Evan Handler
Encyclopedia
Evan Handler is an American
actor who is best known for playing Harry Goldenblatt, Charlotte's divorce attorney and later husband, on Sex and the City
, and Charlie Runkle, Hank's comically bumbling friend and agent, on Californication
.
in Montrose, New York
. He moved to New York City again at 17 to attend the Juilliard School
. He left school to accept a role in the film Taps
in 1980.
,Law & Order
, The West Wing, Miami Vice
, Sex and the City
, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
(as staff writer Ricky Tahoe
), Ed
, Friends
, Lost
and 24
. He was a co-star in the ABC
sitcoms It's Like, You Know...
and Hot Properties
and starred in the ill-fated FOX sitcom Woops!
. In 2000, Handler portrayed Larry Fine
in a made-for-TV biopic of The Three Stooges. Handler can currently be seen on Californication
where he plays Charlie Runkle, the best friend and agent to David Duchovny
's character, Hank Moody. Handler has also appeared in several major feature film roles, including Ransom, 1996; The Chosen
, 1981; Sweet Lorraine, 1987; and Taps
, 1981.
In 1991, Handler famously walked off stage during the first act of a performance of the Broadway play, I Hate Hamlet
after co-star Nicol Williamson
broke choreography during a swordfighting scene and struck Handler on the back. Handler responded later, stating, "I removed myself from the production because from the first day of rehearsals I have endured the show's producers condoning Nicol Williamson's persistent abusiveness to other cast members." Handler's understudy continued the performance, for which Gregory Peck
and Elaine Stritch
were in attendance.
in his mid-twenties. His second, It's Only Temporary...The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive, tells the story of his long journey toward gratitude in the years after his illness. The book was released in May 2008. Handler has written for several nationally distributed magazines, including ELLE, O, the Oprah Magazine, and Mirabella. Handler contributes regularly to The Huffington Post.
television documentary
Twitch & Shout, which Evan appeared in.
Evan married Elisa Atti, an Italian-born chemist, in 2003, and they have a daughter, Sofia Clementina Handler, born 17 January 2007.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor who is best known for playing Harry Goldenblatt, Charlotte's divorce attorney and later husband, on Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, and Charlie Runkle, Hank's comically bumbling friend and agent, on Californication
Californication (TV series)
Californication is an American comedy-drama that premiered on Showtime on August 13, 2007. The show was created by Tom Kapinos. The protagonist, Hank Moody , is a troubled novelist whose move to California, coupled with his writer's block, complicates his relationships with his longtime girlfriend...
.
Early life
Handler was born in New York City, the son of Enid Irene, a mental health administrator, and Murry Raymond Handler, an agency owner and advertising designer. He attended Hendrick Hudson High SchoolHendrick Hudson High School
Hendrick Hudson High School, nicknamed Hen Hud, is a public high school in Montrose, New York. It draws its students from the neighboring towns of Verplanck, Buchanan, Cortlandt Manor, Montrose, Crugers, the village of Croton-on-Hudson, and the city of Peekskill.There are approximately 900 students...
in Montrose, New York
Montrose, New York
Montrose, New York, is a hamlet within the Town of Cortlandt located near Croton-on-Hudson and Verplanck in the northwestern corner of Westchester County. The rural character of the hamlet is defined by the Hudson River, numerous wooded hills and steep slopes, wetland areas and beautiful...
. He moved to New York City again at 17 to attend the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
. He left school to accept a role in the film Taps
Taps (film)
Taps is a 1981 drama film starring George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton, Ronny Cox, as well as then up-and-comers Tom Cruise and Sean Penn. Hutton was nominated for a Golden Globe award in 1982 for his role in the film. The film was directed by Harold Becker. The screenplay by Robert Mark Kamen, James...
in 1980.
Acting
Handler has appeared in television dramas and sitcoms including Six Feet Under,FriendsFriends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
,Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
, The West Wing, Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
, Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was an American dramedy television series created and written by Aaron Sorkin. It ran for 22 episodes.The series takes place behind the scenes of a live sketch comedy show on the fictional television network NBS , whose format is similar to that of NBC's...
(as staff writer Ricky Tahoe
Ricky Tahoe
Ricky Tahoe is a fictional character on the US TV series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, played by Evan Handler.-Personal history:Ricky came to Studio 60 in the late 90's with his writing partner Ron Oswald. Ricky's relationship with Matt Albie can be described as brittle. Matt has referred to the...
