Ken Lerner

Kenneth Lerner (born May 27, 1948) is an American television, stage and film actor and acting coach. He is known for playing Principal Flutie in the first episodes of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and earlier roles on Happy Days, along with numerous film and television guest-starring roles.

Early life Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York, of Romanian-Jewish descent. He is the youngest of three sons of Blanche and George Lerner, who was a fisherman and antiques dealer. His brother was actor Michael Lerner who died in 2023. Originally wanting to be a teacher, he attended Brooklyn college where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in English.

Career Lerner first became interested in acting when he was helping his actor brother Michael learn his lines. Lerner is typically typecast as whiny or unlucky characters, including an agent who is stabbed in the back with a pen by Arnold Schwarzenegger's character Ben Richards in The Running Man. He had a role in the first series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1997, as Principal Robert Flutie, who was killed a few episodes into the show.

Lerner has had parts in shows including The A-Team, The Golden Girls, Friends, Scrubs, NCIS, Desperate Housewives, Two and a Half Men, The Mentalist, and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and in films such as Gas Pump Girls, Hit List, RoboCop 2, and The Exorcist III, and voiced Walter Mensch in the 2011 video game L.A. Noire.

In 2011, Lerner was seen in an American nationally televised commercial for Wells Fargo Bank. He played Dr. Schneider in a 2012 episode of The Big Bang Theory. In late 2013, Lerner starred in a commercial for T-Mobile USA. In 2016, Lerner played a small role as a corrupt business manager named Arthur in the HBO television series Silicon Valley. For six years Lerner played a recurring role on the series The Goldbergs, as Lou Schwartz, father to character Geoff Schwartz, who was played by Ken's actual son, Sam.

Lerner is represented by Ellis Talent Group.

Personal life Lerner has two children: Sam and Jennifer, both of whom are also actors.

Selected filmography