Paul Shenar

Shenar was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the second of four boys (one older brother John, two younger brothers Michael and Marc), born from Mary Rosella (née Puhek) and Eugene Joseph Shenar. He was of Polish and Slovenian descent.[2]

Shenar became involved in theater at an early age, working in Milwaukee playhouse productions. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Air Force. Following his military career he began acting again. Shenar gained attention playing larger-than-life entertainment legends in late 1950s television films—Orson Welles in The Night That Panicked America and Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., in Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women. He portrayed the character John Carrington in Part II of the miniseries Roots.

In 1983, Shenar also portrayed Alejandro Sosa[1] in Brian De Palma's Scarface and later portrayed Paulo Rocca[3] in Raw Deal.

A founding member, actor, director and teacher of the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) in San Francisco, he played more than forty roles there, including Hamlet, Oedipus Rex and Brother Julian in Tiny Alice. In 1982, He portrayed Jenner[4] in Don Bluth's The Secret of NIMH; his performance in the film impressed Bluth so much that he wanted Shenar to also portray Borf in Space Ace, but was unable to do so due to budget issues and the role ultimately went to Bluth himself.[5]

Shenar continued to act during the late 1980s. He did a stage version of Macbeth in Los Angeles and appeared in films like Best Seller (1987), The Bedroom Window (1987), The Big Blue (1988), plus the TV film Rage of Angels: The Story Continues.

Shenar was gay, and was romantically involved with the British actor Jeremy Brett during the 1970s; they were in a relationship that reportedly lasted from 1973 to 1978.[6] After the couple separated, they remained close friends until Shenar's death in 1989.[7]

Shenar died from AIDS on October 11, 1989.[8]

• Paul Shenar at IMDb