Joe Seneca
| Joe Seneca | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Joel McGhee Jr. January 14, 1919 Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Died | August 15, 1996 (aged 77) New York City, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Actor, singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1940s–1996 |
Joe Seneca (January 14, 1919 – August 15, 1996) was an American film and television actor, singer and songwriter. He had a lengthy acting career, portraying bit parts in many films and television sitcoms from the 1970s to the 1990s. He played the father of Danny Glover's character in the film Silverado.
Seneca was born Joel McGhee, Jr. in Cleveland, Ohio. Prior to his acting career, he belonged to the R&B singing group The Three Riffs, who were active from the late 1940s and performed at upscale supper clubs in New York City. He was also a songwriter and had big hits with "Talk to Me" which was sung by Little Willie John, and "Break It to Me Gently", which was a smash hit twice, once by Brenda Lee in 1962, and once by Juice Newton in 1982.
In the 1982 film, The Verdict, Seneca plays the supporting role of Dr. Thompson, a small-town women's hospital physician brought in by attorney Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) to support his belief that two famous doctors' incompetence left his client alive but in a coma. Seneca's performance, while subdued, brings a gritty realism to the court proceedings and was one of his more important film roles. Arguably his most well-known roles are that of bluesman Willie Brown in Crossroads (1986) and Dr. Meddows in The Blob (1988), the evil head of a government team sent to contain the title creature.
Seneca also made multiple appearances on The Cosby Show as Hillman President Dr. Zachariah J. Hanes. He also played Alvin Newcastle, a man suffering from Alzheimer's disease, on an episode of The Golden Girls entitled "Old Friends." Seneca appeared in Spike Lee's School Daze as Mission College President McPherson.
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