Jordan Charney

Jordan Charney is an American character actor born on April 1, 1937, in Brooklyn, New York, to Rose (née Resnick) and Abraham Charney. He attended Abraham Lincoln High School before enrolling at Brooklyn College, where he majored in speech and theatre. During his undergraduate years, he took on notable student productions, playing the title role in a November 1957 staging of Coxe and Chapman's Billy Budd — drawn from Melville's novel — and the lead in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex in 1958. Charney supplemented his academic training with summer stock work, primarily at the Woodstock Playhouse, and earned his BA in 1960. In 1962, he pursued further training through the Lincoln Center Training Program.

His professional stage career began in April 1961 with an Off-Broadway appearance in Edward Albee's Zoo Story, in which he replaced Peter Mark Richman in the role of Jerry. Charney went on to perform on Broadway between 1966 and 1980, with credits that include The Mutilated, Talley's Folly, and The Birthday Party.

Television became a significant part of Charney's career, with much of his early screen work concentrated in daytime soap operas. He originated the role of Julian Dark on the CBS soap The Secret Storm in the early to mid-1960s. From 1967 to 1974, he played Sam Lucas — a former convict turned lawyer — on Another World and its spin-off Somerset, and he subsequently appeared as Lt. Vince Wolek on One Life to Live from 1975 to 1977. Additional soap credits include Love of Life and All My Children. In primetime, he portrayed newspaper editor Ted Bergman in the 1977 CBS series The Andros Targets, played Capt. Roger Westerby in a season eight episode of The Waltons in 1980, and held a recurring role as Frank Angelino — Jack Tripper's boss — on Three's Company from 1981 to 1983. He also appeared on Hill Street Blues in 1981 and accumulated credits on Falcon Crest, Dynasty, Night Court, 100 Centre Street, and Law & Order, where he recurred as Judge Donald Karan.

On film, Charney appeared in The Hospital, Network (1976), and Ghostbusters (1984). In 1982, he portrayed celebrated theatre director and drama critic Harold Clurman in Universal's Frances Farmer biopic Frances, alongside Jessica Lange as Farmer and Jeffrey DeMunn as Clifford Odets. He also performed on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater.

That same year, 1982, Charney became artistic director of Actors Alley theater in the San Fernando Valley, California. Under his leadership, the company's membership grew from 22 to 70 by November 1986; the organization offered weekly classes for members and presented both free and ticketed productions for the public.

Charney has been married to television director and theatrical producer Nancy Cooperstein since November 1966. They have two children, including opera singer Allison Charney, and five grandchildren.