David Hyde Pierce

David Hyde Pierce (born David Pierce; April 3, 1959) was an aspiring actor, and his mother, Laura Marie Pierce (née Hughes), He is the youngest of four children: he has two older sisters, Barbara and Nancy and one older brother, Thomas. He adopted the middle name Hyde in 1993 to avoid confusion with another actor named David Pierce. As a child, Pierce frequently played organ at the local Bethesda Episcopal Church. He attended Kabeyun, an all-boys' summer camp, where he acted in their camp productions of Gilbert & Sullivan and directed their production of H.M.S. Pinafore.

After graduating from Saratoga Springs High School in 1977, Pierce attended Yale University. He originally majored in music with an emphasis in piano performance, but later changed to a double major in English literature and theater studies. While attending Yale, Pierce performed in and directed student productions, appearing in the Yale Gilbert & Sullivan Society's production of H.M.S. Pinafore. Pierce also directed the Gilbert & Sullivan Society's operetta Princess Ida. Pierce graduated from Yale in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Career 1980–1992: Rise to prominence After his college graduation, Pierce moved to New York City. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he was employed in various jobs (such as selling ties at Bloomingdale's and working as a security guard) while pursuing an acting career and studying at Michael Howard Studios. During this period, he played Laertes in an off-Broadway production of Hamlet, with Kevin Kline in the title role. Pierce made his Broadway debut in 1982 in Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy. In 1988, Pierce played Yasha in Peter Brook's production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in a cast that included Brian Dennehy, Linda Hunt, and Erland Josephson, Kate Mailer, and Jan Tříska.

Pierce's first big television break came in the early 1990s with Norman Lear's political comedy, The Powers That Be, in which Pierce played Theodore Van Horne, a Congressman. Despite positive reviews from critics, the show was canceled after a brief run. This did free Pierce up for his breakthrough role in Frasier, and the producers of that show did in part hire Pierce based on his performance in The Powers That Be.

1993–2004: Breakthrough with Frasier

In part owing to his close facial resemblance to Kelsey Grammer, For his work on Frasier, Pierce was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Emmy a record eleven consecutive years, winning in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2004. Pierce received praise for his skilled physical comedy and rapid fire comedy reactions. David Bianculli of New York Daily News declared, "Not since Jack Benny has TV seen such a great reactive comedian as Pierce, and whenever he and [Kelsey] Grammer share the same stage, Frasier is undiluted magic.

Pierce also appeared alongside Jodie Foster in Little Man Tate, with Anthony Hopkins in Oliver Stone's Nixon (1995), and with Ewan McGregor in Down With Love (2003). He was the voice for Drix, a cold pill, in the animated comedy Osmosis Jones.

In a deliberate in-joke, he voiced Cecil Terwilliger, the brother of Kelsey Grammer-voiced Sideshow Bob, in The Simpsons''' eighth season episode "Brother from Another Series", in which the two characters parallel the Frasier–Niles relationship. At one point in the episode, Cecil mistakes Bart Simpson (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) for Maris Crane, the unseen wife of Niles on Frasier. He returned as Cecil in the Season 19 episode "Funeral for a Fiend" where Frasier co-star John Mahoney voices Dr. Robert Terwilliger Sr., the father of Cecil and Sideshow Bob.

Pierce provided the voice of Mr. Daedalus in the 1998 Disney show Hercules: The Animated Series. Pierce narrated an audio tour guide, Napa Uncorked, in 2002. In 2006, he co-starred in the animated pilot for The Amazing Screw-On Head as the Screw-On Head (Paul Giamatti)'s nemesis Emperor Zombie; however, the series was not picked up. His commercial voiceover work included ads for the Tassimo coffee system, Seattle's Metro Transit, and home furnishings retailer IKEA Canada.

2005–2016: Return to Broadway In 2005, Pierce joined Tim Curry and others in the stage production of Spamalot.

On November 19, 2007, Pierce was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Niagara University in Lewiston, New York. In 1999, he was awarded an honorary degree from Skidmore College, located in his native Saratoga Springs. Pierce was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2010 for his narration of The Phantom Tollbooth.

In 2010, Pierce appeared in a revival of David Hirson's play La Bête directed by Matthew Warchus. The production debuted on London's West End before moving to New York. Also in 2010, Pierce had his first starring film role as Warwick Wilson in the dark comedy/psychological thriller The Perfect Host. From 2014 to 2015, Pierce appeared in The Good Wife as Frank Prady on CBS. He also starred as Assoc. Prof. Henry Neumann in Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015) on Netflix. Pierce directed the Broadway production of the musical It Shoulda Been You. In 2015, he directed the Manhattan Theater Club production of David Lindsay-Abaire's play Ripcord Off-Broadway at City Center. Pierce appeared in the Off-Broadway limited engagement of A Life by Adam Bock. The play premiered at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater on October 24, 2016, directed by Anne Kauffman, and closed on November 27.

2017–present

In 2017, he returned to television in the limited docudrama series about LGBT rights, When We Rise, as Dr. Jones. He also appeared as himself with Julie Andrews in Julie's Greenroom on Netflix. Pierce co-starred with Bette Midler in the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly!. The musical opened on April 20, 2017, at the Shubert Theatre. The show was a critical and box office hit. Pierce received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance at the 71st Tony Awards, as well as Drama League Award nominations for Hello, Dolly! and A Life.

