David Birney
Encyclopedia
David Edwin Birney is an American
actor/director whose career has performances in both contemporary and classical roles in theatre, film and television. He has three children, a daughter Kate, and twins, Peter and Mollie.
, the first child of Jeanne (née
McGee) and Edwin B. Birney, a special agent for the FBI
. He is of Irish, Scots, German and Cherokee descent. The oldest of four boys, he moved to Cleveland
when his father was transferred from Washington. He was raised a Roman Catholic.
He attended schools in Brooklyn, Ohio
and graduated from West High School in Cleveland
. Named to the National Honor Society
, he lettered in basketball, football and track.
He holds a B.A.
degree from Dartmouth College
with "High Distinction" in English Literature, English Honors. A scholarship student at Dartmouth, Birney was a member of Casque and Gauntlet
, a senior honor society, Green Key, the Sophomore Orientation Committee, Sigma Nu
, and served on the Directorate of the Players. He was awarded a Dartmouth Fellowship for graduate study.
At UCLA, Birney earned an M. A.
in Theatre Arts, acting and directing, studying with Ralph Freud and William Melnitz. He held a Teaching Assistant Fellowship. He was honored with a Ph.D
(hon.) in Humanities from Southern Utah State University.
During the Vietnam War, Birney was drafted into the U.S. Army and received basic combat training in Fort Ord
, California. He was transferred to the Second U.S. Army Command at Fort Meade, Maryland, assigned to the 2nd US Army Showmobile, an entertainment unit. As both a director and a performer, he completed several tours with the performing group touring the Eastern, Southern and Midwestern United States. He received an Honorable Discharge and the rank of Specialist Four.
, an Equity contract with the Company for an entire season. He spent the next season with the Barter Theatre, the State Theatre of Virginia, starring or appearing in fifteen shows, directing two others. In the following two years he went on to perform with a range of companies and productions, Off Broadway and in several regional repertory theatres. His New York debut was with Joe Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival
as Antipholus of Syracuse in Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors
.
Birney has worked continually in the theatre performing leading roles with some of the most important theatres in the country. His stage credits include starring roles on Broadway in Amadeus
, Benefactors
, and Man and Superman
, and major roles at the American Shakespeare Festival, New York's Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre, the New York Shakespeare Festival, Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum
, Washington, D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre, Princeton’s McCarter Theatre
, the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival and numerous regional theatres around the country.
Representative roles include: Prince Hamlet
, Macbeth
, Romeo and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet
, Richard II
, Richard III
, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing
, Shylock in Merchant of Venice, Orsino in Twelfth Night, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird
, Jack Tanner in Man and Superman, Christy Mahon in The Playboy of the Western World
, Young Man in Summertree, Cusins in Major Barbara, Jerry in The Zoo Story
, Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest
, Arthur in Camelot
, Higgins in My Fair Lady
, Matt Friedman in Talley's Folly
, David in Social Security
, Andrew in Love Letters
, Jamie in Moon for the Misbegotten, Victor in The Price
, Jaques in As You Like It
, the Dauphin in King John, and Shaw in Dear Liar.
, Paul Theroux
, Annie Dillard
, Thomas Kenneally, Robert Hellenga and Orson Scott Card
. His reading of Julie Salomon’s The Christmas Tree was honored with the prestigious Audie Award, and he has also been the recipient of several AudioFile Magazine Earphone Awards. He also played Anakin Skywalker in the radio adaption
of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
.
, The Adams Chronicles
, Glitter
, Serpico
and Bridget Loves Bernie
. Miniseries credits include starring roles in: Testimony of Two Men, The Bible, Valley of the Dolls
, Night of the Fox, Master of the Game
and Seal Morning. He has also appeared in leading roles in many television films, among them Love and Betrayal, Long Journey Home, The Five of Me, Ohms, The Deadly Game
, and High Midnight. He was also in the soap Love Is A Many Splendored Thing with Donna Mills
and Leslie Charleson
.
, City Stage, and on tour in performing arts centers across the country.
A second play, A Christmas Pudding, a Christmas Collage of song, story and poetry of the season has been published by the dramatist publisher, Samuel French Inc
. A Christmas Pudding has been produced annually during the holiday season for over a decade by Birney in Los Angeles as a benefit for the homeless and abused children.
and is a current board member of the Foundation for Bio-Medical Research.
