Larry Cedar

Larry Cedar
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Portrays:	Cadet Shields
Date of Birth:	March 6, 1955
Date of Death:	Missing required parameter 1=month!
Age:	70
Nationality:	USA
Related Media
		@ BW Media
Official Site
IMDb profile

Larry Frank Cedar (born March 6, 1955) is an American actor who portrayed Cadet Shields in the Original Series episode "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part I."

Career

Early Life and Education

Cedar's parents initially informed him that he could choose any college major except acting. He pursued biology and pre-medicine studies, which later shifted to communications and pre-law, ultimately leading to his acceptance into Hastings Law School. However, after secretly applying to the MFA acting program at UCLA, Cedar was accepted and chose to follow his heart into an acting career. He later described telling his father he would pursue acting instead of law school as "the greatest challenge I ever faced as an actor." Cedar graduated from UCLA in 1978 with his Master of Fine Arts degree.

While at UCLA, Cedar won the Hugh O'Brian Acting Competition award for Best Actor, which resulted in a one-year artist development contract with Universal Studios. This contract led to his first television pilot and launched his professional acting career.

Film

Cedar appeared in a memorable role in Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), playing "The Creature on the Wing" opposite John Lithgow in the segment directed by George Miller. The role involved flying on a wire in near-atmospheric conditions on a Warner Bros. sound stage, suspended over a mock hydraulic jet airplane wing. In 1988, he starred opposite Rebecca De Mornay and Mary Gross in the Ivan Reitman-produced comedy Feds.

His film credits include Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) directed by Terry Gilliam, Constantine (2005) opposite Keanu Reeves, Hollywoodland (2006) with Ben Affleck and Diane Lane, and Towelhead (2008), the directorial debut of Alan Ball. In 2010, he played Principal Ben Sandborn in The Crazies. More recent film work includes The Call of the Wild (2020), where he appeared as the Grocer in the Chris Sanders-directed adaptation opposite Harrison Ford.

Television

Children's Television

Cedar is particularly well known for his work on the Children's Television Workshop mathematics program Square One Television (also known as Square One TV), which aired on PBS from 1987 to 1994. During his six seasons on the show in New York, Cedar was a regular cast member who hosted several game show segments, including "But Who's Adding?/But Who's Multiplying?," "Square One Squares," and "Square One Challenge." The show was designed to teach mathematics concepts through sketches, music videos, and game segments.

He also starred as Ollie in 40 episodes of the Fox science fiction family series A.J.'s Time Travelers.

Dramatic Television

Cedar's most acclaimed television role was as Leon, an opium-addicted thief and faro dealer, in the HBO western series Deadwood. He recurred in this role for three seasons in the David Milch-created series, working opposite Powers Boothe and Ian McShane. In the series, Leon worked for Cy Tolliver while simultaneously acting as Al Swearengen's informant inside the Bella Union saloon in exchange for opium. Cedar considers Leon one of his most memorable roles, stating the character "really got under my skin."

From 2011 to 2012, Cedar portrayed Cornelius Hawthorne, the homophobic father of Chevy Chase's character Pierce Hawthorne, in two episodes of the NBC comedy series Community. Other notable television appearances include Mad Men, Grey's Anatomy, Law & Order True Crime, Marvel's Runaways, and Young Sheldon.

Science Fiction Television

In addition to his Battlestar Galactica role, Cedar has appeared in multiple Star Trek franchise productions. He played Nydrom in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Armageddon Game," Jal Tersa in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Alliances," and Tessic in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Marauders."

He has also appeared in Stargate SG-1 as Prior #2 in the episode "Origin," directed by Brad Turner.

Theater

Cedar is an accomplished stage performer with extensive theatrical credits. He has been nominated for two Los Angeles Theater Alliance Ovation Awards: as Lord Oakley in Anything Goes opposite Rachel York, and as Sipos in She Loves Me, for which he won Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

His other stage work includes portraying Hoagy Carmichael in Hoagy, Bix, and Wolfgang Beethoven Bunkhaus at Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum, as Vernon opposite Lea Thompson in They're Playing Our Song, and as Secretary Thompson in 1776 opposite Roger Rees. He appeared in the one-man play Billy Bishop Goes to War at the Colony Theatre.

In 2013, Cedar starred in King Lear with The Porters of Hellsgate. For the 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival, he developed and starred in Orwellian: Rants, Recollections, and Cautionary Tales From The Works of Eric Arthur Blair, a one-hour adaptation of three works by George Orwell: Down and Out in Paris and London, Animal Farm, and Nineteen Eighty-Four. The play was produced by The Porters of Hellsgate in conjunction with the Orwell estate.

Cedar has also adapted and starred in several one-man stage productions based on works by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Notes from Underground) and Franz Kafka (Letter to My Father, The Burrow, and The Hunger Artist).

Voice Work

Cedar is a prolific voice actor who has lent his voice to hundreds of commercials, cartoon series, and video games. He specializes in legal disclaimers and "speed talking" for radio commercials, having been hired to read disclaimers for companies including Volkswagen. Demonstrations of his voiceover work are available at www.disclaimerman.com. His animated voice work includes characters in Freakazoid!, Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs, and Samurai Jack.

His video game voice work includes portraying Loki in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (2006), as well as characters in Star Wars: Jedi Knight – Jedi Academy (2003), Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011), Ultimate Spider-Man (2005), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), and Hitman: Absolution.

Personal Life

Cedar comes from a family of actors, including his late brother Jon Cedar (1931-2011), who appeared in Hogan's Heroes and numerous films, and his late brother George Cedar.

External links

• Larry Cedar article at Memory Alpha, the Star Trek wiki.