David Ogden Stiers Biography

David Ogden Stiers (October 31, 1942 - March 3, 2018) was an American actor, voice actor and musician, noted for his role on the television series M*A*S*H as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III and the supernatural fiction drama The Dead Zone as Reverend Gene Purdy. He appeared prominently in the 1980s in the role of District Attorney Michael Reston in several Perry Mason TV movies and voiced Cogsworth in the 1991 film Beauty and the Beast and Dr. Jumba Jookiba in the 2003 film Lilo & Stitch and its sequels.

Early life and education

Stiers was born in Peoria, Illinois, the son of Margaret Elizabeth (ne Ogden) and Kenneth Truman Stiers. He attended Urbana High School as a freshman; one of his classmates was Roger Ebert. Stiers moved to Eugene, Oregon, where he graduated from North Eugene High School and briefly attended the University of Oregon. He later moved to San Francisco, where he performed with the California Shakespeare Theater, San Francisco Actors Workshop, and the improv group The Committee, whose members included Rob Reiner, Howard Hesseman and Peter Bonerz. Stiers studied at the Juilliard School (Drama Division Group 1: 1968-1972). During his studies, Stiers was mentored by actor John Houseman, whose City Center Acting Company he later joined.

Career

Early acting credits

Stiers first appeared in the Broadway production The Magic Show in 1974 in the minor role of Feldman. Subsequent early credits include The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Kojak, and Rhoda. Stiers also appeared in the pilot of Charlie's Angels as the team's chief back-up.

M*A*S*H (1977-1983)

In 1977, Stiers joined the cast of the CBS sitcom M*A*S*H. As Major Charles Emerson Winchester III, Stiers filled the void created by the departure of actor Larry Linville's Frank Burns character. In contrast to the buffoonish Burns, Winchester was a well-spoken and talented surgeon who presented a different type of foil to Alan Alda's Hawkeye Pierce and Mike Farrell's B.J. Hunnicutt. Burns usually served as the butt of practical jokes instigated by Pierce or Hunnicutt, was frequently inundated by insults for which he had no comebacks, and his surgical skills were often harshly criticized. Winchester, however, presented a challenge to his colleagues' displays of irreverence because his surgical skills could match or even outshine their own, and when it came to pranks and insults, he could give as good as he got; his aristocratic manner and aversion to puerile behavior served as the target for his fellow surgeons' barbs and jokes. At times, however, Winchester could align himself with Pierce and Hunnicutt and, a few tantrums aside, he held considerable admiration for his commanding officer, Harry Morgan's Col. Sherman T. Potter. For his portrayal of the pompous but nonetheless multifaceted Boston aristocrat, Stiers received two Emmy Award nominations.

Other television work

After M*A*S*H completed its run in 1983, Stiers expanded his work on television with regular guest appearances on North and South; Star Trek: The Next Generation; Murder, She Wrote; Matlock; Touched by an Angel; Wings; and Frasier, along with a recurring role in Season 1 of Two Guys and a Girl as Mr. Bauer. In 1984, he portrayed United States Olympic Committee founder William Milligan Sloane in the NBC miniseries The First Olympics: Athens 1896 for which he received another Emmy nomination. Beginning in 1985, Stiers made his first of eight appearances in Perry Mason made-for-TV movies as District Attorney Michael Reston. He had guest appearances on ALF and Matlock. He appeared in two unsuccessful television projects, Love & Money and Justice League of America (as the Martian Manhunter). In 2002, Stiers started a recurring role as the Reverend Purdy on the successful USA Network series The Dead Zone with Anthony Michael Hall. In 2006, he was cast as the recurring character Oberoth in Stargate Atlantis.