He has also served on the Theatre and Dance Panel of the Jacob Javits Fellowship Foundation. For Dartmouth College he has served as a member of the Board of Overseers for the Hopkins Center for the Performing Arts. He initiated and chaired the Class of ’61 Legacy: The American Tradition in Performance, helping to create a substantial endowment dedicated to live performance at the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College.
For five years, Birney co-chaired the American Diabetes Association
, speaking and fund raising for the Association. He is an advisor for the Children’s Rights Council, a national nonprofit advocating access to both parents after divorce or separation, and has been a frequent spokesman for children’s literacy, health and welfare issues.
His contribution to classical theatre has been recognized with Washington's Shakespeare Theatre's Millennium Award.
in 1974 (the two had met costarring on the sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie
). They have three children: Kate (born 1974), and twins Peter and Mollie (born 1984). Birney and Baxter divorced in 1989. In 2011, Baxter said Birney had repeatedly psychologically and physically abused her during their marriage, allegations Birney has denied.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor/director whose career has performances in both contemporary and classical roles in theatre, film and television. He has three children, a daughter Kate, and twins, Peter and Mollie.
Early life and education
Birney was born in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, the first child of Jeanne (née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
McGee) and Edwin B. Birney, a special agent for the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
. He is of Irish, Scots, German and Cherokee descent. The oldest of four boys, he moved to Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
when his father was transferred from Washington. He was raised a Roman Catholic.
He attended schools in Brooklyn, Ohio
Brooklyn, Ohio
Brooklyn is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,169 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Brooklyn is located at ....
and graduated from West High School in Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. Named to the National Honor Society
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
, he lettered in basketball, football and track.
He holds a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
with "High Distinction" in English Literature, English Honors. A scholarship student at Dartmouth, Birney was a member of Casque and Gauntlet
Casque and Gauntlet
Casque and Gauntlet is the second-oldest of the eight senior societies at Dartmouth College. C&G was founded in 1886, just after the Sphinx, and moved to its current location at 1 South Main Street in 1893...
, a senior honor society, Green Key, the Sophomore Orientation Committee, Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu is an undergraduate, college fraternity with chapters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
, and served on the Directorate of the Players. He was awarded a Dartmouth Fellowship for graduate study.
At UCLA, Birney earned an M. A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Theatre Arts, acting and directing, studying with Ralph Freud and William Melnitz. He held a Teaching Assistant Fellowship. He was honored with a Ph.D
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
(hon.) in Humanities from Southern Utah State University.
During the Vietnam War, Birney was drafted into the U.S. Army and received basic combat training in Fort Ord
Fort Ord
Fort Ord was a U.S. Army post on Monterey Bay in California. It was established in 1917 as a maneuver area and field artillery target range and was closed in September 1994. Fort Ord was one of the most attractive locations of any U.S. Army post, because of its proximity to the beach and California...
, California. He was transferred to the Second U.S. Army Command at Fort Meade, Maryland, assigned to the 2nd US Army Showmobile, an entertainment unit. As both a director and a performer, he completed several tours with the performing group touring the Eastern, Southern and Midwestern United States. He received an Honorable Discharge and the rank of Specialist Four.
Work in theatre
While in the Army, Birney won an All Army Entertainment contest and received the Barter Theatre AwardBarter Theatre
Barter Theatre, located in Abingdon, Virginia, opened on June 10, 1933. It is one of the longest running professional theatres in the nation. In 1933, when the country was in the middle of the Great Depression, most patrons were not able to pay the full ticket price...
, an Equity contract with the Company for an entire season. He spent the next season with the Barter Theatre, the State Theatre of Virginia, starring or appearing in fifteen shows, directing two others. In the following two years he went on to perform with a range of companies and productions, Off Broadway and in several regional repertory theatres. His New York debut was with Joe Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival
Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in downtown New York . "The Public," as it is known, has many small theatres within it...
as Antipholus of Syracuse in Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors
Comedy Of Errors
Comedy Of Errors was a Glasgow-based progressive rock band formed in January 1984. Their first recording was a demo called "Ever be the Prize", and was recorded at a studio in Blanefield in 1985, and followed by a mini album in 1986....
