Michael Lerner, the Brooklyn-born character actor who played myriad imposing figures in his 60 years in the business, including movie mogul Jack Lipnick in Barton Fink, Jewish mobster Big Fat Bernie Gale in Safe Men and an angry publishing executive in Elf, has died at age 81.
His nephew, actor Sam Lerner, announced his death in an Instagram post on Sunday. Sam Lerner wrote that his uncle had died on Saturday but did not provide further details. Neither his nor Michael Lerner’s representatives immediately responded to requests for further comment.
“He was the coolest, most confident, talented guy,” Sam Lerner wrote. “Everyone that knows him knows how insane he was — in the best way … we’re all lucky we can continue to watch his work for the rest of time. RIP Michael, enjoy your unlimited Cuban cigars, comfy chairs and endless movie marathon.”
Born in 1941 to Romanian-Jewish parents and raised in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighbourhood, Michael Lerner began acting locally as a teenager and into his days at Brooklyn College, where he got the chance to play Willie Loman in Death of a Salesman.
He then received a Fulbright Scholarship and chose to study theatre at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, where he lived in an apartment with Yoko Ono for a time, appearing in her short film Smile alongside Paul McCartney.
Lerner moved to Los Angeles in 1969, at the urging of an agent who saw his work at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.
He started getting cast in television shows, including The Brady Bunch and The Rockford Files, making his film debut in Paul Mazursky’s Alex in Wonderland, alongside Charlotte Rampling.
He considered his first significant role to be in the television movie Ruby and Oswald — he played Jack Ruby — with Brian Dennehy.
Lerner worked with John Sayles on Eight Men Out, in which he played Arnold Rothstein, the crime boss who conspired to fix the 1919 World Series.
“Most of the time I don’t rehearse, but I do a lot of preparation. Especially for a biographical character or one of the studio heads,” he said in 2016. “I did a lot of research for Barton Fink and looked into Louis B Mayer and all the moguls in Hollywood.”
Joel and Ethan Coen’s Barton Fink, released in 1991, is the film Lerner is most remembered for.
“I had auditioned for Joel and Ethan before, for Miller’s Crossing. So I walked into the room, as the character, and I don’t say hello to anybody. And I sit down behind my desk and do this big speech: ‘Bart! Bart! So great to see you,’” Lerner said in 2016.
“I did the monologue the way I wanted to do it and I just walked out of the room … And Joel and Ethan were just sitting in a corner just laughing and laughing and that was it.”
Lerner, who drew inspiration from Preston Sturges movies, said the Coens did not give him much acting direction and “were a little nervous that I was talking so fast” but that they let him do what he wanted.
The role got him his first and only Oscar nomination, but in 1992, the Academy Award for supporting actor went to Jack Palance for City Slickers.
Lerner also said he was frequently recognised for his turns in Eddie Murphy’s Harlem Nights and Elf, as Fulton Greenway.
“Those are good parts but not great acting roles,” Lerner said.
And he never felt cheated by being known as a “character actor” rather than a leading man. In 1999, in an interview with Cigar Aficionado, he said: “Every role is a character role.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans
Jasmin Mujanović, Hurst Publishers
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Winner: Lava Spin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,410m
Winner: Mountain Hunter, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
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Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
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Investment raised: $4 million
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What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship
When: December 27-29, 2018
Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams
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The biog
Hometown: Birchgrove, Sydney Australia
Age: 59
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Red Sparrow
Dir: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Egerton, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons
Three stars
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
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Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Ultra processed foods
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Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
- Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
- Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
