Harry Groener Explained

Harry Groener (born September 10, 1951) is an American actor and dancer, perhaps best known for playing Mayor Wilkins in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (seasons 3, 4 and 7).

Early life

Groener was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, West Germany, to an opera singer mother and a father who worked as a concert pianist, office clerk, and composer.^[1] He immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of two. As a teenager, Groener was apprenticed at the San Francisco Ballet; he went on to study drama at the University of Washington.

Career

Groener's reputation in New York City rests almost entirely on his work in musical theater. However, the bulk of his roles outside New York have been in classical drama or contemporary plays like Eastern Standard. His Broadway credits include Is There Life After High School?, Will Parker in Oklahoma! (Tony Award nomination, Theatre World Award), Munkustrap in Cats (Tony Award nomination), Georges/George in Sunday in the Park with George, and Bobby Child in Crazy for You (Tony Award and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations).

In 1999, he performed off-Broadway with Twiggy at the Lucille Lortel Theater in If Love Were All, a musical revue based on the friendship of Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence. He has performed in regional theatres across the country, including the San Diego Old Globe Theatre (where he is an associate artist), Mark Taper Forum, Westwood Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse, Long Wharf Theater, A.C.T., and the Williamstown Theater Festival.

Groener has performed regularly on TV, including guest appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990), (1996), (2005) and several dozen other series; he was also a series regular on the sitcom Dear John. In 1998-99, he portrayed Richard Wilkins, the evil mayor of Sunnydale on the third season of cult TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and reprised the role in cameo appearances in Buffy's 4th and 7th seasons.

From 2003 to 2006, he appeared as the chef Gunther on the TV series Las Vegas. Notable film work includes Road to Perdition and About Schmidt. He also appeared in two episodes of The West Wing as the Secretary of Agriculture and the Bones episode "The Woman at the Airport" as a plastic surgeon, Henry Atlas. In 2009, Groener appeared in the second season episode of Breaking Bad, "Bit by a Dead Bee", as protagonist Walter White's psychiatrist. He also portrayed Clint, Ted's stepdad, in How I Met Your Mother. In January 2018, Groener appeared in an episode of Young Sheldon.

He was a regular vocalist for the Varèse Sarabande label, performing on such recordings as Shakespeare on Broadway, Cole Porter: A Musical Toast, and various installments of the Unsung Broadway and Lost in Boston series. He played King Arthur in Monty Python's Spamalot during 2006. In 2010, he appeared as the title role in the Antaeus Company's production of King Lear.^[2] He won the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for this performance. In 2012, he starred in the debut of Christopher Hampton's play Appomattox at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, playing a dual role as both U.S. presidents Abraham Lincoln in 1865 and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965.^[3], he serves as an honorary board member at the Alpine Theater Project in Whitefish, MT.^[4]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	Brubaker	Dr. Campbell
1997	Amistad	Tecora Captain
1998	Dance with Me	Michael
1998	Patch Adams	Dr. Prack
1999	Buddy Boy	Father Gillespie
2002	Road to Perdition	Mr. McDougal
2002	About Schmidt	John Rusk
2002	Manna from Heaven	Tony
2006	The Last Time	Customer at Conference
2008	Beautiful Loser	Ronald Riley
2015	The Atticus Institute	Lawrence Henault
2016	A Cure for Wellness	Pembroke
2018	A Futile and Stupid Gesture	Harry Kenney
2018	Delirium	Psychiatrist
2023	Oppenheimer	Gale W. McGee

