Eugene Dynarski Explained

Eugene Dynarski
Birth Date:13 September 1933
Birth Place:Brooklyn, New York, U.S.[1]
Death Place:Studio City, California, U.S.
Other Names:Gene Dynarski
Occupation:Actor
Years Active:1965 - 2020

Eugene Dynarski (September 13, 1933 – February 27, 2020) was an American actor. Three of the most popular projects that he has been involved with were two Steven Spielberg films, Duel and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the Westwood Studios computer game .

Acting career

Dynarski acted on stage before he began working in films and on television.

In 1971's Duel, Dynarski had a small role as a truck driver in a cafe that was mistakenly identified by car driver David Mann (Dennis Weaver) as his tormenting truck driver that resulted in a short-lived fight at Chuck's Cafe. In Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Dynarski plays a major supporting role as Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, appearing throughout much of the game's Soviet campaign and, to a lesser extent, the Allied campaign. In the 1974 film Earthquake, Dynarski portrays Fred, a worker at the Mulholland Dam who becomes the first fatality of the disaster.

Dynarski also appeared in numerous television shows. He was one of 32 actors or actresses to have guest-starred in both the original Star Trek television series (episodes "Mudd's Women" and "The Mark of Gideon") and in one of the series' spin offs (s "11001001"). In Monkees TV series, Dynarski played the Dragonman's sidekick, Toto, in the episode titled "Monkee Chow Mein" (original US air date: March 13, 1967). His many other TV credits include episodes of Batman (episodes 47 and 48), Starsky & Hutch, CHiPs, Little House on the Prairie and The A-Team.

Dynarski is also known for his two appearances as Izzy Mandelbaum Jr. on Seinfeld and as Helmut Jitters in the short film Apple Jack.

His final role was in The X-Files episode "Patience". As pivotal character Ernie Stefaniuk, his performance was called heartrending and unforgettable.

Dynarski and David Weitz, a friend, built the Gene Dynarski Theater, which opened June 20, 1979, in Los Angeles. Over years they converted a bare four-walled space into a 99-seat theater.[2]

Death

Dynarski died on February 27, 2020, in Studio City, Los Angeles,[3] at the age of 86.[4]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1965Morituri Merchant Marine Uncredited
1966 Ben Childress S1:E6, "Mudd's Women"
1966 The Monkees Zeppo S1:E16, "Son of a Gypsy"
1967The Monkees Toto S1:E26, "Monkee Chow Mein"
1967 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Centaur I Episode: "Journey with Fear"
1968In Enemy Country Capek
1969 Star Trek: The Original Series Krodak S3:E16, "The Mark of Gideon"
1971 Duel Truck Driver in Chuck's Cafe
1974Airport 1975 1st. Friend
1974Earthquake Dam Caretaker
1976All the President's Men Court Clerk
1976 Starsky and Hutch Vic Bellamy S1:E22
1977Close Encounters of the Third Kind Ike
1984Best Defense Gil
1985Movers & Shakers Board Member #2
1988 Quinteros Episode: "11001001"
1989Breaking In Brock, Ernie's Mob Connection
1996
1999Boy Meets World S7E7 "It's About Time"
2000The X-Files Ernie Stefaniuk S8E3 "Patience"

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ACTOR DYNARSKI SEES ANOTHER SIDE OF STALIN. May 7, 1987. Los Angeles Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20200502095449/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-05-07-ca-4146-story.html . May 2, 2020.
  2. News: Dougherty . Jeanne . This Is The House That Gene Built . September 8, 2020 . . June 21, 1979 . 7 . Newspapers.com.
  3. Gene Dynarski, 86 . Classic Images . July 2020 . 541 . 41.
  4. Web site: Gene Dynarski, Actor on 'Seinfeld' and 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' Dies at 86 | Hollywood Reporter. www.hollywoodreporter.com.