Voice work

Stiers provided voice work for dozens of film and television projects. His first work was on one of George Lucas' earliest films, the critically acclaimed THX 1138, in which he was incorrectly billed as "David Ogden Steers". Stiers voiced PBS documentary films such as Ric Burns' project New York: A Documentary Film, 2010 Peabody Award winner The Lord is Not on Trial Here Today and several episodes of the documentary television series The American Experience, including Ansel Adams (2002), also directed by Ric Burns. In 1992, he voiced Mr. Piccolo in the animated English-dubbed version of Porco Rosso. He collaborated with Disney on eight animated features, including 1991's Beauty and the Beast (as Cogsworth, also providing the opening narration), 1995's Pocahontas (as Governor Ratcliffe and Wiggins), 1996's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (as the Archdeacon), 2001's Atlantis: The Lost Empire (as Mr. Harcourt), and 2002's Lilo & Stitch (as Jumba Jookiba). He lent his voice to the direct-to-video Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003) as the Penguin. Stiers did voice work for Solovar in a two-part episode "The Brave and The Bold" of Justice League and voiced Solovar again in a Justice League Unlimited episode "Dead Reckoning". He voiced Mr. Jolly from Teacher's Pet. He voiced the king and prime minister in the 2004 short film The Cat That Looked at a King. In Hoodwinked (2005), the animated movie partly based on Little Red Riding Hood, Stiers voiced the role of Nicky Flippers, the frog detective who is dispatched to Granny's house. He voiced Pop's father, Mr. Maellard, in the animated TV series Regular Show, which debuted in 2010. Stiers had voices in several video games, including Icewind Dale, Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, as Jeff Zandi in Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, and as Esher in Myst V: End of Ages.

Stiers was the reader for numerous audiobook versions of novels, include Tom Wolfe's A Man in Full (1998), and Colleen McCullough's The First Man in Rome.

Music

Stiers was the associate conductor for the Newport (Oregon) Symphony Orchestra and the Ernest Bloch Music Festival. He also guest-conducted over 70 orchestras around the world, including the Oregon Mozart Players, the Vancouver Symphony, the Virginia Symphony, the Oregon Chamber Players, the Yaquina (Oregon) Chamber Orchestra, as well as orchestras in San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago and Toronto.

Death

Stiers died at his home in Newport, Oregon, on March 3, 2018, at the age of 75, from complications related to bladder cancer.

