Biography
New York native Ron Rifkin made his Broadway debut in the original 1960 production of
Neil Simon's Come Blow Your Horn. He made his film debut in the chain-gang adventure film
The Devil's 8 in 1969, followed by the sci-fi actioner
Silent Running (1971). Rifkin was much more prolific on the stage throughout his career, in some cases leading to film adaptations (as in
The Sunshine Boys [1975]). But he sure had a knack for showing up on television's most popular shows over a period of three decades. During the '70s, he appeared on
Soap,
The Bob Newhart Show, and
Mary Tyler Moore. During the '80s, he appeared on
Falcon Crest,
Knots Landing, and
Hill Street Blues. During the '90s, he appeared on
ER, Law & Order, and
The Outer Limits. He also had parts in the
Woody Allen films
Husbands and Wives and
Manhattan Murder Mystery. After winning an Obie and Drama Desk award for his portrayal of Holocaust survivor Issac Geldhart in the Jon Robin Baitz play Substance of Fire, Rifkin reprised his role in the 1996 feature film version. The next year, he earned a starring role on the short-lived ABC drama Leaving L.A. On the big screen, he appeared in
Curtis Hanson's crime drama L.A. Confidential followed by F. Gary Gray's action thriller
The Negotiator. In 1998, he earned his first Tony award for Best Supporting Actor in the Broadway revival of Cabaret. Some of his TV movies from this time include
Norma Jean and Marilyn and
Flowers for Algernon. In 2001, Rifkin was cast on the ABC spy drama
Alias as the calculating and sinister commanding officer Arvin Sloane. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide