Gary Cole
Cole at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	Gary Michael Cole (1956-09-20) September 20, 1956 (age 55) Park Ridge, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater	Illinois State University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1983–present
Spouse	Teddi Siddall (m. 1992)
Children	Mary Cole

Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American television and film actor. Born in Park Ridge, Illinois and a graduate of Illinois State University, Cole began his professional acting career on stage with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. On television, he had starring roles in the series Midnight Caller, American Gothic, and Crusade. On film, he appeared in supporting roles in The Brady Bunch Movie, Office Space, Dodgeball, and Talladega Nights.

Early life[link]

Cole was born in Park Ridge, Illinois and raised in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. His mother was a school administrative assistant and his father was a director of finance.^[1][2] Cole attended Rolling Meadows High School, where his first dramatic appearance was as Snoopy in a high school production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. He later attended Illinois State University, where he majored in theater alongside actors Laurie Metcalf and John Malkovich.

Career[link]

Cole began his professional career in 1983 as a stage actor in Chicago, where he joined the ensemble of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. He also appeared in several off-Broadway productions in New York City. In addition to his film and television credits listed below, he has done voice work on several animated series (Family Guy; Kim Possible; Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law) and had a recurring role on the drama The West Wing as Vice President Bob Russell. He also starred as Captain Matthew Gideon on the short-lived Babylon 5 spin-off Crusade, and had notable guest appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Arrested Development. He also played Joe Maxwell on DCOM Cadet Kelly and appeared as real-life astronaut Edgar Mitchell in HBO's recreation of Project Apollo, From the Earth to the Moon. One of his most notable roles in 1991 was as General Custer in the much acclaimed television film Son of the Morning Star.

Cole in January 2009

Between 1988 and 1991, Cole became popular on TV for playing the part of Jack "Nighthawk" Killian in the series Midnight Caller. In 1999, Cole starred in the film Office Space, in which he portrayed office supervisor Bill Lumbergh. When asked about the oft-quoted character, Cole said:

He played The Brady Bunch patriarch Mike Brady in the 1995 film The Brady Bunch Movie, the 1996 sequel A Very Brady Sequel, and the 2002 television film The Brady Bunch in the White House.

Cole starred as Lt. Conrad Rose on the TNT series Wanted, is the voice of the title character on the Adult Swim series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and starred as Sheriff Lucas Buck on the one season 1995 show, American Gothic. Cole also appeared in the films Talladega Nights, Forever Strong, and American Pastime.

Cole played Katherine Mayfair's ex-husband Wayne on Desperate Housewives^[4] and has more recently played the dangerous drug lord Ted Jones in Pineapple Express with Seth Rogen and James Franco. He also appeared in an episode from the third season of the USA Network series Psych as S.W.A.T. commander Cameron Luntz. Cole also played Bill Owens, Sy Parrish's (Robin Williams) boss, in the film One Hour Photo.

In 2008, Cole appeared on Chuck as Sarah's con-artist father (in "Chuck Versus the DeLorean"), a role which he reprised in 2011 (in "Chuck Versus the Wedding Planner"). He also appeared in the fifth season of HBO's Entourage playing Ari Gold's old pal Andrew Klein for a 3-episode story arc prior to joining the regular cast in the sixth season.

Cole has joined Fox's comedy pilot, Tagged.^[5]

In 2011, Cole reprised his role as Bill Lumbergh for several State Farm Insurance commercials.^{[citation needed]}

Cole will have a guest-appearance on the fourth season of the HBO hit series True Blood, playing Sookie Stackhouse's grandfather.

Personal life[link]

Cole married actress Teddi Siddall on March 8, 1992.^[6] His daughter Mary was diagnosed with autism at 28 months of age.^[7][8][9]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

Television[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Gary Cole at the Internet Movie Database
• Gary Cole at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• The Onion A.V. Club Random Roles article with Gary Cole