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	The Country Girl	Paul Unger	TV movie
1984	George Washington	Patrick Henry	Episode #1.1
1985	Kane & Abel	Lowell Kane	Episode #1.2
1985	Remington Steele	Preston Hayes	Episode: "Corn Fed Steele"
1987	St. Elsewhere	Klaus Brinkmann	Episode: "Schwarzwald"
1987	Jack and Mike	Johnson	Episode: "Dreamland"
1987	Leg Work	Steve Amati	Episode: "Life Itself"
1988		George Lynnwood	Episode: "Substantial Justice"
1988	Matlock	Rod Greenwood	Episode: "The Magician"
1988–1991	Dear John	Ralph Drang	68 episodes
1989	Studio 5-B	Unknown	Episode: "Pilot"
1990		Tam Elbrun	Episode: "Tin Man"
1991	Quantum Leap	Detective Ward	Episode: "Permanent Wave - June 2, 1983"
1995	Law & Order	Terrence Dwyer	Episode: "Wannabe"
1996		The Magistrate	Episode: "Sacred Ground"
1996	Caroline in the City	Henry	Episode: "Caroline and the Freight King"
1996–1997	Mad About You	Lance Brockwell	4 episodes
1997	Home Improvement	Fred	Episode: "Totally Tool Time"
1997	George and Leo	Unknown	Episode: "The Cameo Episode"
1997	Just Shoot Me!	Headmaster Reilly	Episode: "Twice Burned"
1997	Murphy Brown	Concert Master	Episode: "I Hear a Symphony"
1997–1998	Sleepwalkers	The Smiling Man	2 episodes
1998–2003	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Mayor Richard Wilkins III	14 episodes
1998	Working	Alan Norman	Episode: "The Breakfast"
1998	Buddy Faro	Miles Marengo	Episode: "The Curse of the Faro"
1998	Cupid	Michael Bennett	Episode: "Heaven... He's in Heaven"
1999	Mercy Point	Stenneth Lock	2 episodes
1999	Family Law	Unknown	Episode: "Decisions"
2000	Profiler	Vincent Capobianco	Episode: "The Long Way Home"
2000	Time of Your Life	Alan	Episode: "The Time They Got E-Rotic"
2000	Charmed	Father Thomas	Episode: "Primrose Empath"
2000	Judging Amy	Mike Holcombe	Episode: "Dog Days"
2000	City of Angels	Unknown	Episode: "Saving Faces"
2000–2003	The West Wing	Secretary of Agriculture Roger Tribbey	2 episodes
2001	3rd Rock from the Sun	Dr. Breen	Episode: "Dick Digs"
2001	18 Wheels of Justice	Travis Jordan	Episode: "Slight of Mind"
2001	Boston Public	Mr. Jacobs	Episode: "Chapter Seventeen"
2001	King of the Hill	Dr. Tate / Larry (voice)	Episode: "Hank's Back Story"
2001	The Drew Carey Show	Dr. Hershlag	2 episodes
2001	The Day the World Ended	Sheriff Ken	TV movie
2001	The Guardian	Fulton Trout	Episode: "The Funnies"
2001	Dead Last	Dr. Casey Henderson	Episode: "To Live and Amulet Die"
2002	Malcolm in the Middle	Rudy	Episode: "Poker"
2002	Watching Ellie	Robert	Episode: "Tango"
2002	Roswell	Dr. Burton Weiss	Episode: "Who Died and Made You King?"
2002	Philly	Dabney Cooper	Episode: "Tall Tales"
2003	The Mayor	Dick Winterhalter	TV movie
2003–2006	Las Vegas	Chef Gunther	6 episodes
2004	I'm with Her	Principal Marvin Talbot	Episode: "Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Celebrity"
2004	Dr. Vegas	Hank Harold	2 episodes
2004	Less than Perfect	Dr. Lars Skaarsgard	Episode: "From the Chair to the Couch"
2004	Huff	Mr. Wayne	Episode: "Assault & Pepper"
2005	Monk	John Ricca	Episode: "Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra"
2005	Jack & Bobby	Adult Warren Feide	Episode: "Stand by Me"
2005		Nathan Samuels	2 episodes
2005	Medium	Joe's Boss	2 episodes
2006	The Bernie Mac Show	Dr. Lyons	Episode: "Exercise in Fertility: Part 2"
2006	Bones	Dr. Henry Atlas	Episode: "The Woman at the Airport"
2006–2013	How I Met Your Mother	Clint	3 episodes
2007		Peyton Tallman	Episode: "Monster in the Box"
2009	Breaking Bad	Dr. Chavez	Episode: "Bit by a Dead Bee"
2010	Nolan Knows Best	Frenchy	TV movie
2011		Attorney Spicer	Episode: "El Sereno"
2011	The Middle	Gene	Episode: "The Play"
2011	Once Upon a Time	Martin	Episode: "That Still Small Voice"
2012	Supernatural	Professor Morrison	Episode: "The Slice Girls"
2013	The Mentalist	Francisco Navarro	Episode: "Red Letter Day"
2014	Major Crimes	Mr. Kleiner	Episode: "Frozen Assets"
2015	Kittens in a Cage	Judge Dodd	Episode: "Ain't Even Got a Mustache"
2017	Ghosted	Stafford Yates	Episode: "The Machine"
2018	Young Sheldon	Elliot Douglas	Episode: "An Eagle Feather, a String Bean, and an Eskimo"
2018	Disjointed	Judge Nelson	2 episodes
2018	Criminal Minds	Leonard Hagland	Episode: "Ex Parte"
2018	Modern Family	Joel L.L. Logan	Episode: "Clash of Swords"
2018	The Rookie	Mr. Walker	Episode: "The Roundup"
2018	The Resident	Bartholomew McGainn	Episode: "The Dance"
2022		Joe	2 episodes
2023	White House Plumbers	Senator Philip Hart	Episode: "Please Destroy This, Huh?"

Stage

!Year!Title!Role(s)!Notes!

