Victor Garber

Early life

Victor Garber was born in London, Ontario, Canada, and is of Russian-Jewish descent. His father was Joseph Garber (died 1995), and his mother, Bessie Hope Wolf (died 2005), was an actress and singer and the host of At Home with Hope Garber. He has a brother, Nathan, and a sister, Alisa.

Garber attended Ryerson Elementary School and London Central Secondary School. He began acting at the age of nine in 1958. Garber enrolled in the children's program of the Grand Theatre, and, at age 16, he was accepted at a six-week summer theatre training program at the University of Toronto taught by Robert Gill. In New York, he studied acting at HB Studio.

Career

Music

In 1967, after a period working as a solo folk singer, Garber formed a folk group called The Sugar Shoppe with Peter Mann, Laurie Hood and Lee Harris. The group enjoyed moderate success, breaking into the Canadian Top 40 with a version of Bobby Gimby's song "Canada" (1967). Three other Sugar Shoppe songs made the lower reaches of the Canadian Top 100 in 1967 and 1968. The band had performed on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson before breaking up.

Theatre

Garber played Jesus in Toronto's 1972 production of Godspell, alongside Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Gilda Radner, Dave Thomas, Paul Shaffer and Martin Short. In 1985, he appeared in Noises Off at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.

He appeared on Broadway in the original productions of Deathtrap, Sweeney Todd and Noises Off (1983), and in the original Off-Broadway cast of Assassins, as well as the 1990s revival of Damn Yankees. In 1986, Garber appeared at Circle in the Square opposite Uta Hagen in You Never Can Tell. He was nominated for four Tony Awards and opened the 48th Tony Awards program in 1994 (the year he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Damn Yankees). In 1998, he co-starred on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning play Art with Alan Alda and Alfred Molina. In 2005, he played the role of Fredrik Egerman in the Los Angeles Opera production of A Little Night Music. He played Ben Stone in a critically praised Encores! staged concert production of Follies (2007) opposite Donna Murphy. In mid-2007, he played Garry Essendine in a production of Noël Coward's Present Laughter at Boston's Huntington Theatre. He reprised the role on Broadway in the Roundabout Theatre production, which opened in January 2010.

In January 2018, Garber replaced David Hyde Pierce as Horace Vandergelder in the Tony-winning Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! at the Shubert Theatre opposite Bernadette Peters. Garber began performances on January 20, prior to the press opening on February 22.

Garber received the 2018 Theatre World John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Film

His earlier film work includes Godspell (1973) as Jesus Christ (the part he played originally in the 1972 Canadian stage production) and Sleepless in Seattle (1993). He starred opposite Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, and Bette Midler in The First Wives Club as film producer Bill Atchison, husband of Hawn's character Elise Eliot, in 1996. In James Cameron's Titanic (1997), he essayed a Mid-Ulster accent to play the shipbuilder Thomas Andrews.

In 2009, Garber voiced DC Comics supervillain Sinestro in the direct-to-video animated film Green Lantern: First Flight. That same year, Garber played a Klingon interrogator in J. J. Abrams' Star Trek film; however, his scenes were deleted from the finished film.

In 2010, Garber had an uncredited cameo in The Town, directed by Ben Affleck, as David, a bank manager. Garber also appeared in the film Ice Quake. In late 2012, he appeared in Affleck's film Argo, about the Iran hostage crisis; Garber portrayed Canadian Ambassador to Iran Kenneth D. Taylor. He also co-starred in 2014 thriller Big Game.

Garber narrated the 2017 film They Shall Not Perish. Other film appearances include Annie (1999), Legally Blonde (2001), and Tuck Everlasting (2002).[[File:Victor Garber (2018) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Garber in March 2018]]

