Paul Dooley: No. 1 Dad

The 82-year-old veteran actor has made a career of playing the parent of Oscar-winning performers, but it's his real-life family that really makes him beam.

June 26, 2010 at 6:38PM
Paul Dooley
Paul Dooley (Submitted photo/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Paul Dooley has good reason to be a proud papa -- both on- and off-screen. The 82-year-old veteran actor has made a career of playing the parent of Oscar-winning performers on TV and film, but it's his real-life family that really makes him beam. Dooley's daughter Savannah and his wife of 35 years, Winnie Holzman, are co-creators of "Huge." It's probably no coincidence that Dooley snagged a part in the new series as a mysterious cook.

His on-screen offspring include:

Mia Farrow, "A Wedding," 1978

Dennis Christopher, "Breaking Away," 1979

Molly Ringwald, "Sixteen Candles," 1984

Jon Cryer, "O.C. and Stiggs," 1985

Helen Hunt, "Mad About You," 1992-99

Philip Seymour Hoffman, "My Boyfriend's Back," 1993

Bess Armstrong, "My So-Called Life," 1994-95

Toni Collette, "Clockwatchers," 1997

Julia Roberts, "Runaway Bride," 1999

Christina Applegate, "Employee of the Month," 2004

NEAL JUSTIN

about the writer

about the writer

Neal Justin

Critic / Reporter

Neal Justin is the pop-culture critic, covering how Minnesotans spend their entertainment time. He also reviews stand-up comedy. Justin previously served as TV and music critic for the paper. He is the co-founder of JCamp, a non-profit program for high-school journalists, and works on many fronts to further diversity in newsrooms.

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