1976	The Best Man	Reporter		[5]
	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	Nick		[6]
1978	Much Ado About Nothing	Benedick		[7]
	Journey's End	Raleigh		[8]
1979	Oklahoma!	Will Parker	Broadway debut	[9]
1981	Oh, Brother!	Western Mousada	Broadway
1982	Is There Life After High School?	Performer
	Cats	Munkustrap
1985	Harrigan 'N Hart	Edward Harrigan
1985	Sunday in the Park with George	Georges Seurat / George
1987	Sleight of Hand	Paul
1988	Eastern Standard	Stephen Wheeler		[10]
1989	Sunday in the Park with George	Georges Seurat / George		[11]
1991	You Never Know	Baron Rommer		[12]
1992	Crazy for You	Bobby Child	Broadway
1995	Twelve Dreams	Charles Hatrick		[13]
	Picasso at the Lapin Agile	Freddy		[14]
1996	Arms and the Man	Captain Bluntschli		[15]
1999	If Love Were All	Noël Coward		[16]
2001	Twelfth Night	Feste		[17]
2002	Imaginary Friends	The Man	Broadway
2004	The Bear	Grigory Stepanovitch Smirnov		[18]
2005	Pera Palas	Adalet / Bedia Older / Orhan Older		[19]
2006	Spamalot	King Arthur	Broadway
	The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas	Governor		[20]
2007	Regrets Only	Hank		[21]
2009	The Fantasticks	Bellomy		[22]
	Putting It Together	Performer		[23]
	Equivocation	Richard		[24]
2010	King Lear	Lear		[25]
	The Train Driver	Roelf Visagie		[26]
2011	The Madness of George III	King George III		[27]
2012	March	William Tecumseh Sherman		[28]
	The Exorcist	Burke Dennings
	Appomattox	Lincoln / Johnson		[29]
2013	Cyrano de Bergerac	Cyrano de Bergerac		[30]
2014	Love, Noël: The Letters and Songs of Noël Coward	Noël Coward		[31]
2015	The Second Mrs. Wilson	Col. Edward House		[32]
	Uncle Vanya	Serebryakov		[33]
2016	Vicuña	Kurt Seaman		[34]
2017	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof	Big Daddy		[35]
2018	Henry IV	Northumberland		[36]
	Three Days in the Country	Shpigelsky		[37]
2019	Indecent	Actor		[38]
	Skintight	Elliot Isaac
2022	Everybody	Somebody		[39]
2023	Water for Elephants	Mr. Jankowski		[40]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1980	Theatre World Award	Outstanding Stage Debut	Oklahoma!
	Tony Award	Best Featured Actor in a Musical
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Featured Actor in A Musical
1983	Tony Award	Best Featured Actor in a Musical	Cats
1985	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Actor in A Musical	Harrigan 'N Hart
1992	Tony Award	Best Actor in a Musical	Crazy for You
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding Actor in a Musical
2010	Ovation Awards	Featured Actor in a Play	Equivocation[41]
	Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award	Lead Performance	King Lear
2011	Joseph Jefferson Award	Actor in a Principal Role - Play	The Madness of George III[42] [43]
2012		Actor in a Supporting Role - Play	The March
2014		Actor in a Principal Role - Play	Cyrano de Bergerac
2018	Ovation Awards	Lead Actor in a Play[44]	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
	Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award	Featured Performance

