Full Name Allen Goorwitz Role Film actor Other names Allen Goorwitz | Years active 1968-2002 Siblings Lois Goorwitz Name Allen Garfield TV shows The Lot | |
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Parents Philip Goorwitz, Alice Goorwitz Movies The Conversation, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Ninth Gate, Cry Uncle!, The Black Stallion Returns Similar People Robert Dalva, Eric Rochant, John G Avildsen, Francis Ford Coppola, Jeremiah S Chechik |
Allen Garfield--Rare TV interview, Nashville, The Conversaton
Allen Garfield, born and sometimes credited as Allen Goorwitz (born November 22, 1939 - April 7, 2020), was an American film and television actor.
Contents
- Allen Garfield Rare TV interview Nashville The Conversaton
- The Candidate Trailer 1972
- Life and career
- Death
- Filmography
- References

The Candidate Trailer 1972
Life and career

Garfield was born in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewish family, the son of Alice (née Lavroff) and Philip Goorwitz. A graduate of Weequahic High School, he was a sports reporter and Golden Gloves boxer before becoming an actor. He studied acting at The Actors Studio in New York City, studying with both Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan, and worked in stage before film.

Garfield has appeared in over 100 films and television shows. He is known for playing nervous villains, corrupt businessmen and politicians. In addition he has appeared in two art films by German director Wim Wenders, Der Stand der Dinge and Bis ans Ende der Welt. Garfield has one sister, Lois. Quentin Tarantino once studied with Garfield when Tarantino was starting as a filmmaker.
For a year after his father's death and in tribute to him, Allen used his family name, Goorwitz for his screen credits.

When Garfield suffered a stroke prior to filming his role in "The Ninth Gate" (1999), director Roman Polanski opted to utilize Garfield's paralyzed face for his character rather than conceal it or recast the role. Garfield suffered a massive stroke in 2004 and since then has been a long-term nursing care resident at The Motion Picture Home.
