# Lawrence Pressman > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lawrence_Pressman > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lawrence_Pressman.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Pressman > Source revision: 1357038854 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American actor (born 1939) This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. Find sources: "Lawrence Pressman" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Lawrence Pressman Pressman in Ladies' Man, c. 1980 Born David Milton Pressman[1] (1939-07-10) July 10, 1939 (age 86) Cynthiana, Kentucky, U.S. Occupation Actor Years active 1969–present Spouse Lanna Saunders ​ ​ (m. 1973; died 2007)​ Children 1 Relatives Nicholas Saunders (father-in-law), Nicholas Soussanin (grandfather-in-law) **Lawrence Pressman** (born **David Milton Pressman**; July 10, 1939) is an American actor. He is best known for roles on *[Doogie Howser, M.D.](/source/Doogie_Howser%2C_M.D.)*, *[Ladies' Man](/source/Ladies'_Man_(1980_TV_series))*, *[Profiler](/source/Profiler_(TV_series))*, the title character on *[Mulligan's Stew](/source/Mulligan's_Stew),* as a fictional scientist in the 1971 film *[The Hellstrom Chronicle](/source/The_Hellstrom_Chronicle)*, as well as films such as [*9 to 5*](/source/9_to_5_(film)), [*Shaft*](/source/Shaft_(1971_film)), and [*American Pie*](/source/American_Pie_(film)). With an extensive stage career, Pressman starred on [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre) in *[The Man in the Glass Booth](/source/The_Man_in_the_Glass_Booth)* directed by [Harold Pinter](/source/Harold_Pinter) (also on London's [West End](/source/West_End_theatre)), [*Play it Again, Sam*](/source/Play_It_Again%2C_Sam_(play)), and *Never Live Over a Pretzel Factory*, for which he won the [Theatre World Award](/source/Theatre_World_Award). ## Career His first role was on the [soap opera](/source/Soap_opera) *[The Edge of Night](/source/The_Edge_of_Night)*, and one of his first movie starring roles was in *[Shaft](/source/Shaft_(1971_film))* (1971). In 1971, Pressman starred in *[The Hellstrom Chronicle](/source/The_Hellstrom_Chronicle)*, which won the [Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature](/source/Academy_Award_for_Best_Documentary_Feature_Film), the [BAFTA Award for Best Documentary](/source/BAFTA_Award_for_Best_Documentary), and premiered at the [Cannes Film Festival](/source/Cannes_Film_Festival).[2] Other film credits include *[Making It](/source/Making_It_(film))* (1971), *[9 to 5](/source/9_to_5_(film))* (1980), *[The Hanoi Hilton](/source/The_Hanoi_Hilton_(film))* (1987), *[Trial and Error](/source/Trial_and_Error_(1997_film))* (1997), *[Mighty Joe Young](/source/Mighty_Joe_Young_(1998_film))* (1998) and *[American Pie](/source/American_Pie_(film))* (1999). He has appeared in [TV movies](/source/Television_movie) such as *[The Gathering](/source/The_Gathering_(1977_film))*, *[A Fighting Choice](/source/A_Fighting_Choice)*, *[Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story](/source/Victims_for_Victims%3A_The_Theresa_Saldana_Story)*. Guest roles on American television series includes episodes of *[Hawaii Five-O](/source/Hawaii_Five-O_(1968_TV_series))*, *[The Bob Newhart Show](/source/The_Bob_Newhart_Show)*, *[The Mary Tyler Moore Show](/source/The_Mary_Tyler_Moore_Show)*, *[Dawson's Creek](/source/Dawson's_Creek)*, *[The Drew Carey Show](/source/The_Drew_Carey_Show)*, *[Law & Order](/source/Law_%26_Order)*, *[Matlock](/source/Matlock_(1986_TV_series))*, *[Marcus Welby, M.D.](/source/Marcus_Welby%2C_M.D.)*, *[Gilmore Girls](/source/Gilmore_Girls)*, *[M*A*S*H](/source/M*A*S*H_(TV_series))*, *[The West Wing](/source/The_West_Wing)*, *[NCIS](/source/NCIS_(TV_series))*, *[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine](/source/Star_Trek%3A_Deep_Space_Nine)* and *[Criminal Minds](/source/Criminal_Minds)*. Pressman played Bill Denton in the 1976 miniseries *[Rich Man, Poor Man](/source/Rich_Man%2C_Poor_Man_(miniseries))*. He portrayed [H. R. Haldeman](/source/H._R._Haldeman) in the 1979 CBS miniseries *[Blind Ambition](/source/Blind_Ambition_(miniseries))*, and also appeared in the 1983 mini-series *[The Winds of War](/source/The_Winds_of_War_(miniseries))*. Prolific on stage, Pressman won the [Theatre World Award](/source/Theatre_World_Award) for his [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre) debut in *Never Live Over a Pretzel Factory*.[3] He starred in *[The Man in the Glass Booth](/source/The_Man_in_the_Glass_Booth)*, directed by [Harold Pinter](/source/Harold_Pinter), on both the [West End](/source/West_End_theatre) and [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre).[4] He co-starred in the original [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre) production of [Woody Allen](/source/Woody_Allen)'s [*Play it Again, Sam*](/source/Play_It_Again%2C_Sam_(play)).[5] Pressman played [Berowne](/source/Berowne) in [Michael Kahn](/source/Michael_Kahn_(theatre_director))'s staging of *[Love's Labour's Lost](/source/Love's_Labour's_Lost)* at the [American Shakespeare Festival](/source/American_Shakespeare_Festival) in 1968.[6] In 1987, Pressman starred in the world premier of [Lee Blessing](/source/Lee_Blessing)'s [*A Walk in the Woods*](/source/A_Walk_in_the_Woods_(play)) at [La Jolla Playhouse](/source/La_Jolla_Playhouse), directed by [Des McAnuff](/source/Des_McAnuff).[7] In 1998, Pressman starred as James Tyrone in [Marshall Mason](/source/Marshall_W._Mason)'s staging of [*Long Day's Journey Into Night*](/source/Long_Day's_Journey_into_Night).[8] In 2005, Pressman starred in *The Paris Letter* at [Center Theater Group](/source/Center_Theatre_Group).[9] In 2006, Pressman starred [Off-Broadway](/source/Off-Broadway) in [Paul Weitz](/source/Paul_Weitz_(filmmaker))'s *Show People* at [Second Stage Theater](/source/Second_Stage_Theater).[10] In 2016, Pressman starred in *[Casa Valentina](/source/Casa_Valentina)* at [Pasadena Playhouse](/source/Pasadena_Playhouse).[11] ## Personal life Pressman met actress [Lanna Saunders](/source/Lanna_Saunders), daughter of actor [Nicholas Saunders](/source/Nicholas_Saunders_(actor)) and granddaughter of actor [Nicholas Soussanin](/source/Nicholas_Soussanin), while studying with [Elia Kazan](/source/Elia_Kazan); they were married in 1973 and had one child together, son David, before her death in 2007.[12] ## Filmography - *The Hellstrom Chronicle (film)* (1971) as Dr Hellstrom - *[Making It](/source/Making_It_(film))* (1971) as Mallory - *Cannon (premier)* (TV - 1971) as Herb Mayer - *[Shaft](/source/Shaft_(1971_film))* (1971) as Tom Hannon - *[Hawaii Five-O](/source/Hawaii_Five-O_(1968_TV_series))* (TV - 1973) as Calvin Cutler - *[6 Rms Riv Vu](/source/6_Rms_Riv_Vu)* (TV - 1974) as Richard Miller - *[Winter Kills](/source/Winter_Kills_(film))* (TV - 1974) as Peter Lockhard - *[The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder](/source/The_Crazy_World_of_Julius_Vrooder)* (1974) as Passki - *[The Man in the Glass Booth](/source/The_Man_in_the_Glass_Booth)* (1975) as Charlie Cohn - *The First 36 Hours of Dr. Durant* (TV - 1975) as Dr. Konrad Zane - *Everybody Rides the Carousel* (1975) Stage 7 Voice - *[The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald](/source/The_Trial_of_Lee_Harvey_Oswald_(1977_film))* (TV - 1977) as Paul Ewbank - *[The Gathering](/source/The_Gathering_(1977_film))* (TV - 1977) as Tom - *[Like Mom, Like Me](/source/Like_Mom%2C_Like_Me)* (TV - 1978) as Michael Gruen - *[Walk Proud](/source/Walk_Proud)* (1979) as Henry Lassiter - *The Gathering, Part II* (TV - 1979) as Tom - *[9 to 5](/source/9_to_5_(film))* (1980) as Dick - *[Cry for the Strangers](/source/Cry_for_the_Strangers_(film))* (TV - 1982) as Glen Palmer - *[Rehearsal for Murder](/source/Rehearsal_for_Murder)* (TV - 1982) as Lloyd Andrews - *[The Red-Light Sting](/source/The_Red-Light_Sting)* (TV - 1982) as Larry Barton - *[The Three Wishes of Billy Grier](/source/The_Three_Wishes_of_Billy_Grier)* (TV - 1984) as Frank - *[Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story](/source/Victims_for_Victims%3A_The_Theresa_Saldana_Story)* (TV - 1984) as Dr. Stein - *For Love or Money* (TV - 1984) as Herb - *[The Deliberate Stranger](/source/The_Deliberate_Stranger)* (TV - 1986) as Ken Wolverton - *[The Hanoi Hilton](/source/The_Hanoi_Hilton)* (1987) as Col. Catheart - *[Little Girl Lost](/source/Little_Girl_Lost_(TV_movie))* (1988) as Lester - *[Honor Bound](/source/Honor_Bound_(1988_film))* (1988) as Maxwell - *She Knows Too Much* (TV - 1989) as Robert Hughes - *[Breaking Point](/source/Breaking_Point_(1989_film))* (TV - 1989) as Gen. Smith - *[Fire and Rain](/source/Fire_and_Rain_(film))* (TV - 1989) as Mr. Hamilton - *[White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd](/source/White_Hot%3A_The_Mysterious_Murder_of_Thelma_Todd)* (TV - 1991) as Roland West - *To My Daughter with Love* (TV - 1994) as Arthur Monroe - *[The Enemy Within](/source/The_Enemy_Within_(1994_film))* (TV - 1994) as Atty. General Arthur Daniels - *[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine](/source/Star_Trek%3A_Deep_Space_Nine)* – episodes "[Second Skin](/source/Second_Skin_(Star_Trek%3A_Deep_Space_Nine))" (1994), "[Ties of Blood and Water](/source/Ties_of_Blood_and_Water)" (1997) as Legate Tekeny Ghemor - *The Rockford Files: I Still Love L. A.* (TV - 1994) as Kornblum - *[Angus](/source/Angus_(film))* (1995) as Principal Metcalf - *[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine](/source/Star_Trek%3A_Deep_Space_Nine)* – episode "[The Adversary](/source/The_Adversary_(Star_Trek%3A_Deep_Space_Nine))" (1995) as Krajensky / Changeling - *[Whose Daughter Is She?](/source/Whose_Daughter_Is_She%3F)* (TV - 1995) as Dr. Joe Steiner - *A Case for Life* (TV - 1996) as Cardiac - *[The Late Shift](/source/The_Late_Shift_(film))* (TV - 1996) as Bob Wright - *[The Sunchaser](/source/Sunchaser)* (1996) as FBI Agent-In-Charge Collier - *[She Cried No](/source/She_Cried_No)* (1996) as Edward Connell - *[The Uninvited](/source/The_Uninvited_(1996_film))* (TV - 1996) as Winston - *[Trial and Error](/source/Trial_and_Error_(1997_film))* (1997) as Whitfield - *[The Maker](/source/The_Maker_(film))* (1997) as Father Minnell - *[My Giant](/source/My_Giant)* (1998) as Doctor - *[Very Bad Things](/source/Very_Bad_Things)* (1998) as Mr. Fisher - *[Mighty Joe Young](/source/Mighty_Joe_Young_(1998_film))* (1998) as Dr. Baker - *[American Pie](/source/American_Pie_(film))* (1999) as Coach Marshall - *[The West Wing](/source/The_West_Wing)* (2000) as Ken Cochran - *[Sex and a Girl](/source/Sex_and_a_Girl)* aka *Alex in Wonder* (2001) as School Counselor - *[Dr. Dolittle 2](/source/Dr._Dolittle_2)* (2001) as Governor of California - *[American Wedding](/source/American_Wedding)* (2003) as Head Coach - *[DC 9/11: Time of Crisis](/source/DC_9%2F11%3A_Time_of_Crisis)* (TV - 2003) as Vice President Dick Cheney - *Murder Without Conviction* (TV - 2004) as Dr. G. K. Sanderson - *[Nine Lives](/source/Nine_Lives_(2005_film))* (2005) as Roman - *Fathers and Sons* (TV - 2005) as Max's Father - *[American Dreamz](/source/American_Dreamz)* (2006) as White House Butler - *[Mentor](/source/Mentor_(film))* (2006) as Jonathan Kendall - *[The Far Side of Jericho](/source/The_Far_Side_of_Jericho)* (2006) as Van Damm - *[Tickling Leo](/source/Tickling_Leo)* (2009) as Warren Pikler - *[Mother and Child](/source/Mother_and_Child_(2009_film))* (2009) as Dr. Morgan - *[Criminal Minds](/source/Criminal_Minds)* (2009) as Judge Boyd Schuller - *Beyond the Heavens* (2013) as Pastor Jim - *[Totem](/source/Totem_(film))* (2017) as Bernard - *[9-1-1](/source/9-1-1_(TV_series))* (TV - 2018) as Mitchell - *[Reboot](/source/Reboot_(2022_TV_series))* (TV - 2022) as Jerry - [Magnum, P.I.](/source/Magnum%2C_P.I.) (2023) as Gus Urima - [Carol & the End of the World](/source/Carol_%26_the_End_of_the_World) (2023) as Bernard - [No Good Deed](/source/No_Good_Deed_(TV_series)) (2024) as Victor Friedberg - [High Potential](/source/High_Potential) (2025) as George Donovan ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Biography](https://findingaids.library.northwestern.edu/agents/people/2781), findingaids.library.northwestern.edu. Accessed July 26, 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Turner Classic Movies - TCM.com"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130731092851/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/movie-news.html?id=465849&name=The-Hellstrom-Chronicle). *Turner Classic Movies*. Archived from [the original](http://www.tcm.com/this-month/movie-news.html?id=465849&name=The-Hellstrom-Chronicle) on 2013-07-31. Retrieved 2025-10-04. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["About 1"](https://www.theatreworldawards.org/past-recipients). *www.theatreworldawards.org*. Theatre World Awards. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["The Man in the Glass Booth"](https://www.playbill.com/productions/the-man-in-the-glass-boothbroadway-bernard-b-jacobs-theatre-1968). *www.playbill.com*. Playbill Magazine. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Play It Again, Sam"](https://www.playbill.com/production/play-it-again-sam-broadhurst-theatre-vault-0000002045). *www.playbill.com*. Playbill Magazine. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["See the actors of 'Casa Valentina' transform: 'When they become women, they open up like a flower'"](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/theater/la-et-cm-casa-valentina-20160316-html-htmlstory.html). *www.thecrimson.com*. The Harvard Crimson. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Theater"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-01-06-ca-22546-story.html). *Los Angeles Times*. January 6, 1988. Retrieved 12 June 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Jones, Kenneth (October 13, 1998). ["Marshall Mason's Long Day's Journey Into Night Begins at Arizona Rep Oct. 17"](https://playbill.com/article/marshall-masons-long-days-journey-into-night-begins-at-arizona-rep-oct-17-com-77833). No. Oct. 1998. Playbill Magazine. Playbill Magazine. Retrieved 10 September 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Hernandez, Ernio (December 6, 2004). ["Neil Patrick Harris, Ron Rifkin Deliver The Paris Letter; World Premiere Baitz Begins in CA"](https://playbill.com/article/neil-patrick-harris-ron-rifkin-deliver-the-paris-letter-world-premiere-baitz-begins-in-ca-com-122932). *www.playbill.com*. Playbill Magazine. Retrieved 12 June 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Brantley, Ben (April 7, 2006). ["Paul Weitz's New Play, 'Show People,' Features Guessing Games in Montauk"](https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/07/theater/reviews/paul-weitzs-new-play-show-people-features-guessing-games-in.html). *New York Times*. Retrieved 12 June 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["See the actors of 'Casa Valentina' transform: 'When they become women, they open up like a flower'"](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/theater/la-et-cm-casa-valentina-20160316-html-htmlstory.html). Los Angeles Times. March 17, 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Soap star came from a family of performers"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118126692/lanna-saunders/). *[Times Colonist](/source/Times_Colonist)*. Associated Press. March 16, 2007. p. D 11. Retrieved February 7, 2023 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com). ## External links - [Lawrence Pressman](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0696303/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [Lawrence Pressman](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/56563) at the [Internet Broadway Database](/source/Internet_Broadway_Database) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Israel People Trove Deutsche Biographie Deutsche Synchronkartei Other Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lawrence Pressman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Pressman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Pressman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.