.
Birney has worked continually in the theatre performing leading roles with some of the most important theatres in the country. His stage credits include starring roles on Broadway in Amadeus
Amadeus
Amadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer.It is based on the lives of the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, highly fictionalized.Amadeus was first performed in 1979...
, Benefactors
Benefactors (play)
Benefactors is a 1984 play by Michael Frayn. It is set in the 1960s and concerns an idealistic architect David and his wife Jane and their relationship with the cynical Colin and his wife Sheila. David is attempting to build some new homes to replace the slum housing of Basuto Road and is gradually...
, and Man and Superman
Man and Superman
Man and Superman is a four-act drama, written by George Bernard Shaw in 1903. The series was written in response to calls for Shaw to write a play based on the Don Juan theme. Man and Superman opened at The Royal Court Theatre in London on 23 May 1905, but with the omission of the 3rd Act...
, and major roles at the American Shakespeare Festival, New York's Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre, the New York Shakespeare Festival, Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum
Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739 seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles...
, Washington, D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre, Princeton’s McCarter Theatre
McCarter Theatre
McCarter Theatre is a not-for-profit, professional company on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. It is one of the most active cultural centers in the nation, offering over 200 performances of theater, dance, music and special events each year...
, the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival and numerous regional theatres around the country.
Representative roles include: Prince Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, Romeo and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, Richard II
Richard II (play)
King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
, Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
, Shylock in Merchant of Venice, Orsino in Twelfth Night, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature...
, Jack Tanner in Man and Superman, Christy Mahon in The Playboy of the Western World
The Playboy of the Western World
The Playboy of the Western World is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on January 26, 1907. It is set in Michael James Flaherty's public house in County Mayo during the early 1900s...
, Young Man in Summertree, Cusins in Major Barbara, Jerry in The Zoo Story
The Zoo Story
Not to be confused with Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives the book about Lowry Park ZooThe Zoo Story is American playwright Edward Albee's first play; written in 1958 and completed in just three weeks...
, Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...
, Arthur in Camelot
Camelot (musical)
Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King....
, Higgins in My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
, Matt Friedman in Talley's Folly
Talley's Folly
Talley's Folly is a 1979 play by American playwright Lanford Wilson, the second in his cycle, The Talley Trilogy between his plays Talley & Son and Fifth of July. Set in an old boathouse near rural Lebanon, Missouri in 1944, it is a romantic comedy following the characters Matt Friedman and Sally...
, David in Social Security
Social Security (play)
Social Security is a play by Andrew Bergman.It focuses on trendy Manhattan art gallery owners Barbara and David Kahn, whose life is upended when her Mineola housewife sister Trudy deposits their eccentric mother Sophie on the couple's doorstep while she and her husband Martin head to Buffalo to...
, Andrew in Love Letters
Love Letters (play)
Love Letters is a Pulitzer Prize for Drama nominated play by A. R. Gurney. The play centers on just two characters, Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III...
, Jamie in Moon for the Misbegotten, Victor in The Price
The Price
The Price may refer to:* The Price , by Arthur Miller* The Price , by Jim Starlin* The Price by Neil Gaiman, originally published in his book Smoke and Mirrors...
, Jaques in As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
, the Dauphin in King John, and Shaw in Dear Liar.
Audiobooks
He has recorded numerous audiobook bestsellers, including works by Dean KoontzDean Koontz
Dean Ray Koontz is a prolific American author best known for his novels which could be described broadly as suspense thrillers. He also frequently incorporates elements of horror, science fiction, mystery, and satire. A number of his books have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List, with...
, Paul Theroux
Paul Theroux
Paul Edward Theroux is an American travel writer and novelist, whose best known work of travel writing is perhaps The Great Railway Bazaar . He has also published numerous works of fiction, some of which were made into feature films. He was awarded the 1981 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his...
, Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard is an American author, best known for her narrative prose in both fiction and non-fiction. She has published works of poetry, essays, prose, and literary criticism, as well as two novels and one memoir. Her 1974 work Pilgrim at Tinker Creek won the 1974 Pulitzer Prize for General...
