Fred Applegate (actor)

Frederick Applegate (born February 20, 1953)[1] is an American actor, singer and dancer.

Fred Applegate
Born (1953-02-20) February 20, 1953 (age 71)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
  • dancer

Early life and education

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Applegate grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey, and South Orange, New Jersey. He attended Columbia High School and was on the original Ultimate (Frisbee) team. He graduated from Northwestern University.[2]

Career

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Stage

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Applegate played Cogsworth in the national tour of Beauty and the Beast. He originated the roles of Inspector Kemp and The Blind Hermit in the Broadway musical Young Frankenstein (2007).[3] He originated the role of the Monsignor in the Broadway production of Sister Act (2011)[4] and the role of Father Jack O'Brien in The Last Ship, which premiered on Broadway in October 2014.[3]

Other Broadway credits include M. Dindon/M. Renaud in La Cage aux Folles (2010),[5] Max Bialystock in The Producers (replacement, 2003; in the West End production in 2005[6]) and as Franz Leibkind in the first national tour. He also played Max Detweiler in The Sound of Music. (1998).[3]

Applegate appeared Off-Broadway at Lincoln Center's Mitzi Newhouse Theater in the musical Happiness in 2009, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman.[7] Applegate played the role of "Panisse" in the Encores! staged concert of Fanny in February 2010.[8] He participated in a reading of a new musical, Presto Change-O in December 2014, directed by Marc Bruni, as a presentation of the Barrington Stage Company Musical Theatre Lab.[9] He appeared in the national tour of Anything Goes, as "Moonface Martin", which started in October 2012.[10]

Applegate has played the role of the Wizard in the Broadway production Wicked, [11][3] played the role of Constable Joe in the Broadway musical Tuck Everlasting, [12][3] and also played the role of Uncle Patrick Carney in the Broadway play The Ferryman.[13]

Applegate was a member of the resident acting company of the Guthrie Theatre for three years.[5]

In 2022, he played Arvide Abernathy in Guys and Dolls at the Kennedy Center.[14]

Voice, television and film

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Applegate's voice can be recognized as the narrator of documentaries for PBS, National Geographic, Disney, Bravo, and A&E. He has guest starred in over 150 episodes of television including Seinfeld, Cosby, Growing Pains, FM, Malcolm in the Middle, ER, Murphy Brown, Newhart, Will & Grace and many others.[5] His film credits include Georgia Rule,[15] Stuart Saves His Family (1995),[16] and The Producers.[17][1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Fred Applegate at the Internet Broadway Database
  2. ^ Official website; accessed September 18, 2015
  3. ^ a b c d e "Fred Applegate Broadway" playbillvault.com, accessed September 18, 2015
  4. ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Victoria Clark, Fred Applegate, Chester Gregory Will Be Part of Broadway's 'Sister Act'" Playbill, February 1, 2011
  5. ^ a b c "Fred Applegate Joins Cast of 'La Cage Aux Folles'", nymetroparents.com, accessed September 18, 2015.
  6. ^ Inverne, James. "Fred Applegate Named New Max for London Producers", Playbill, April 7, 2005
  7. ^ Happiness Archived 2012-10-08 at the Wayback Machine, lortel.org, accessed September 18, 2015
  8. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Encores! 'Fanny' Plays City Center Beginning Feb. 4", Playbill, February 4, 2010
  9. ^ Gioia, Michael. "Kerry Butler, Jeremy Jordan, Judy McLane, Brad Oscar Say 'Presto Change-O' in Today's Musical Reading" Playbill, December 19, 2014
  10. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "National Tour of 'Anything Goes' Has Fred Applegate, Erich Bergen, Alex Finke, Joyce Chittick On Board", Playbill, August 7, 2012.
  11. ^ Lloyd Webber, Imogen. "Welcome New Ozians! Michele Lee & Fred Applegate Will Join Cast of Wicked on Broadway", Broadway.com, June 23, 2015.
  12. ^ Gioia, Michael. "Carolee Carmello and Andrew Keenan-Bolger Will Return to Broadway as Mother and Son in 'Tuck Everlasting'", Playbill, September 17, 2015.
  13. ^ "Fred Applegate". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  14. ^ Guys and Dolls cast
  15. ^ "'Georgia Rule' Cast and Overview", TCM.com, accessed September 18, 2015.
  16. ^ "'Stuart Saves His Family' Cast and Overview", TCM.com, accessed September 18, 2015
  17. ^ Fred Applegate at IMDb
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