Joe Seneca (January 14, 1919 â€" August 15, 1996) was an American
actor, singer, and songwriter.Seneca was born Joel McGhee, Jr. in
Cleveland, Ohio. Prior to his acting career, he belonged to the R&B
singing group The Three Riffs, which was active from the late 1940s
and performed 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 hit twice,
once by Brenda Lee in 1962 and once by Juice Newton in 1982.In the
1982 film, The Verdict, Seneca plays the supporting role of Dr.
Thompson, a small-town women's hospital physician brought in by
attorney Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) to support his belief that two
famous doctors' incompetence left his client alive but in a coma.
Seneca's performance, while subdued, brings a gritty realism to the
court proceedings and was one of his more important film roles.
Arguably his most well-known roles are that of bluesman Willie Brown
in Crossroads (1986) and Dr. Meddows in The Blob (1988), 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, a man suffering
from Alzheimer's disease, on an episode of The Golden Girls entitled
"Old Friends". Seneca appeared in Spike Lee's School Daze as Mission
College President McPherson.
actor, singer, and songwriter.Seneca was born Joel McGhee, Jr. in
Cleveland, Ohio. Prior to his acting career, he belonged to the R&B
singing group The Three Riffs, which was active from the late 1940s
and performed 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 hit twice,
once by Brenda Lee in 1962 and once by Juice Newton in 1982.In the
1982 film, The Verdict, Seneca plays the supporting role of Dr.
Thompson, a small-town women's hospital physician brought in by
attorney Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) to support his belief that two
famous doctors' incompetence left his client alive but in a coma.
Seneca's performance, while subdued, brings a gritty realism to the
court proceedings and was one of his more important film roles.
Arguably his most well-known roles are that of bluesman Willie Brown
in Crossroads (1986) and Dr. Meddows in The Blob (1988), 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, a man suffering
from Alzheimer's disease, on an episode of The Golden Girls entitled
"Old Friends". Seneca appeared in Spike Lee's School Daze as Mission
College President McPherson.
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