- published: 28 Jul 2008
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Brian Edward Benben (born June 18, 1956) is an American actor, best known for his role as Martin Tupper in the HBO comedy television series Dream On (1990–1996), and also known as Dr. Sheldon Wallace on ABC medical drama Private Practice (2008–2013). Benben is married to Madeleine Stowe.
Benben was born in Winchester, Virginia, the son of Gloria Patricia (née Coffman) and Peter Michael Benben, Sr., a produce buyer.
He later lived and attended high school in Marlboro, New York, followed by two years at Ulster County Community College in Stone Ridge, New York, after which he moved to New York City, where he worked various jobs while auditioning and acting. In 1983 he appeared in the Broadway play Slab Boys with Kevin Bacon, Sean Penn, Val Kilmer and Jackie Earle Haley. The play ran on Broadway for 48 performances.
Although his first national exposure was in the 1981 NBC miniseries-then-series The Gangster Chronicles, Benben is perhaps best known for his leading role in the 1990-96 HBO television series, Dream On. He played a "by the book" FBI agent in the 1990 film Dark Angel (known in the U.S. as I Come in Peace). He had a starring role in the 1994 film Radioland Murders playing Mary Stuart Masterson's estranged husband. In September 1998, he starred in an eponymous primetime CBS sitcom, The Brian Benben Show, which lasted only one month on the air. In the 2000s, he played Dr. Sheldon Wallace on Shonda Rhimes' Private Practice. His character was first introduced in December 2008, later became a recurring character, and finally a series regular. In 2014 he appeared in the television series Scandal, also produced by Rhimes.
Christopher Peter "Chris" Demetral (born November 14, 1976) is a former American actor best known as Jeremy Tupper, the son of newly divorced New York book editor Martin Tupper (played by Brian Benben) on the HBO series Dream On. He also played the title character in the short-lived series, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne on the Sci Fi Channel. He also played Christopher Ewing in Dallas: J.R. Returns.
Dream On, an adult-themed sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, aired on HBO from July 8, 1990, to March 27, 1996. The series aired for a total of six seasons, consisting of 120 episodes.
Denise "Denny" Dillon (born May 18, 1951) is an American actress and comedian. First known as a stage actress, who was nominated for a Tony Award on Broadway, Dillon appeared for a season on Saturday Night Live and has done other television and film acting. In recent years, she has continued to act in theatre and both teaches and performs in improv comedy.
Dillon was born in Cleveland, Ohio and has lived in New York City and Los Angeles, and now lives in Ulster County, New York.
Dillon has performed on the Broadway stage, appearing as Agnes in the 1974 revival of Gypsy starring Angela Lansbury; in the 1975 revival of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth; in the 1980 stage version of Harold and Maude; and as Mickey in the 1983 Gershwin musical My One and Only, starring Tommy Tune and Twiggy, for which she received a nomination for a Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Musical. She later appeared as a replacement cast member in the 2003 Broadway play, Enchanted April.
Dream On is an American adult-themed situation comedy about the family life, romantic life, and career of Martin Tupper, a divorced New York City book editor played by Brian Benben. The show distinctively interjected clips from older black and white television series to punctuate Tupper's feelings or thoughts. It was created by Marta Kauffman and David Crane, the team who would later create the TV show Friends. It ran for six seasons on HBO between 1990 and 1996.
The show centered on Martin Tupper's (Brian Benben) life in an apartment in New York City with his teenage son, and relating to his ex-wife, while trying to date other women and succeed as an editor for a small book publisher. The show was notable for its frequent use of clips from old movies and TV shows to express Martin's inner life and feelings, which lent it much of its quirky appeal, reminding viewers about the impact of TV on their consciousness. The show was also significant for being one of the first American sitcoms to use uncensored profanity and nudity.
Blood drips down venetian blinds
I cut myself on the glass I grind
I'm on my knees on the floor|
Carpet stained with whiskey and blood
I dont know why I'm doing so much
I hurt but I feel no pain
When I see the morning rise
And I kick myself and I realise
I'm out on that road alone again
So I search my mind, destroy my soul
Turn my collar against the cold
I can't get of the road I'm on
I find solace in an empty shot glass
So I'll just keep dreaming on, dreaming on, dreaming on
I'm to scared to close my eyes
I get nightmares in starry skies
When will all of this end?
I'm on this merry-go-round
I'm up and then I'm down
I can't tell whats happened to me
I see no future in a death wish user
I'll just keep dreaming on, dreaming on, dreaming on
Said I'm dreaming on
Well it seems more or less, that I'm traped by my
own regrets, and I just can't see it any other way
Well I don't know why I can't say no
But it's just like a fever and it grows
It's getting stronger everyday
Too scared to close my eyes
I have nightmares and its' no suprise
Oh is it ever going to end
I'm on this merry go round
You take me up and you're taking me down
And I can't tell whats happening to me
But theres no horizons
Cause there's to much lying
I'll just keep dreaming on
Yeah now, I can see no future and thats for death wish users
I just keep dreaming on, dreaming on
Yeah dreaming on