Television

On television, he has had roles on American and Canadian shows. Garber's first leading role on television show was in CBS's 1985 summer series I Had Three Wives. He had a recurring guest role on CTV's E.N.G. (1991–93). He portrayed Jack Bristow, the father of main character Sydney Bristow on ABC's Alias, earning three Emmy nominations. He next starred on the television series Justice (2006) on Fox and ABC's Eli Stone. He appeared as Olivier Roth in four episodes of the Canadian science drama ReGenesis. He appeared in the Fox series Glee in the third episode titled "Acafellas", as Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison)'s father Mr. Schuester. He played Martin Stein / Firestorm on The Flash starting with the episode "Crazy for You" (2015), before being spun off onto Legends of Tomorrow, where he was a series regular for its first and second seasons (2016–2017) and half of the third season (2017). Garber made his final appearance as a regular in the crossover event "Crisis on Earth-X" (2017), where Stein was killed off. However, he reprised his role in the series' 100th episode, "Wvrdr_error_100 not found" (2021), where Stein appears as part of Gideon's memories. Additionally, Garber made an independent return to The Flash in the season three episode "Duet" (2017) as the unnamed husband of gangster Digsy Foss (Jesse L. Martin) in a dream world. Garber reprised his role as Stein for a final time in a vocal cameo in "A New World" (2023), the series finale of The Flash. He also played the reoccurring character Admiral Halsey on The Orville.

Personal life

Garber prefers to keep his personal life private and has largely stayed out of the tabloids. In 2012, he referred publicly to being gay. Garber has been in a relationship with Canadian artist and model Rainer Andreesen since 2000. On October 10, 2015, Andreesen announced on his Instagram page that he and Garber had married in Canada.

Garber has type 1 diabetes. He was diagnosed in 1962 at the age of 12.

Garber is good friends with his Alias co-star Jennifer Garner, and officiated her 2005 wedding to Ben Affleck. Garber and his husband Rainer Andreesen were the only guests at the private wedding.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Source: Playbill

Awards and nominations

In addition to industry awards, Garber was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2022, with the rank of Officer.

References

References

1. (December 29, 2022). "Order of Canada appointees – December 2022".
2. [https://parade.com/.amp/467122/stephaniestephens/actor-victor-garber-talks-consumed-gmos-diabetes-and-discipline/ Garber references his dual citizenship], parade.com. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
3. (December 29, 2022). "Eugene Levy, Victor Garber Named to the Order of Canada".
4. Snook, Raven. (January 13, 2010). "Has Victor Garber found his Tony role?". Time Out.
5. [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/theatre/article/750873--victor-garber-jesus-got-the-ball-rolling Profile of Victor Garber], ''Toronto Star''. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
6. [https://hbstudio.org/about-hb-studio/alumni/ Profile], HBStudio.org. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
7. "Studebaker Hawk - les Sultans".
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9. "Toronto's Legendary Production of GODSPELL". godspell1972.wordpress.com.
10. Pincus-Roth, Zachary. (May 19, 2022). "'Godspell' in Toronto: An oral history of the legendary 1972 production". The Washington Post.
11. Sullivan, Dan. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-02-12-ca-4019-story.html "Stage Review : Laughter Is Loudest Part Of 'Noises Off'"] ''Los Angeles Times'', February 12, 1985
12. [https://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/history/ceremonies/200909161253134932312.html "Tony Award 1994"] {{Webarchive. link. (September 5, 2017 tonyawards.com. Retrieved September 5, 2017)
13. Rooney, David. [https://variety.com/2007/legit/reviews/follies-7-1200510463/ "Review: 'Follies'"] ''Variety'', February 9, 2007
14. [http://www.huntingtontheatre.org/news/photo/presentl.aspx ''Present Laughter''] {{Webarchive. link. (August 19, 2008 huntingtontheatre.org, May 18, 2007.)
15. Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/article/ill-see-you-again-present-laughter-concludes-broadway-run-com-166965# "I'll See You Again": 'Present Laughter' Concludes Broadway Run"] ''Playbill'', March 21, 2010
16. McPhee, Ryan. [http://www.playbill.com/article/bernadette-peters-is-broadways-new-hello-dolly-headliner-beginning-january-20# "Bernadette Peters Is Broadway's New 'Hello, Dolly!' Headliner Beginning January 20"] ''Playbill'', January 20, 2018
17. Stasio, Marilyn. [https://variety.com/2018/legit/reviews/hello-dolly-review-bernadette-peters-1202707835/ "Broadway Review: Bernadette Peters in 'Hello, Dolly!'"] ''Variety'', February 22, 2018
18. Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/bernadette-peters-and-glenda-jackson-among-presenters-for-2018-theatre-world-awards# "Bernadette Peters and Glenda Jackson Among Presenters for 2018 Theatre World Awards"] ''Playbill'', May 30, 2018
19. (October 27, 2009). "Star Trek Movie Deleted Klingon Scene Available Online + DVD/Blu-ray Debuts in Some Countries". TrekMovie.com.
20. Banks, Steven. (August 28, 2012). "Victor Garber Talks Continued Success With 'Argo'".
21. Longworth, Karina. (October 10, 2012). "With Argo, Ben Affleck Asks Us To Love Hollywood Again".
22. [https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3325509/samuel-jackson-hunts-big-game-poster/ Samuel Jackson Hunts a 'Big Game']
23. "Victor Garber on New Roles and New Fans: 'It's Slightly Daunting'".
24. (January 2, 2018). "Armenian Genocide Documentary 'They Shall Not Perish' Now Streaming on Netflix". [[Asbarez]].
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30. Francisco, Eric. (November 29, 2017). ""Crisis on Earth-X": 7 Big Ways the Arrowverse Changed Forever".
31. Agard, Chancellor. (October 13, 2021). "'Legends of Tomorrow' brings back 7 heroes in 100th episode photos".
32. Drum, Nicole. (June 3, 2023). "The Flash Recap With Spoilers: "A New World, Part One"".
33. Lovett, Jamie. (July 5, 2022). "The Orville's Victor Garber Still Disappointed by Cut Klingon Star Trek Role".
34. D'Zurilla, Christie. (January 15, 2013). "Victor Garber's gay, he confirms – but didn't you know already?". Los Angeles Times.
35. Drucker, Hal. (April 13, 2012). "Victor Victorious: Victor Garber on success, family and friends". Forever Young News.
36. Andreesen, Rainer. (October 10, 2015). "rainerarts: YES WE DID! #justgotmarried #elopedintofino #canada @therealvictorgarber #after16years". Instagram.
37. (April 6, 2017). "INTERVIEW: Actor Victor Garber Doesn't Let Type 1 Diabetes Define Him". Diabetes Daily.
38. Smith, Krista. (February 26, 2016). "Jennifer Garner's Frank Talk About Kids, Men, and Ben Affleck".
39. "Victor Garber (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors.
40. Smith, Tessa. (September 27, 2023). "Disney's Wish Characters Explained - Mama's Geeky".
41. Goldstein, Gary. (July 13, 2024). "Review: In fizzy facts-optional 'Fly Me to the Moon,' faking Apollo 11 and falling in love".
42. Abrams, Natalie. (January 20, 2017). "Who's Singing in 'The Flash'-'Supergirl' Musical Crossover?".
43. (October 13, 2021). "'Legends of Tomorrow' brings back 7 heroes in 100th episode photos".
44. Sava, Oliver. (November 8, 2017). "The Legends' trip to Victorian London sets up this season's Big Bad".
45. Jayson, Jay. (July 24, 2016). "Vixen Season 2 Sneak Peek Released".
46. Wickline, Dan. (November 18, 2017). "CW Releases 92 Images From Arrowverse Crossover: Crisis On Earth-X".
47. Dandeneau, Jim. (November 29, 2017). "Legends of Tomorrow Season 3 Episode 8 Review: Crisis on Earth-X Part 4".
48. Haring, Bruce. (October 26, 2018). "Victor Garber Joins 'Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City' In Recurring Role".
49. Townsend, Kelly. (February 28, 2020). "Family Law opens for business".
50. Hegedus, Eric. (November 12, 2021). "'The Simpsons' landmark gay episode keeps it in the family". New York Post.
51. Agard, Chancellor. (May 25, 2021). "'Legends of Tomorrow' breakout Beebo is getting an animated Christmas special on the CW".
52. [http://www.playbill.com/person/victor-garber-vault-0000053078# "Victor Garber Broadway"] ''Playbill''. Retrieved September 5, 2017
53. (December 29, 2022). "Order of Canada appointees – December 2022".
54. "2001 Primetime Emmy Awards".
55. "2002 Primetime Emmy Awards".
56. "2003 Primetime Emmy Awards".
57. "2004 Primetime Emmy Awards".
58. "2005 Primetime Emmy Awards".
59. "1998 Screen Actors Guild Award".
60. "2009 Screen Actors Guild Award".
61. "2013 Screen Actors Guild Award".
62. "Victor Garber - Artist".