Filmography

Film and television

Year	Genre	Title	Episodes	Role	Notes
1971	Film	Drive, He Said		Pro Owner
1971	Film	THX 1138		Announcer	voice actor
1975	TV series	Kojak	"Money Back Guarantee"	Bryan LeBlanc / Mr. Roberts	1 episode
1976	TV series	Charlie's Angels	"Charlie's Angels" (Pilot)	Scott Woodville	1 episode
1976	TV series	Doc	7 episodes	Stanley Moss
1976-1977	TV series	The Mary Tyler Moore Show	3 episodes	Mel Price
1976	TV series	Phyllis	"The Wrong Box"	Mr. Raymond	1 episode
1976-1977	TV series	Rhoda	2 episodes	Dr. Curt Dreiser / George
1977	Film	Oh, God!		Mr. McCarthy, District Produce Manager
1977	TV series	This Is the Life	"Undertow"	Harry	1 episode
1977	TV series	The Tony Randall Show	"Case: The People Speak"	Cleaver	1 episode
1977-1983	TV series	M*A*S*H	131 episodes	Major Charles Emerson Winchester III
1978	Film	The Cheap Detective		Captain
1978	Film	Magic		Todson
1978	TV series	The Paper Chase	"An Act of Desperation"	Woodrow Tullis	1 episode
1979	TV film	Breaking Up Is Hard to Do		Howard Freed
1981	TV series	CBS Afternoon Playhouse	"Me and Mr. Stenner"	Peter Stenner	1 episode
1981	Film	Harry's War		Ernie
1983	TV series	American Playhouse	"The Innocents Abroad"	Doc	based on the travel book by Mark Twain
1984	TV miniseries	The First Olympics: Athens 1896		William Milligan Sloane
1985	TV film	The Bad Seed		Emory Breedlove
1985	Film	Better Off Dead...		Al Meyer
1985	Film	Creator		Dr. Sid Kullenbeck
1985	Film	The Man with One Red Shoe		The Conductor
1985	TV miniseries	North and South	6 episodes	Congressman Sam Greene
1986	TV film	Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry		Horton Delafield
1986-1996	TV series	Murder, She Wrote	3 episodes	Howard Deems / Sergei Nemiroff / Aubrey Thornton
1986	TV miniseries	North and South, Book II	6 episodes	Congressman Sam Greene
1987	TV film	The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory		Colonel Black
1987	TV film	J. Edgar Hoover		Franklin D. Roosevelt
1987-1988	TV series	Matlock	3 episodes	Thomas Baldwin / Arthur Hampton
1987	TV film	Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love		D.A. Michael Reston
1987	TV film	Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam		D.A. Michael Reston
1987	TV film	Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun		D.A. Michael Reston
1987	TV film	Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel		D.A. Michael Reston
1987	TV film	Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star		D.A. Michael Reston
1987	TV film	Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit		D.A. Michael Reston
1988	Film	The Accidental Tourist		Porter Leary
1988	TV series	ALF	2 episodes	Flakey Pete
1988	Film	Another Woman		Young Marion's Father
1988	TV film	Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace		D.A. Michael Reston
1988	TV film	Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake		D.A. Michael Reston
1989	TV film	Day One		Franklin D. Roosevelt
1989	TV film	The Final Days		Alexander Haig
1989	TV series	The Ray Bradbury Theater	"The Pedestrian"	Leonard Mead	1 episode
1990	TV series	CBS Schoolbreak Special	"American Eyes"	Jack Henderson	1 episode
1990	TV series	Married People	"Term Paper"	Dr. Cashin	1 episode
1990	TV series	Wings	"A Little Nightmare Music"	Edward Tinsdale	1 episode
1991	Animated film	Beauty and the Beast		Cogsworth / Narrator	voice actor
1991	Film	Doc Hollywood		Mayor Nick Nicholson
1991	Film	Shadows and Fog		Hacker
1991	TV series	Star Trek: The Next Generation	"Half a Life"	Timicin	1 episode
1991	TV film	Wife, Mother, Murderer		John Homan
1992	Film	The Last of His Tribe		Dr. Saxton Pope
1992	Animated film	Porco Rosso		Grandpa Piccolo	voice actor; English version
1993	TV series	Jack's Place	"Forever and Ever"	Flower Man	1 episode
1994	TV series	The Boys Are Back	"A Tree Dies in Portland"	George Spivack	1 episode
1994	Film	Iron Will		J.W. Harper
1994	TV film	Past Tense		Dr. Bert James
1995	Film	Bad Company		Judge Beach
1995	Film	Mighty Aphrodite		Laius
1995	Film	Napoleon		Koala / Owl	voice actor
1995	Animated film	Pocahontas		Governor Ratcliffe/Wiggins	voice actor
1995	Film	Steal Big Steal Little		Judge Winton Myers
1995-2011	TV documentary series	American Experience	32 episodes	Narrator	voice actor
1996	TV series	Cybill	"Educating Zoey"	Val	1 episode
1996	Film	Everyone Says I Love You		Holden's Parent
1996	Animated film	The Hunchback of Notre Dame		Archdeacon	voice actor
1996	TV series	Poltergeist: The Legacy	"The Twelfth Cave"	Randolph Hitchcock	1 episode
1996	TV film	To Face Her Past		Ken Bradfield
1997	Animated film	Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas		Cogsworth	voice actor; direct-to-video
1997	TV series	Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman	"Farewell Appearance"	Theodore Quinn	1 episode
1997	TV film	Justice League of America		J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter
1997	Film	Jungle 2 Jungle		Alexei Jovanovic
1997	Film	Meet Wally Sparks		Governor Floyd Preston
1998	Animated TV series	101 Dalmatians: The Series	"Out to Launch/Prophet and Loss"	VLAD	voice actor