, Thomas Kenneally, Robert Hellenga and Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
. His reading of Julie Salomon’s The Christmas Tree was honored with the prestigious Audie Award, and he has also been the recipient of several AudioFile Magazine Earphone Awards. He also played Anakin Skywalker in the radio adaption
Star Wars (radio)
An expanded radio dramatization of the original Star Wars trilogy was produced in 1981, 1983, and 1996. The first two radio series, based on A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, were produced and broadcast by National Public Radio as part of NPR Playhouse...
of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
.
Television
Birney appeared frequently on television, building a career in movies, series and miniseries for television. He has starred in such series as Live Shot, St. ElsewhereSt. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
, The Adams Chronicles
The Adams Chronicles
The Adams Chronicles is a thirteen-episode miniseries by PBS that aired in 1976 to commemorate the American Bicentennial.-Synopsis:The series chronicles the story of the Adams political family over a 150-year span, including John Adams , his wife Abigail Adams, his son John Quincy Adams The Adams...
, Glitter
Glitter
Glitter describes an assortment of very small pieces of copolymer plastics, aluminum foil, titanium dioxide, iron oxides, bismuth oxychloride or other materials painted in metallic, neon and iridescent colors to reflect light in a sparkling spectrum...
, Serpico
Serpico (TV series)
Serpico is a short-lived American crime drama series that aired on NBC between September 1976 and February 1977. The series was based on the novel by Peter Maas and the 1973 film of the same name that starred Al Pacino in the title role...
and Bridget Loves Bernie
Bridget Loves Bernie
Bridget Loves Bernie is an American television comedy program created by Bernard Slade, the creator of the 1970–74 ABC sitcom, The Partridge Family, based loosely on the premise of the 1920s’ Broadway play and 1940s’ radio show Abie's Irish Rose...
. Miniseries credits include starring roles in: Testimony of Two Men, The Bible, Valley of the Dolls
Valley of the Dolls
Valley of the Dolls is a novel by American writer Jacqueline Susann, published in 1966. The "dolls" within the title is a slang term for downers, barbiturates used as sleep aids....
, Night of the Fox, Master of the Game
Master of the Game
Master of the Game is a novel by Sidney Sheldon, first published in hardback format in 1982. Spanning six generations in the lives of the fictional MacGregor/Blackwell family, the critically acclaimed novel debuted at number one on the New York Times Bestseller List...
and Seal Morning. He has also appeared in leading roles in many television films, among them Love and Betrayal, Long Journey Home, The Five of Me, Ohms, The Deadly Game
Serpico (TV series)
Serpico is a short-lived American crime drama series that aired on NBC between September 1976 and February 1977. The series was based on the novel by Peter Maas and the 1973 film of the same name that starred Al Pacino in the title role...
, and High Midnight. He was also in the soap Love Is A Many Splendored Thing with Donna Mills
Donna Mills
Donna Mills is an American actress, most well known for her role as Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing.-Early years:...
and Leslie Charleson
Leslie Charleson
Leslie Charleson is an American actress most famous for her work in daytime television.-Biography:Charleson was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Her career began on short-lived soap A Flame in the Wind in 1964...
.
Writing and directing
Birney has edited and adapted for the stage a two-character play based on some of Mark Twain’s shorter works and letters. The piece, Mark Twain's The Diaries of Adam and Eve, was presented on the PBS series American Playhouse. Developing the play subsequently for the stage, he has directed and starred in productions for regional theatres such as the Hartford Stage Company (opening the Mark Twain Festival in Hartford), the Barter Theatre, the Capital Repertory TheatreCapital Repertory Theatre
Capital Repertory Theatre is a 287-seat professional regional theatre in Albany, New York. Capital Rep is the only theatre in the Capital District in the League of Resident Theatres . The theatre operates under regulations dictated by Actors' Equity Association. The theatre is located at 111 N...
, City Stage, and on tour in performing arts centers across the country.
A second play, A Christmas Pudding, a Christmas Collage of song, story and poetry of the season has been published by the dramatist publisher, Samuel French Inc
Samuel French Inc.
