- Born
- Birth namePaul Lee Brown
- Height5′ 9½″ (1.77 m)
- Dooley was a keen cartoonist as a youth and drew a strip for a local paper in Parkersburg, West Virginia. He joined the Navy before discovering acting while at college. Moving to New York, he soon found success as a regular on the stage. Also having an interest in comedy, Dooley was a stand-up comedian for five years, as well as having brief stints as a magician and as a clown. Unafraid of trying different areas of entertainment, he was also a writer. After appearing in many movies, including most notably Popeye (1980), Dooley has appeared as recurrent characters on various shows, including My So-Called Life (1994), Dream On (1990), Grace Under Fire (1993), and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993).- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Lammens <lammens@connexus.apana.org.au>
- SpousesWinnie Holzman(November 18, 1984 - present) (1 child)Donna Lee Wasser(September 19, 1959 - 1983) (divorced, 3 children)
- ChildrenRobin Dooley
- ParentsPeter James BrownRuth Irene Barringer
- Co-created and wrote the groundbreaking children's series The Electric Company (1971) in the 1970s.
- Was discovered in New York by Mike Nichols, who cast the actor as one of the poker-playing buddies in the original 1965 Broadway production of "The Odd Couple." When star Art Carney left, Dooley replaced him as the fastidious roommate Felix Unger opposite Walter Matthau's hedonistic Oscar Madison.
- Had an Emmy-nominated guest turn on the HBO sitcom Dream On (1990), playing the gay father of the lead character, Martin Tupper (played by Brian Benben).
- Dooley and Dennis Christopher have played father and son twice in movies: Liam and Hughie Brenner in A Wedding (1978), and Raymond and Dave Stoller in Breaking Away (1979). They later played father and son (Stan and Roger Coffman) in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001) episode, Cherry Red (2003).
- Has four children: Robin, Peter, Adam (by first wife Donna) and Savannah (by second wife Winnie Holzman). Son Adam Dooley wrote, directed and produced the short film Adventures in Homeschooling (2004), which featured Paul Dooley. Savannah Dooley wrote episodes for What Goes On (2007). Winnie Holzman wrote for the last two seasons of Thirtysomething (1987) and was creator and writer for the acclaimed teen drama series My So-Called Life (1994).
- I don't take myself too seriously which is maybe why I've done a lot more comedy roles than anything else. I have more fun doing off-the-wall kinds of things.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content