Fred Melamed (born May 13, 1956) is an American actor, comedian, and
writer. He is best known for portraying Sy Ableman in A Serious Man
(2009), Sam Sotto in In a World... (2013), Bruce Ben-Bacharach in Lady
Dynamite (2016â€"2017) and for appearing in seven films directed by
Woody Allen.Melamed was born to a secular Jewish family in New York
City, New York. His biological mother is actress/director Nancy Zala
and his biological father, British psychoanalyst Stan Silverstone, was
a relative of the prominent Adler acting family, including Luther and
Stella Adler. He is the adopted son of Louis, a New York television
producer, and Syma (Krichefsky) Melamed, a sometime actress and
housewife. As a child, he attended the Hunter College Elementary
School, a primary school for gifted children, and Riverdale Country
School.[citation needed]His father worked with TV pioneer Nat Hiken on
such shows as Car 54, Where Are You? and The Phil Silvers Show. When
he was sixteen, his family had financial difficulties, and was forced
to move to Hollywood, Florida. Melamed has said that he was raised in
a non-believer Jewish family who never went to synagogue, except to
attend a cousin's bar mitzvah. When he was asked if he wanted to
attend Hebrew school, he said no, and thus had no religious training.
However, he credits his non-religious upbringing as helping him to
develop a belief in God later in life, as he had no "forced dogma to
overcome."He received his theatrical training at Hampshire College and
the Yale School of Drama. At Yale, he was a Samuel F. B. Morse College
Graduate Fellow. He was also a nominee for the Irene Ryan Award, a
prize conferred upon the most promising young actors in the United
States. While still at Yale, he was an instructor at the well-known
performing arts camp, Stagedoor Manor. After his training, he appeared
on stage with several resident theatre companies, including The
Guthrie Theater, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,
The Yale Repertory Theater, and on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning
Amadeus. Following Amadeus, Melamed entered what he called "a period
of personal darkness", during which he effectively stopped acting on
stage. At the same time, with an insider's understanding of the
industry and assistance from his agent, he became established as a
voice actor, and continued to do film work.
writer. He is best known for portraying Sy Ableman in A Serious Man
(2009), Sam Sotto in In a World... (2013), Bruce Ben-Bacharach in Lady
Dynamite (2016â€"2017) and for appearing in seven films directed by
Woody Allen.Melamed was born to a secular Jewish family in New York
City, New York. His biological mother is actress/director Nancy Zala
and his biological father, British psychoanalyst Stan Silverstone, was
a relative of the prominent Adler acting family, including Luther and
Stella Adler. He is the adopted son of Louis, a New York television
producer, and Syma (Krichefsky) Melamed, a sometime actress and
housewife. As a child, he attended the Hunter College Elementary
School, a primary school for gifted children, and Riverdale Country
School.[citation needed]His father worked with TV pioneer Nat Hiken on
such shows as Car 54, Where Are You? and The Phil Silvers Show. When
he was sixteen, his family had financial difficulties, and was forced
to move to Hollywood, Florida. Melamed has said that he was raised in
a non-believer Jewish family who never went to synagogue, except to
attend a cousin's bar mitzvah. When he was asked if he wanted to
attend Hebrew school, he said no, and thus had no religious training.
However, he credits his non-religious upbringing as helping him to
develop a belief in God later in life, as he had no "forced dogma to
overcome."He received his theatrical training at Hampshire College and
the Yale School of Drama. At Yale, he was a Samuel F. B. Morse College
Graduate Fellow. He was also a nominee for the Irene Ryan Award, a
prize conferred upon the most promising young actors in the United
States. While still at Yale, he was an instructor at the well-known
performing arts camp, Stagedoor Manor. After his training, he appeared
on stage with several resident theatre companies, including The
Guthrie Theater, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,
The Yale Repertory Theater, and on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning
Amadeus. Following Amadeus, Melamed entered what he called "a period
of personal darkness", during which he effectively stopped acting on
stage. At the same time, with an insider's understanding of the
industry and assistance from his agent, he became established as a
voice actor, and continued to do film work.
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