Mike Nussbaum

American actor and director (1923–2023)

Annette Brenner

(m. 1949; died 2003)

Julie Brudlos

(m. 2004)

Children3, including Susan and Karen

Myron G. Nussbaum (December 29, 1923 – December 23, 2023) was an American actor and director.

Early years

Nussbaum was born in New York City to a Jewish family on December 29, 1923,^[2]^[3]^[4] and grew up in the Albany Park area of Chicago. He married soon after he returned to Chicago following military service during World War II. His Army assignments included being chief of the message center for General Dwight D. Eisenhower, in which he dispatched the official notification of Germany's surrender. For 20 years, he worked with his brother-in-law in an extermination business.^[5]

Career

Nussbaum's acting career started in community theatre in the 1950s. In the 1960s, he was active in a developing professional theatrical community in Chicago, meeting a young David Mamet in the process.^[5] He appeared in many of Mamet's plays both on and off Broadway, as well as in Chicago. His films include Field of Dreams, House of Games, Things Change, Fatal Attraction and Men In Black.

As a director, his work has included Where Have You Gone, Jimmy Stewart? (2002) by Art Shay.

Nussbaum also appeared in local TV commercials for Chicago's Northwest Federal Savings^[6] (with the jingle, "It's Northwest Federal Savings time, sixty-three hours a week").^[7] He also did national commercials for United Airlines and Scope mouthwash.^[6]

Nussbaum continued to act through his 90s, and he was still working on theatre projects up until his death in 2023.^[8]^[9]

Personal life and death

Nussbaum was married to Annette Brenner from 1949 until her death in 2003.^[10] He married Julie Brudlos in 2004.^[11] He had three children with his first wife, Jack, Karen, and Susan.^[5]

Nussbaum died at his Chicago home on December 23, 2023, aged 99.^[8]

Recognition

Nussbaum received the following Jeff Awards:^[12]

Year	Award	Play
1977	Director - Play	Lunching
1997	Actor in a Principal Role - Play	Racing Demon
2001	Special Award	---
2011	Actor in a Supporting Role - Play	Broadway Bound
2014	Actor in a Supporting Role - Play	Smokefall
2015	Actor in a Supporting Role - Play	The Price

Filmography

The Monitors (1969) as Exercise Chief
T.R. Baskin (1971) as Office Manager
Harry and Tonto (1974) as Old Age Home Clerk
Towing (1978) as Phil
House of Games (1987) as Joey
Fatal Attraction (1987) as Bob Drimmer
Things Change (1988) as Mr. Green
Field of Dreams (1989) as Principal
Desperate Hours (1990) as Mr. Nelson
Gladiator (1992) as Doctor
Gypsy (1993) as Weber, Los Angeles Theatre Manager ^[13]
Losing Isaiah (1995) as Dr. Jamison
Steal Big Steal Little (1995) as Sam Barlow, Clifford Downey's Attorney
Men In Black (1997) as Gentle Rosenberg
Early Edition (1997) - Yuri Rosanov
The Game of Their Lives (2005) as Johnny Abruzzo
Dirty Work (2006) as Gaga
Osso Bucco (2008) as Uncle Sil
Tom of Your Life (2020) as Father McMurphy
Fast & Furious 3

References

^ "Myron "Mike" Nussbaum | Heather Eidson Photography and Media". heathereidson.photoshelter.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
^ Green, Penelope (December 29, 2023). "Mike Nussbaum, Celebrated Chicago Theater Actor, Dies at 99". The New York Times. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
^ "Mike Nussbaum, the Oldest Working Jewish Actor, Tells All." Hodes, Laura. The Jewish Daily Forward. Forward.com Published November 9, 2015. Accessed February 25, 2016.
^ Simon, Scott. "At 94, Mike Nussbaum Is The Oldest Working Stage Actor In Show Biz". NPR. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hansen, Stephen E. "Mike Nussbaum Is 90 and Can Do More Pushups than You". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Zell, Fran (December 23, 1977). "Mike Nussbaum prefers to direct his energies here". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. p. 19wpn. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
^ "North West Federal Savings - "63 Hours a Week!" (Commercial, 1977)". Youtube.
^ ^a ^b Jones, Chris. "Chicago actor Mike Nussbaum dies at 99, the oldest working actor in the country". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
^ Steinberg, Neil (April 25, 2019). "Not only the oldest but one of the best: Mike Nussbaum on acting at 95". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on February 4, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
^ Groark, Virginia (April 7, 2003). "Activist, fun-loving mom, grandma". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. p. Section 4, P 11. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
^ Tribune, Nina Metz, Special to the (September 4, 2005). "Mike Nussbaum going strong". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved November 1, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "Archives". The Joseph Jefferson Awards. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
^ [1] imdb.com. Accessed January 8, 2023.