George Dzundza

Dzundza was born in Rosenheim, Germany, to a Ukrainian father and Polish mother who were forced into factory labour by the Nazis. He spent the first few years of his life in displaced persons camps with his parents and one brother. Before immigrating to the United States in 1956, the family lived in Amsterdam for some years. His family then moved to the US, settling in New York City, where George attended Xavier High School. Dzundza attended St. John's University, studying speech and theatre arts. He is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

In 1987, Dzundza played Sam Hesselman, a disabled man in a wheelchair, in No Way Out and Commander Daskal in The Beast. His other major film roles include The Deer Hunter, White Hunter Black Heart, Basic Instinct, Crimson Tide, and Dangerous Minds. He was an original cast member of the long-running NBC drama Law & Order, playing NYPD Sergeant Max Greevey in the first season before leaving the show. Dzundza had his own 1981 sitcom series Open All Night, about the owner of a "Store 364" convenience store in Inglewood, CA.

His other, lesser-known acting work includes an appearance on The Waltons (1975), playing the Archie Bunker-like father in the short-lived Christina Applegate sitcom Jesse, and voicing supervillain the Ventriloquist in Batman: The Animated Series and Perry White in Superman: The Animated Series, as well as numerous minor roles within both shows. His Broadway theatre credits include Terrence McNally's The Ritz.

He portrayed American Nazi leader Frank Collin in the 1981 made-for-television movie Skokie.

In 2005, he played Anubis (aka "Jim") in the Stargate SG-1 Season 8 episode "Threads".

More recently, Dzundza portrayed George O'Malley's father Harold on Grey's Anatomy.

Television

Film