Ken Lerner

American actor

Ken Lerner
Born	Kenneth Lerner (1948-05-27) May 27, 1948 (age 75) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Brooklyn College
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1975–present
Children	Sam Lerner
Relatives	Michael Lerner (brother)

Kenneth Lerner (born May 27, 1948) is an American television, stage and film actor. He is known for playing Principal Flutie in the first episodes of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and earlier roles on Happy Days, along with numerous film and television guest-starring roles.

Early life

Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York, of Romanian-Jewish descent. He is the youngest of three sons of Blanche and George Lerner, who was a fisherman and antiques dealer.^[1] His brother was actor Michael Lerner.

Career

Lerner is typically typecast as whiny or unlucky characters, including an agent who is stabbed in the back with a pen by Arnold Schwarzenegger's character Ben Richards in The Running Man. One of his first roles was as one of the Malachi Brothers in the television series Happy Days in 1975–76.

In 2011, Lerner was seen in an American nationally televised commercial for Wells Fargo Bank. In late 2013, Lerner starred in a commercial for T-Mobile USA. In 2016, Lerner played a small role as a corrupt business manager named Arthur in the HBO television series Silicon Valley.^[2] Lerner plays a recurring role on the series The Goldbergs, on which his son Sam Lerner stars.

Selected filmography

1975–1983 Happy Days as Frankie / Rocco Malachi / Rocco Baruffi (10 episodes)
1977 Hot Tomorrows as Michael
1977 Grand Theft Auto as Eagle I
1979 Gas Pump Girls as 'Peewee', Member of The Vultures Motorcycle Gang
1980 Any Which Way You Can as Tony Paoli Jr.
1984 Irreconcilable Differences as Doctor
1985 Secret Admirer as Waiter
1985 Love on the Run as Aaron
1985 The A-Team (TV Series) as Cruise Crew Member
1986 Miracles as Stuart
1986 Jake Speed as Ken
1986 It’s a Living as Dr Cutler
1987 Project X as Finley
1987 The Running Man as Agent
1988 Maniac Cop as Mayor Killium (uncredited) (Scenes not present in USA release, added in Japanese version as a subplot)
1989 Hit List as Gravenstein
1989 Relentless as Arthur
1989 The Fabulous Baker Boys as Ray
1989 Immediate Family as Josh
1990 The Golden Girls as Doctor (Season 6, Episode 1: "Blanche Delivers")
1990 RoboCop 2 as Tom Delaney
1990 The Exorcist III as Dr. Freedman
1991 Fast Getaway as Tony Bush
1991 The Doctor as Pete
1991 Diary of a Hitman as Optometrist
1991 And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird as Matthew Carson, Home Movies
1992 Unlawful Entry as Roger Graham
1993 Mother's Boys as Jude's Analyst
1994 Rave Review as Saul Slobin
1994 Fast Getaway II as Tony Bush
1994 Relentless IV: Ashes to Ashes as Al Rosenberg
1995 For Better or Worse as Sergeant Moss
1995 Bodily Harm as Alex Shaw
1996 Dead Girl as Producer
1997 Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series) as Principal Bob Flutie
1997 High Voltage as Justice of The Peace (uncredited)
1998 Senseless as Dean Barlow
1998 Godzilla as Teacher (uncredited)
1999 The Story of Us as Dr. Rifkin
2000 Boys Life 3 as Judge Levin (segment "Inside Out")
2001 The Woman Every Man Wants as Rosen
2001 They Crawl as Glen, The Coroner
2001 Mafioso: The Father, the Son as Sid Freeman
2002 ER (TV Series) as Mr. Sidell (Season 8, Episode 18)
2003 National Security as Hank's Lawyer
2003 Friends as Professor Spafford (Season 9, Episode 20: "The One with the Soap Opera Party")
2003 Frankie and Johnny Are Married as Rob, Production Manager
2004 True Vinyl as Hotel Clerk
2005 Scrubs (TV Series) as Charles James
2005 Jesus, Mary and Joey as Saulley
2006 All In as Rosenbloom
2006 NCIS (TV Series, in Bloodbath) as Albert Hencheck (uncredited)
2006 Undisputed II: Last Man Standing as Phil Gold
2009 Desperate Housewives (TV Series) as Dr. Bernstein
2009 Two and a Half Men (TV Series) as Dr. Levine
2011 L.A. Noire (Video Game) as Walter Mensch (voice)
2011 The Mentalist (TV Series) as Judge Markland
2012 The Big Bang Theory (TV Series) as Dr. Schneider
2013 Anger Management (TV Series) as Judge
2016 Silicon Valley (TV Series) as Arthur
2016 The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story as Howard Weitzman
2017-2023 The Goldbergs (TV Series) as Lou Schwartz
2018 Bayou Caviar as Shlomo
2022 Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story as Joe Zilber

References

^ Ken Lerner Biography at Film Reference.com((?)-)
^ Falcetti, L. (30 May 2016). "'Silicon Valley' Season 3, Episode 6 Recap: Bachmanity Insanity". FanSided. Retrieved 10 November 2016.