Paul Shenar

Paul Shenar
Born	Albert Paul Shenar (1936-02-12)February 12, 1936 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	October 11, 1989(1989-10-11) (aged 53) West Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1971−1989
Partner	Jeremy Brett (late 1970s)

Albert Paul Shenar (February 12, 1936 − October 11, 1989) was an American actor and theater director, known for portraying the evil rat Jenner in Don Bluth's film, The Secret of NIMH (1982) and Bolivian drug lord Alejandro Sosa in Scarface (1983).

A veteran Broadway and Shakespearean actor, he was one of the twenty-seven founding members of the American Conservatory Theater.

Early life

Shenar was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the second of four boys (one older brother John, two younger brothers Michael and Marc), born from Mary Rosella (née Puhek) and Eugene Joseph Shenar. He was of Polish and Slovenian descent.

Career

Shenar became involved in theater at an early age, working in Milwaukee playhouse productions. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Air Force. Following his military career he began acting again. Shenar gained attention playing larger-than-life entertainment legends in late 1950s television films—Orson Welles in The Night That Panicked America and Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., in Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women. He portrayed the character John Carrington in Part II of the miniseries Roots.

In 1983, Shenar also portrayed Alejandro Sosa in Brian De Palma's Scarface and later portrayed Paulo Rocca in Raw Deal.

A founding member, actor, director and teacher of the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) in San Francisco, he played more than forty roles there, including Hamlet, Oedipus Rex and Brother Julian in Tiny Alice. In 1982, he portrayed Jenner in Don Bluth's The Secret of NIMH; his performance in the film impressed Bluth so much that he wanted Shenar to also portray Borf in Space Ace, but was unable to do so due to budget issues and the role ultimately went to Bluth himself.

Shenar continued to act during the late 1980s. He did a stage version of Macbeth in Los Angeles and appeared in films like Best Seller (1987), The Bedroom Window (1987), The Big Blue (1988), plus the TV film Rage of Angels: The Story Continues.

Personal life

Shenar was gay, and was romantically involved with the British actor Jeremy Brett during the 1970s; they were in a relationship that reportedly lasted from 1973 to 1978. After the couple separated, they remained close friends until Shenar's death in 1989.

Death

In 1983, Shenar was diagnosed with AIDS. He died from the disease on October 11, 1989. He was 53 years old. His remains were cremated and given to his executor, Thomas Wiley.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Lulu	Ludwig Schon
1982	The End of August	Arobin
	The Secret of NIMH	Jenner	Voice
1983	Deadly Force	Joshua Adams
	Scarface	Alejandro Sosa
1986	Dream Lover	Ben Gardner
	Raw Deal	Paulo Rocca
1987	The Bedroom Window	Collin Wentworth
	Man on Fire	Ettore
	Best Seller	David Madlock
1988	The Big Blue	Dr. Laurence

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	The ABC Afternoon Playbreak	Lt. Joe Moroni	Episode: "Alone with Terror"
1974	Columbo	Sgt. Young	Episode: "Publish or Perish"
	Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law	Blair	Episode: "House of Friends"
	Mannix	Johnny Sands	Episode: "The Dark Hours"
	Great Performances	De Guiche	Episode: "Cyrano de Bergerac"
	The Execution of Private Slovik	Crawford	TV movie
1975	Kojak	Arthur Harris	Episode: "Night of the Piraeus"
	Petrocelli	Archie LaSalle	Episode: "Death in Small Doses"
	The Invisible Man	Alexi Zartov	Episode: "Barnard Wants Out"
	Ellery Queen	Announcer Wendell Warren	Episode: "The Adventure of Miss Aggie's Farewell Performance"
	The Night That Panicked America	Orson Welles	TV movie
1976, 1977	Hawaii Five-O	Chadwick Todd Daniels	Episodes: "A Killer Grows Wings" "See How She Runs"
1976	The Keegans	Rudi Portinari	TV movie
	Gemini Man	Charles Edward Royce	Episode: "Pilot"
	The Bionic Woman	Dr. Alan Cory	Episode: "The Ghosthunter"
	Wonder Woman	Lieutenant Wertz	Episodes: "The Feminum Mystique: Part 1" "The Feminum Mystique: Part 2"
1977	Roots	John Carrington	Episode: "Part II"
	The Hostage Heart	James Cardone	TV movie
	Young Dan'l Boone	Hammond	Episode: "The Pirate"
	Logan's Run	David Eakins	Episode: "Man Out of Time"
	The Mask of Alexander Cross	Alexander Cross	TV movie
1978	Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women	Florenz Ziegfeld
	The Courage and the Passion	Nick Silcox
	Suddenly, Love	Jack Graham
1979	Family	Bob Gantry	Episode: "Moment of Truth"
1980	Hart to Hart	Michael Shillingford	Episode: "Night Horrors"
	Beulah Land	Roscoe Corlay	TV mini-series
1983, 1985	Dynasty	Jason Dehner Justin Dehner	Episodes: "The Search" "Samantha" "The Californians"
1983	Scarecrow and Mrs. King	James Delano	Episode: "Service Above and Beyond"
1984	Paper Dolls	Jonathan Westfield	Episode: #1.1
1985	Brass	Schuyler Ross	TV movie
	Spenser: For Hire	Matthew Lowington	Episode: "Discord in a Minor"
	Streets of Justice	J. Elliott Sloan	TV movie
	Best of the Football Follies	Narrator
1986	Dark Mansions	Phillip Drake
	Rage of Angels: The Story Continues	Jerry Worth
1987	Time Out for Dad	Chase

External links

• Paul Shenar at IMDb