Peter Boyle was an American actor whose career lasted over forty years. He was loved by some and hated by others for his antiwar views and his portrayal of horrific but sometimes funny monsters. Nonetheless he has definitely earned his place as one of the greatest actors of this century; though a few critics may not agree with me.
Early Life:
Peter was born on October 18th 1935 in Norristown, Pennsylvania to Alice and Peter Boyle, Sr. His parent were both of Irish decent and as you can expect he soon grew to tower over 6 feet tall. As a young man Peter attended West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys, and then the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Here he spent his time as a monk and earned a BA but after feeling the "pull of the world and the flesh" he left the school to pursue his dream of being an actor.
TV Career:
Instead of perusing a career on the small screen Peter started out by taking small roles in movies. This got his name out there and soon he was being casted for bigger and bigger roles. He landed the role of Preacher Bob in the 1973 movie Kid Blue and soon after he was casted as The Monster in the comedy movie Young Frankenstein. Most people remember him for this role and it is still considered one of his best works. During his time as an actor Peter also accumulated a long small screen resume, he stared in many TV movies such as The Man Who Could Talk to Kids, Tail Gunner Joe, Disaster at Silo 7, and of recently the TV show Everybody Loves Raymond. In Everybody Loves Raymond he played the character of Frank Barone for a total of 204 episodes; he worked on this show from 1996 to 2005. Of course one cannot star in so many great shows without collecting a bunch of awards, one of Peter's most notable awards was the Emmy he won for appearing the science fiction show The X-Files; he was awarded with the 1996 Emmy
Award for Guest Actor in a Drama Series. In addition he received seven nominations for his role in Everybody Loves Raymond and was also nominated for Lead Actor in a Drama or Comedy Special for his work on Tail Gunner Joe. Though he did not win as many awards as other actors who have been around for less time, he was nominated for a lot and nominations do not come easily.
Other achievements:
An actor to the end Peter stared in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, The Shallow End of the Ocean, and All Roads Lead Home just before his death on December 12th 2006. He was age 71 when passed away leaving an acting legacy that is not going to be easily matched by. If you have not seen any of his work check out any one of the TV shows or movies cited in this article. He was a great actor and I am sure you won't be disappointed.
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