Mike Nussbaum

Mike Nussbaum, born Myron G. Nussbaum on December 29, 1923, in New York City, was an American actor and director who grew up in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. He died on December 23, 2023, at his Chicago home, six days before his 100th birthday. The middle initial "G." was one he adopted during his Army service to avoid the "no middle initial" designation read aloud during roll call.

Before pursuing a career in the arts, Nussbaum served in the military during World War II. Among his Army assignments was serving as chief of the message center for General Dwight D. Eisenhower, a role in which he dispatched the official notification of Germany's surrender. After returning to Chicago following his service, he married and spent approximately two decades working alongside his brother-in-law in an extermination business.

Nussbaum's path to professional acting began in community theatre during the 1950s. By the 1960s, he had become active in Chicago's emerging professional theatrical community, where he encountered a young David Mamet. That relationship proved central to his stage career, as he went on to appear in numerous Mamet productions in Chicago, off Broadway, and on Broadway. His Broadway work spanned 1984 to 1986 and included two productions: Glengarry Glen Ross and The House of Blue Leaves. His performance in Glengarry Glen Ross earned him a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Work in 1984.

Nussbaum's film work included Field of Dreams, House of Games, Things Change, Fatal Attraction, and Men in Black. On television, he appeared in local commercials for Chicago's Northwest Federal Savings and in national campaigns for United Airlines and Scope mouthwash. As a director, his credits included the 2002 production of Where Have You Gone, Jimmy Stewart? by Art Shay.

Nussbaum was married to Annette Brenner from 1949 until her death in 2003. The couple had three children: Jack, Karen, and Susan. He married Julie Brudlos in 2004. He continued acting into his nineties and remained engaged with theatre projects until his death.