Biography
HBO enthusiasts will invariably remember character actor Wallace Langham for his winning multi-season portrayal of Phil, the conceited head writer of Larry Sanders' late-night talk show, on the
Garry Shandling-headlined sitcom
The Larry Sanders Show. Langham (who first received billing in projects as Wally Ward) grew up in Los Angeles; his parents divorced at an early age and his mother, Sunni, designed costumes for the musical variety series
Donny and Marie. Langham was, by all accounts, drawn magnetically to showbusiness; he enrolled in acting classes, signed with an agent, and landed a string of television commercials beginning at age 16 (in 1981). After high school, Langham enrolled briefly in Cal State Northridge, but dropped out after snagging a bit part in
John Hughes' teenage sci-fi comedy
Weird Science (1985).
Scattered appearances on such series as Murder, She Wrote and Star Trek: Voyager followed -- as well as the recurring role of Josh, smart-alecky assistant to lingerie proprietor Veronica on the
Kirstie Alley sitcom
Veronica's Closet. It was the Shandling turn, however, that put Langham on top of his game. He made occasional feature appearances in such pictures as the
Nora Ephron comedy-fantasy
Michael (1996) opposite
John Travolta, the
Eddie Murphy vehicle
Daddy Day Care (2003), and the ensemble comedy drama
Little Miss Sunshine (2006), but -- outside of
Larry Sanders -- he is probably best known for his fine work on the series drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. On that program, Langham sustained a multi-season portrayal as lab technician David Hodges. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide