Michael Moriarty mini-bio: As one of Hollywood's tallest actors standing at 6' 4", he will always be
noticed. Michael Moriarty is one of the great character T.V. actors of all
time. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1941. Moriarty was to move to
London, England, where he built up a name as a great stage actor. It was also
here he attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts as a Fullbright
Scholar and as a student of Stella Adler. Michael Moriarty also had early
employment selling encyclopedias and tyres. Moriarty from 1971 was to star in a
number of successful movies, like Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) and The Last
Detail (1973), but his biggest success was to follow when he won a Golden Globe
for his performance as the cruel, old, vicious Erik Dorf in "Holocaust" (1978)
(mini) (a 1978 mini series), which also stars James Woods.
Michael Moriarty was born in Detroit, attended the University of Detroit High
School and then matriculated from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, in
1963. His parents were Dr. George Moriarty, a Detroit police surgeon, and Eleanor
Paul of North Dakota. Both attended the University of Minnesota where they met and
married. Mr. Moriarty debuted on Broadway in "The Trial of The Catonsville Nine"
in which he portrayed George Mische. Michael's biggest breakthrough was his
portrayal on Broadway of Julian Weston in "Find Your Way Home" in 1974. He is,
however, most widely acclaimed for his role in "Law & Order" (1990), Ben Stone.