), Ed
Ed (TV series)
Ed is an NBC television program co-produced by David Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated, NBC Productions, and Viacom Productions that aired from 2000 to 2004....
, Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
and 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
. He was a co-star in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcoms It's Like, You Know...
It's Like, You Know...
It's Like, You Know... was a short-lived American situation comedy television series broadcast by ABC, starring Jennifer Grey, Evan Handler, Steven Eckholdt, A.J. Langer and Chris Eigeman, about life in Los Angeles viewed through the eyes of a diehard New Yorker, Arthur Garment...
and Hot Properties
Hot Properties
Hot Properties is an ensemble ABC comedy featuring four women working together in a Manhattan real estate office. It was first aired on October 7, 2005. Often compared to Sex and the City and the CBS situation comedy Designing Women, this show features four single women professionals, each with...
and starred in the ill-fated FOX sitcom Woops!
Woops!
Woops! is an American post-apocalyptic sitcom that aired on the Fox network from September 27 to December 6, 1992.-Synopsis:The series centered around the six survivors of a world nuclear holocaust. The six of them live together in an abandoned farm house while trying to survive and re-establish...
. In 2000, Handler portrayed Larry Fine
Larry Fine
Louis Feinberg , known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American comedian and actor, who is best known as a member of the comedy act The Three Stooges.-Early life:...
in a made-for-TV biopic of The Three Stooges. Handler can currently be seen on Californication
Californication (TV series)
Californication is an American comedy-drama that premiered on Showtime on August 13, 2007. The show was created by Tom Kapinos. The protagonist, Hank Moody , is a troubled novelist whose move to California, coupled with his writer's block, complicates his relationships with his longtime girlfriend...
where he plays Charlie Runkle, the best friend and agent to David Duchovny
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...
's character, Hank Moody. Handler has also appeared in several major feature film roles, including Ransom, 1996; The Chosen
The Chosen (film)
The Chosen is a 1981 drama film directed by Jeremy Kagan, based on the bestselling book of the same name by Chaim Potok published in 1967. It stars Maximilian Schell and Rod Steiger. It won three awards at the 1981 Montréal World Film Festival.-Plot:...
, 1981; Sweet Lorraine, 1987; and Taps
Taps (film)
Taps is a 1981 drama film starring George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton, Ronny Cox, as well as then up-and-comers Tom Cruise and Sean Penn. Hutton was nominated for a Golden Globe award in 1982 for his role in the film. The film was directed by Harold Becker. The screenplay by Robert Mark Kamen, James...
, 1981.
In 1991, Handler famously walked off stage during the first act of a performance of the Broadway play, I Hate Hamlet
I Hate Hamlet
I Hate Hamlet is a dramatic comedy written in 1991 by Paul Rudnick. Set in John Barrymore's old apartment in New York City - at the time, the author's real-life home - the play follows successful television actor Andrew Rally as he struggles with taking on the dream role of Hamlet, dealing with a...
after co-star Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson is a Scottish-born English actor who was described by English playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando".-Early life:...
broke choreography during a swordfighting scene and struck Handler on the back. Handler responded later, stating, "I removed myself from the production because from the first day of rehearsals I have endured the show's producers condoning Nicol Williamson's persistent abusiveness to other cast members." Handler's understudy continued the performance, for which Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
and Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch is an American actress and vocalist. She has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs...
were in attendance.
Writing
Handler is also an author. His first book, Time On Fire: My Comedy of Terrors, tells the story of his unlikely recovery from Acute Myeloid LeukemiaAcute myeloid leukemia
Acute myeloid leukemia , also known as acute myelogenous leukemia, is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal white blood cells that accumulate in the bone marrow and interfere with the production of normal blood cells. AML is the most common acute...
in his mid-twenties. His second, It's Only Temporary...The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive, tells the story of his long journey toward gratitude in the years after his illness. The book was released in May 2008. Handler has written for several nationally distributed magazines, including ELLE, O, the Oprah Magazine, and Mirabella. Handler contributes regularly to The Huffington Post.
Personal life
Handler has a brother Lowell Handler who is also a writer as well as a photographer. He is known for his book Twitch & Shout: A Touretter’s Tale. Lowell was also the star, narrator, guide, and associate producer of the Emmy-nominated PBSPublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
television documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
Twitch & Shout, which Evan appeared in.
Evan married Elisa Atti, an Italian-born chemist, in 2003, and they have a daughter, Sofia Clementina Handler, born 17 January 2007.