Notes and References

1. Web site: Harry Groener Biography (1951-). Film Reference. February 19, 2020.
2. News: Boehm. Mike. Antaeus Company doubles up 'King Lear'. 17 March 2018. Los Angeles Times. 27 June 2010.
3. Web site: Harry Groener . 2012-10-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131014001105/http://www.guthrietheater.org/bios/harry_groener . 2013-10-14 . Guthrie Theater.
4. Web site: About . 2023-06-15 . Alpine Theatre Project . en-US.
5. News: Robertson. Nan. 1979-12-21. New Face: Harry Groener 'Oklahoma!'. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-04-09. 0362-4331.
6. Web site: Kaan. Gil. BWW Interview: HENRY IV's Versatile Harry Groener Muses on the Mechanics and Love of Theatre. 2021-04-09. BroadwayWorld.com. en.
7. Frey. Charles. 1979. Shakespeare in Seattle. Shakespeare Quarterly. 30. 2. 262–264. 10.2307/2869320. 2869320. 0037-3222.
8. Web site: 1975 - 1980. 2021-04-09. Long Wharf Theatre. en-US.
9. Web site: Harry Groener – Broadway Cast & Staff IBDB. 2021-04-09. www.ibdb.com.
10. News: Rich. Frank. Times. Special To the New York. 1988-05-10. Review/Music; Seattle Grabs Spotlight: New Play, Renewed Musical. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-04-09. 0362-4331.
11. Web site: Herman. Jan. 1989-06-09. 'George' Star Wears Flops as Lightly as His Successes. 2021-04-09. Los Angeles Times. en-US.
12. Web site: Drake. Sylvie. 1991-05-28. STAGE REVIEW : Pleasantly Porter : Pasadena Turns 'You Never Know' Into a Delight. 2021-04-09. Los Angeles Times. en-US.
13. Web site: Gerard. Jeremy. 1995-06-09. Twelve Dreams. 2021-04-09. Variety. en-US.
14. News: Canby. Vincent. 1995-10-23. THEATER REVIEW;A Fantasy Meeting of Minds. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-04-09. 0362-4331.
15. Web site: Winer. Laurie. 1996-06-03. SCR Takes Up 'Arms' to Great Effect. 2021-04-09. Los Angeles Times. en-US.
16. Web site: Isherwood. Charles. 1999-06-14. If Love Were All. 2021-04-09. Variety. en-US.
17. Web site: 2001-07-07. O'Brien's Twelfth Night w/ Groener and Whitehead Opens at San Diego's Globe July 7-Aug. 11. 2021-04-09. Playbill. en.
18. Web site: Morris. Steven Leigh. 2004-03-11. Russian Around. 2021-04-09. LA Weekly. en-US.
19. Web site: Hitchcock. Laura. Pera Palas, a CurtainUp Los Angeles review. 2021-04-09. www.curtainup.com.
20. Web site: Gans. Andrew. 2006-10-16. Actors' Fund's The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Benefit Concert Presented Oct. 16. 2021-04-09. Playbill. en.
21. Web site: Becker. Jules. Rudnick fans should RSVP to 'Regrets Only'. 2021-04-09. The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA. en.
22. Web site: Gans. Andrew. 2009-05-05. Reprise Presents The Fantasticks, with McCormack and Groener, Starting May 5. 2021-04-09. Playbill. en.
23. Web site: 2009-09-15. Harry Groener puts it together at SCR. 2021-04-09. Orange County Register. en-US.
24. Web site: Harry Groener. 2021-04-09. Geffen Playhouse. en.
25. Web site: Antaeus Company's King Lear, with Harry Groener and Dakin Matthews, Extends Through August 15 TheaterMania. 2021-04-09. www.theatermania.com. en-US.
26. Web site: Hetrick. Adam. 2010-10-27. Fugard's The Train Driver, With Harry Groener and Anthony Chisholm, Arrives at Long Wharf. 2021-04-09. Playbill. en.
27. Web site: The Madness of George III at Chicago Shakespeare Theater Theater review. 2021-04-09. Time Out Chicago. 26 April 2011 . en.
28. Web site: Jones. Kenneth. 2012-04-05. March, E.L. Doctorow's Civil War Tale, Begins April 5 at Steppenwolf; Harry Groener, Ian Barford Star. 2021-04-09. Playbill. en.
29. Web site: 'Appomattox' serves up history, but little drama. 2021-04-09. Star Tribune.
30. Web site: Chicago Shakespeare Theater: Cyrano de Bergerac. 2021-04-09. www.chicagoshakes.com.
31. Web site: Gans. Andrew. 2014-12-05. Harry Groener and Sharon Lawrence Star in Limited Run of Love, Noel. 2021-04-09. Playbill. en.
32. Web site: A League of Their Own. 2021-04-09. New Haven Review. 17 May 2015 . en-US.
33. Web site: Uncle Vanya. 2021-04-09. Antaeus Theatre Company. en-US.
34. Web site: Vicuña. 2021-04-09. Center Theatre Group. en-US.
35. Web site: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. 2021-04-09. Antaeus Theatre Company. en-US.
36. Web site: HENRY IV. 2021-04-09. THE SHAKESPEARE CENTER OF LA. 5 June 2018 . en-US.
37. Web site: Three Days in the Country. 2021-04-09. Antaeus Theatre Company. en-US.
38. Web site: Indecent. 2021-04-09. Center Theatre Group. en-US.
39. Web site: McNulty . Charles . 2022-09-28 . Commentary: Four veteran stage actors discuss taking on risky roles later in life . 2023-12-29 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
40. Web site: Water for Elephants // Jun 7–Jul 9, 2023 // Coca-Cola Stage // Alliance Theatre . 2023-06-19 . www.alliancetheatre.org.
41. News: 2009/2010 Ovation Award Winners. 17 January 2011. LA Stage Alliance. 11 February 2013. 21 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140221134904/http://www.lastagetimes.com/2011/01/ovationwinners/. dead.
42. Web site: Jeff Awards . 2013-10-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180102223719/http://www.jeffawards.org/search2/index.cfm . 2018-01-02 . dead.
43. News: 'Madness' and 'Candide' are top Jeff Award winners . Jones . Chris . . 11 November 2011 . 2020-02-19.
44. News: Zednick. Jason. Winners of 2018 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards Announced. 17 March 2018. Theatre Mania. 30 January 2018.