If you’re a fan of eighties and nineties movies, you most likely recognize Michael Lerner. While never a leading man, the character actor had plenty of solid roles under his belt, most memorably playing a sadistic studio boss in the Coen Bros’ classic Barton Fink. Sadly, Michael Lerner passed away over the weekend at 81 years old. His nephew, Sam Lerner, who stars on The Goldbergs, broke the news via Instagram:
Lerner, who has hundreds of credits going all the way back to the sixties, had some pretty sizeable roles in a bunch of beloved movies. In addition to Barton Fink, he played the infamous gambler/ gangster Arnold Rothstein in John Sayles’ Eight Men Out, another gangster in Eddie Murphy’s Harlem Nights, and a New York Mayor that was based on Roger Ebert in Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla (he was even named Mayor Ebert). Other credits include X-Men: Days of Future Past, Newsies, Elf, Blank Check, and many TV roles, including a recurring gig on Glee.
As for me, the role I’ll always remember Lerner for was playing the evil warden in Best Movie You Never Saw fave No Escape, opposite the late Ray Liotta. He was memorable in that film, and it’s a shame the film itself isn’t better known. Lerner was nominated for one Oscar for his scene-stealing turn as studio head Jack Lipnik in Barton Fink, with the role being based on former MGM studio head Louis B. Meyer. Apparently, Lerner actually played Meyer again in a 2022 Russian film called Pervyy Oskar. In the U.S., most recently, he had acted opposite David Harbour in Netflix’s Frankenstein’s Monster’s Monster, a mockumentary short film that came out back in 2019.
While never a household name, Lerner certainly contributed a lot to a wide variety of movies and TV shows, and he’ll be missed.