Joe Seneca
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joe Seneca (January 14, 1919 – August 15, 1996) was an American film and television actor who had a lengthy Hollywood career, portraying bit parts in many major films and television sitcoms spanning from the 1970s to the 1990s.
Seneca was born Joel McGhee in Cleveland, Ohio. Prior to his Hollywood career, Seneca belonged to the R&B singing group "The Three Riffs", performing at upscale supper clubs in New York City. He was also a songwriter and had big hits with "Talk to Me" which was sung by Little Willie John and "Break It to Me Gently", which was a smash twice, once by Brenda Lee in 1962, and once by Juice Newton in 1982. His song "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" was recorded by Ike & Tina Turner, Manfred Mann and The Spencer Davis Group.
Arguably his most well-known roles are that of bluesman Willie Brown in Crossroads and Dr. Meddows in The Blob, the evil head of a government team sent to contain the title creature.
Seneca also made multiple appearances on The Cosby Show as Hillman President Dr. Zachariah J. Hanes. He also played Alvin Newcastle [1]on an episode of The Golden Girls entitled "Old Friends."
Joe appeared in Spike Lee's "School Daze" as the Mission College President McPherson in 1988.
Joe appeared on Matlock: The Blues Singer Episode May 9, 1989.
Joe also appeared in Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" Music Video In the late 80's.
He died from asthma at the age of 77.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Joe Seneca, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 11.885 |
Birthday | 1919-01-14 |
Place of Birth | Cleveland, Ohio, USA |
Also Known As |
1985
Silverado
6.963/693
Four unwitting heroes cross paths on their journey to the sleepy town of Silverado. Little do they know the town where their family and friends reside...
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Silverado
1986
Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story
0/0
Outraged by the treatment of New York City’s unhoused residents, an activist brings national attention to the issue by taking their case to Congress.
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Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story
1982
The Verdict
7.457/610
Frank Galvin is a down-on-his-luck lawyer and reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing, when a former associate reminds him of his obligations in a m...
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The Verdict
1988
The Blob
6.7/847
In Arborville, California, three high school students try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touch...
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The Blob
1991
Mississippi Masala
6.286/77
Years after her Indian family was forced to flee their home in Uganda, twentysomething Mina finds herself helping to run a motel in the faraway land o...
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Mississippi Masala
1988
School Daze
5.88/96
Fraternity and sorority members clash with other students at a historically black college during homecoming weekend.
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School Daze
1986
Crossroads
7.294/411
A wanna-be blues guitar virtuoso seeks a long-lost song by legendary musician, Robert Johnson.
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Crossroads
1994
The Vernon Johns Story
9/1
In 1948, Johns served as the outspoken spiritual leader of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Incensed at the racial injustice t...
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The Vernon Johns Story
1974
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
7.4/492
In New York, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. Even if it's paid, how could they get away?
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The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
1977
Wilma
6.4/5
The story of American track sprinter Wilma Rudolph, who overcame physical handicaps to win three gold medals in the 1960 Olympics.
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Wilma
1984
The Evil That Men Do
5.835/100
Professional killer Holland is forced out of retirement to break a Central American government's political torture ring when one of his friends, a Lat...
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The Evil That Men Do
1987
A Gathering of Old Men
6/10
A regular day in a Louisiana sugarcane plantation changes course when a local white farmer is shot in self defense. A group of old, black men takes a...
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A Gathering of Old Men
1984
The House of Dies Drear
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A young black man and his family move into a home in rural Ohio and discover that during the Civil War it was used by a Dutch immigrant to smuggle run...
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The House of Dies Drear
1992
Malcolm X
7.536/1599
A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he b...
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Malcolm X
1979
Kramer vs. Kramer
7.6/2152
Ted Kramer is a career man for whom his work comes before his family. His wife Joanna cannot take this anymore, so she decides to leave him. Ted is no...
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Kramer vs. Kramer
1996
A Time to Kill
7.386/2443
A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.
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A Time to Kill
1984
Solomon Northup's Odyssey
6.2/5
This is based on a true story. Solomon Northrop is a black man in the mid 19th century before slavery was abolished. He's a born free man who works as...
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Solomon Northup's Odyssey
1993
The Saint of Fort Washington
6.458/36
Matthew, a young schizophrenic, finds himself out on the street when a slumlord tears down his apartment building. Soon, he finds himself in even more...
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The Saint of Fort Washington
1979
The Tenth Month
8/2
An unmarried, middle-aged woman accidentally gets pregnant by an internationally renowned pianist and decides to keep and raise the baby on her own.
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The Tenth Month
1987
Moments Without Proper Names
0/0
Moments Without Proper Names makes Parks makes himself the subject, tracing his development as a person and an artist through an hourlong, non-narrati...
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Moments Without Proper Names
1989
Tarzan in Manhattan
3.9/18
The ape man flies to New York, where cabby Jane and her father help him rescue Cheetah from a madman.
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Tarzan in Manhattan
1981
The Gentleman Bandit
6/2
Based on the real-life ordeal of Baltimore priest Bernard Pagano, who was accused of several armed robberies in the late Seventies.
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The Gentleman Bandit
1987
Big Shots
6.3/13
Following the death of his father, a suburbanite runs away from home and winds up on Chicago's South Side. After being mugged, the boy befriends a you...
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Big Shots
1987
The Way You Make Me Feel
10/1
short film for Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel"
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