Samuel French, Inc. is an American company, founded by Samuel French and Thomas Hailes Lacy, who formed a partnership to combine their existing interests in London and New York...
. A Christmas Pudding has been produced annually during the holiday season for over a decade by Birney in Los Angeles as a benefit for the homeless and abused children.
Professional associations
Birney has served on the Large Theatre Panel of the National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
and is a current board member of the Foundation for Bio-Medical Research.
He has also served on the Theatre and Dance Panel of the Jacob Javits Fellowship Foundation. For Dartmouth College he has served as a member of the Board of Overseers for the Hopkins Center for the Performing Arts. He initiated and chaired the Class of ’61 Legacy: The American Tradition in Performance, helping to create a substantial endowment dedicated to live performance at the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College.
For five years, Birney co-chaired the American Diabetes Association
American Diabetes Association
The American Diabetes Association is a United States-based association working to fight the consequences of diabetes, and to help those affected by diabetes...
, speaking and fund raising for the Association. He is an advisor for the Children’s Rights Council, a national nonprofit advocating access to both parents after divorce or separation, and has been a frequent spokesman for children’s literacy, health and welfare issues.
His contribution to classical theatre has been recognized with Washington's Shakespeare Theatre's Millennium Award.
Personal life
Birney married Meredith BaxterMeredith Baxter
Meredith Baxter , also known for some years as Meredith Baxter-Birney, is an American actress and producer. She is known for her acting roles including three television series: Family , an ABC television-network drama, Family Ties , an NBC television-network situation comedy, and Dan Vs. , a...
in 1974 (the two had met costarring on the sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie
Bridget Loves Bernie
Bridget Loves Bernie is an American television comedy program created by Bernard Slade, the creator of the 1970–74 ABC sitcom, The Partridge Family, based loosely on the premise of the 1920s’ Broadway play and 1940s’ radio show Abie's Irish Rose...
). They have three children: Kate (born 1974), and twins Peter and Mollie (born 1984). Birney and Baxter divorced in 1989. In 2011, Baxter said Birney had repeatedly psychologically and physically abused her during their marriage, allegations Birney has denied.
Feature films
- Caravan to VaccaresCaravan to Vaccarès (film)Caravan to Vaccarès is a 1974 British action film directed by Geoffrey Reeve and starring David Birney, Charlotte Rampling and Michael Lonsdale...
(1974) - Trial by CombatTrial by Combat (film)Trial by Combat is a 1976 film directed by Kevin Connor. It stars John Mills and Donald Pleasence.-Cast:* John Mills as Colonel Bertie Cook* Donald Pleasence as Sir Giles Marley* Barbara Hershey as Marion Evans* David Birney as Sir John Gifford...
(1976) - Au revoir à lundi (1979)
- Oh, God! Book IIOh, God! Book IIOh, God! Book II is a 1980 comedy film which is a sequel to the 1977 film, Oh, God!. It stars George Burns, Suzanne Pleshette, David Birney and Louanne Sirota.-Synopsis:...
(1980) - Prettykill (1987)
- Nightfall (1988)
- Touch and Die (1991)
Films for television
- Murder or Mystery (1974)
- Only with Married Men (1974)
- Someone's Watching Me! (1978)
- High Midnight (1979)
- OHMS (1980)
- Mom, the Wolfman and Me (1980)
- I Think I'm Having a Baby (1981)
- The Five of Me (1981)
- Power's Play (1986)
- The Long Journey Home (1987)
- The Diaries of Adam and Eve (1988)
- 15 and Getting Straight (1989)
- Love and Betrayal (1989)
- Night of the Fox (1990)
- Always Remember I Love You (1990)
- Keeping Secrets (1991)
- The Naked Truth (1992)
Mini-series
- The Adams ChroniclesThe Adams ChroniclesThe Adams Chronicles is a thirteen-episode miniseries by PBS that aired in 1976 to commemorate the American Bicentennial.-Synopsis:The series chronicles the story of the Adams political family over a 150-year span, including John Adams , his wife Abigail Adams, his son John Quincy Adams The Adams...
(1976) - Testimony of Two Men (1977)
- Great Heroes of the Bible (1978)
- Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls (1981)
- Master of the Game (1984)
- Secrets (1992)