed a couch into a pond and set it afire, taking bets as to whether the couch would burn or drown first. His broadway debut was in 1971 with Unlikely Heroes. In 1979, Mostel briefly starred in the television version of the film Animal House, Delta House, as "Blotto" Blutarsky, the brother of the character Bluto (played by John Belushi in the original film). He has since appeared in many films and Broadway productions.
Mostel now lives in New York, with a summer home on Monhegan, Maine.
Filmography[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Going Home | Mr. Bonelli |
| 1972 | The King of Marvin Gardens | Frank |
| 1973 | Jesus Christ Superstar | Herod Antipas |
| 1974 | Harry and Tonto | Norman Coombes |
| 1976 | The Money | Wheel of Fortune Operator |
| Deadly Hero | Victor | |
| 1981 | Dead Ringer | Russell |
| 1982 | Fighting Back | Duster |
| 1982 | Sophie's Choice | Morris Fink |
| 1983 | Star 80 | Private Detective |
| 1984 | The Brother from Another Planet | Casio Vendor |
| Windy City | Sol | |
| 1985 | Almost You | David |
| Compromising Positions | Dicky Dunck | |
| Stoogemania | Howard F. Howard | |
| 1986 | The Money Pit | Jack Schnittman |
| 1987 | Radio Days | Abe |
| Matewan | Mayor Cabell Testerman | |
| Wall Street | Ollie | |
| 1989 | Animal Behaviour | Mel Gorsky |
| 1991 | City Slickers | Barry Shalowitz |
| Naked Tango | Bertoni the Jeweller | |
| Little Man Tate | Physics Professor | |
| City of Hope | Mad Anthony | |
| 1992 | Nervous Tricks | Saul Warshow |
| 1993 | Searching for Bobby Fischer | Chess Club Regular |
| 1994 | The Chase | Officer Figus |
| Auf Wiedersehen Amerika | Abe | |
| City Slickers 2: The Legend of Curly's Gold | Barry Shalowitz | |
| 1995 | The Maddening | Chicky Ross |
| Billy Madison | Principal Max Anderson | |
| The Basketball Diaries | Counterman | |
| Let It Be Me | Jordan | |
| 1998 | Great Expectations | Jerry Ragno |
| Rounders | Zagosh | |
| 1999 | The Out-of-Towners | Dr. Faber |
| Big Daddy | Arthur Brooks | |
| 2001 | Knockaround Guys | Mac McCreadle |
| 2008 | State of Play | Pete |
Broadway Productions[]
| Title | Dates of Productions |
|---|---|
| Unlikely Heroes | October 26, 1971- November 13, 1971 |
| An American Millionaire | April 20, 1974- May 5, 1974 |
| A Texas Trilogy: Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander | September 21, 1976- October 30, 1976 |
| A Texas Trilogy: The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia | September 22, 1976- October 31, 1976 |
| Threepenny Opera | November 5, 1989- December 31, 1989 |
| My Favourite Year | December 10, 1992- January 10, 1993 |
| The Flowering Peach | March 20, 1994- April 24, 1994 |
| Getting Away with Murder | March 17, 1996- March 31, 1996 |