In 2020, Pierce replaced Tom Hollander as Paul Cushing Child in the biographical series Julia which premiered on HBO Max in March 2022. The cast includes Sarah Lancashire, Bebe Neuwirth, and Isabella Rossellini. In October 2021 he starred as Walter Vale in the musical The Visitor at The Public Theater. The project is based on the 2007 film of the same name written by Tom McCarthy. In late 2022, it was revealed that Pierce had declined to return as Niles Crane in the 2023 revival of Frasier, saying he didn't think there was much left for Niles to do.

Pierce starred in the final musical from Stephen Sondheim entitled Here We Are (2023) which was performed at The Shed in New York City. Pierce acted alongside Bobby Cannavale, Amber Gray, Rachel Bay Jones, Denis O'Hare, and Steven Pasquale. The production involves a book by David Ives and was directed by Joe Mantello. It is based on the Luis Buñuel films The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) and The Exterminating Angel (1962).

In 2024, it was announced that Pierce would star as the Major General and W. S. Gilbert in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance titled Pirates! The Penzance Musical starting in April 2025, opposite Ramin Karimloo as the Pirate King. The revival was a reimagining set in New Orleans, "sizzling with Caribbean rhythms and French Quarter flair."

Personal life

After years of media speculation about his sexuality, Pierce revealed in 2007 that he is gay and later confirmed through his publicist that he and television writer, director, and producer Brian Hargrove were a couple. When accepting his Tony Award for Curtains, Pierce thanked "my partner, Brian, because it's 24 years of listening to your damn notes—that's why I'm up here tonight." They married in California on October 24, 2008, just days before Proposition 8 was adopted as law banning same-sex marriages in the state. On May 28, 2009, while a guest on The View'', he publicly announced his marriage to Hargrove and expressed his anger about the approval of Proposition 8.

Pierce has spent years working with the Alzheimer's Association on behalf of Americans with Alzheimer's disease. He has appeared in Washington, D.C., to testify in support of expanding funding for treatment, and he publicly campaigned for the National Alzheimer's Project Act. Pierce told MSNBC in 2011, "it is up to us, to all of us, to the American people and to their representatives about whether we face the challenges and make all the effort necessary or if we ignore it and just let this sort of tidal wave crash over us."

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1988 The Appointments of Dennis Jennings Businessman Short film Bright Lights, Big City Bartender at Fashion Show Crossing Delancey Mark Rocket Gibraltar Monsieur Henri 1989 Vampire's Kiss Theater Guy 1990 Across Five Aprils Union Soldier 1991 Little Man Tate Garth Emmerick The Fisher King Lou Rosen 1993 Sleepless in Seattle Dennis Reed Addams Family Values Delivery Room Doctor 1994 Wolf Roy MacAllister 1995 Ripple Peter Short film Nixon John Dean 1998 A Bug's Life Slim (voice) 1999 The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human Narrator 2000 Isn't She Great Michael Hastings Chain of Fools Mr. Kerner The Tangerine Bear Bird (voice) 2001 Wet Hot American Summer Henry Newman Happy Birthday Barney Short film Osmosis Jones Special Agent "Drix" Drixobenzometaphedramine (voice) 2026 Mouse Mr. Murdaugh TBA Vivien & the Florist John Gielgud Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 1987 Spenser: For Hire O'Neill Episode: "The Man Who Wasn't There" Crime Story NSA Agent Carruthers Episode: "Mig 21" 1988 Knightwatch Gibson Episode: "Friday Knight" 1992 Dream On Jerry Dorfer Episode: "The Guilty Party" 1992–1993 The Powers That Be Theodore Van Horne Main role (21 episodes) 1993–2004 Frasier Dr. Niles Crane Main role (264 episodes) 1995 Saturday Night Live Himself (host) Episode: "David Hyde Pierce/Live" The Adventures of Hyperman Buttons (voice) Episode: "Emma Is History/Appalling 13"

Theatre Year Title Role Notes 1982 Beyond Therapy Andrew Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway 1986 Hamlet Laertes Newman Theatre, The Public Theater 1988 Much Ado About Nothing Don John Delacorte Theater, The Public Theater 1990 The Heidi Chronicles Peter Patrone Plymouth Theatre, Broadway 2001 Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks Michael Minetti Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles 2004–2005SpamalotSir Robin and others Shubert Theatre, Chicago 2005–2006 Shubert Theatre, Broadway 2005 A Wonderful Life Clarence Odbody Shubert Theatre; Concert 2006CurtainsLieutenant Frank Cioffi Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles 2007–2008 Al Hirschfeld Theatre, Broadway 2009 Accent on Youth Steven Gaye Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway 2010La BêteElomire Comedy Theatre, West End 2010–2011 Music Box Theatre, Broadway 2013 Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Vanya John Golden Theatre, Broadway 2015 It Shoulda Been You Director Ripcord 2016 A Life Nate Martin Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, Off-Broadway 2017–2018 Hello, Dolly! Horace Vandergelder Shubert Theatre, Broadway 2021 The Visitor Walter Vale Newman Theatre, The Public Theater 2022 The Pirates of Penzance Major General Stanley American Airlines Theatre; Stage reading 2023 Gutenberg! The Musical! The Producer (one night cameo) James Earl Jones Theatre, Broadway 2023–2024 Here We Are Bishop The Shed, Off-Broadway 2025 Pirates! The Penzance Musical Major General Stanley / W. S. Gilbert Todd Haimes Theatre, Broadway 2026 Oklahoma! Andrew Carnes Carnegie Hall 2027 You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown Charlie Brown New York City Center Encores!

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