1998	TV series	Ally McBeal	"They Eat Horses, Don't They?"	Judge Andrew Peters	1 episode
1998	Animated film	Belle's Magical World		Cogsworth	voice actor; direct-to-video
1998	Film	Krippendorf's Tribe		Henry Spivey
1998	Animated film	Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World		Governor Ratcliffe/Duke of Buckingham	voice actor; direct-to-video
1998	TV series	Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place	13 episodes	Mr. Bauer
1999	Animated TV series	The Angry Beavers	"Kreature Komforts/Oh, Brother?"	Byron Beaver	voice actor
1999	Animated film	My Neighbors the Yamadas		Narrator	voice actor; English version
1999	TV series	The Outer Limits	"The Shroud"	Reverend Dr. Thomas Tilford	1 episode
1999	TV series	The Practice	"Infected"	Judge Hollings	1 episode
1999-2000	TV series	Love & Money	13 episodes	Nicholas Conklin
2000	TV series	Bull	4 episodes	Gardner Blackstone
2000	TV series	The Trouble With Normal	"Say Cheese"	Mr. Harrington	1 episode
2000	Animated TV series	The Wild Thornberrys	"Luck Be an Aye-Aye"	Karroo	voice actor; 1 episode
2000-2002	Animated TV series	Teacher's Pet	13 episodes	Mr. Jolly / Narrator / Congressman	voice actor
2001	Film	Tomcats		Dr. Crawford
2001	Animated film	Atlantis: The Lost Empire		Fenton Q. Harcourt	voice actor
2001	Film	The Curse of the Jade Scorpion		Voltan
2001	Film	The Majestic		Doc Stanton
2001	Animated film	Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse		Cogsworth	voice actor; direct-to-video
2001	TV film	Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man		Stanford Thornton	Murder, She Wrote TV series
2001	Animated film	Spirited Away		Kamajii	voice actor; English version
2001-2002	Animated TV series	Disney's House of Mouse	3 episodes	Cogsworth	voice actor
2002	TV series	Arli$$	"It's All in the Game"	Eli	1 episode
2002	Animated TV series	Justice League	"The Brave and the Bold" "The Brave and the Bold: Part II"	Solovar / Car Owner	voice actor; 3 episodes
2002	Animated film	Lilo & Stitch		Dr. Jumba Jookiba	voice actor
2002-2007	TV series	The Dead Zone	40 episodes	Reverend Eugene 'Gene' Purdy
2003	Animated film	Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman		Penguin	voice actor; direct-to-video
2003	TV series	Frasier	"Fathers and Sons"	Dr. Leland Barton	1 episode
2003	Animated film	Stitch! The Movie		Dr. Jumba Jookiba	voice actor; direct-to-video
2003	TV series	Touched by an Angel	2 episodes	Jones
2003-2006	Animated TV series	Lilo & Stitch: The Series	66 episodes	Dr. Jumba Jookiba
2004	TV film	Cable Beach		Doc McWhirter
2004	Live-action/animated short film	The Cat That Looked at a King		The King / The Prime Minister	voice actor
2004	Animated film	Springtime with Roo		Narrator	voice actor; direct-to-video
2004	Animated TV series	Static Shock	"Hoop Squad"	Dr. Odium	voice actor
2004	Animated film	Teacher's Pet		Mr. Jolly	voice actor
2005	Animated TV series	American Dragon: Jake Long	"The Talented Mr. Long"	Narrator / Crew Man	voice actor
2005	Animated film	Hoodwinked!		Nicky Flippers	voice actor
2005	Animated film	Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch		Dr. Jumba Jookiba	voice actor; direct-to-video
2005	TV documentary series	Nova	"A Daring Flight"	Narrator	voice actor
2005	Animated short video	The Origin of Stitch		Dr. Jumba Jookiba	voice actor; 4:35 minutes uncredited
2005	Animated film	Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie		Narrator	voice actor; direct-to-video
2006	Animated TV series	Justice League	"Dead Reckoning"	Solovar	voice actor; 3 episodes total
2006	Film	Lady in the Water		Narrator	uncredited
2006	Animated film	Leroy & Stitch		Dr. Jumba Jookiba	voice actor; direct-to-video
2006-2007	TV series	Stargate Atlantis	3 episodes	Oberoth
2006	TV series	Worst Week of My Life	"Pilot"	Jenson	1 episode; American TV series
2007	TV documentary series	The Power of Choice: The Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman		Narrator
2008	TV film	Together Again for the First Time		Max Frobisher
2010	TV series	Dino Dan		Wandering Oaken
2011	TV series	Leverage	"The Lonely Hearts Job"	Walt Whitman Wellesley IV	1 episode
2011-2016	Animated TV series	Regular Show	18 episodes	Mr. Maellard	voice actor; recurring role
2017	Feature Film	Neil Stryker and the Tyrant of Time		The Admiral	actor

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Toonstruck	King Hugh
2000	Icewind Dale	Narrator
2002	Stitch: Experiment 626	Dr. Jumba Jookiba
2003	Uru: Ages Beyond Myst	Jeff Zandi
2004	Uru: To D'ni	Dr. Richard Watson
2005	Myst V: End of Ages	Esher
	Kingdom Hearts II	Cogsworth
2007	Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix	Cogsworth
2010	Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep	Dr. Jumba Jookiba Doc

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Film/TV show	Result
1981	Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series	M*A*S*H
1982
1984		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special	The First Olympics: Athens 1896
2001	Annie Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Television Production	Teacher's Pet
2009	TV Land Award	Best Cast	M*A*S*H