David Ackroyd

Acting

David Ackroyd

Born

1940-05-30 (86)

Place of birth

Orange, New Jersey, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

80 titles

Veteran stage and TV actor David Ackroyd was born on May 30, 1940 in Orange, New Jersey, the son of Arthur, an insurance adjuster, and Charlotte (nee Henderson) Ackroyd. He studied at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania where he received his BA in 1962 as a ROTC student. Following his graduation he appeared in community theater productions while serving in Arizona with the military. He then focused on the arts as a career after enrolling at the Yale Drama School where he earned his Masters of Fine Arts in 1968.

Known for

MacGyver poster
7.7

He's everyone's favorite action hero... but he's a hero with a difference. Angus MacGyver is a secret agent whose wits are his deadliest weapon. Armed with only a knapsack filled with everyday items he picks up along the way, he improvises his way out of every peril the bad guys throw at him. Making a bomb out of chewing gum? Fixing a speeding car's brakes... while he's riding in it? Using soda pop to cook up tear gas? That's all in a day's adventures for MacGyver. He's part Boy Scout, part genius. And all hero.

MacGyver

1985

Dallas poster
6.9

The world's first mega-soap, and one of the most popular ever produced, Dallas had it all. Beautiful women, expensive cars, and men playing Monopoly with real buildings. Famous for one of the best cliffhangers in TV history, as the world asked "Who shot J.R.?" A slow-burner to begin with, Dallas hit its stride in the 2nd season, with long storylines and expert character development. Dallas ruled the airwaves in the 1980's.

Dallas

1978

Murder, She Wrote poster
7.5

An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.

Murder, She Wrote

1984

Great Performances poster
6.1

The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

Great Performances

1971

Knots Landing poster
6.9

The domestic adventures, misdeeds and everyday interactions of five families living on a cul-de-sac in a small California community.

Knots Landing

1979

Xena: Warrior Princess poster
7.5

Xena is an infamous warrior on a quest to seek redemption for her past sins against the innocent. Accompanied by her comrade-in-arms Gabrielle, the campy couple use their formidable fighting skills to help those who are unable to defend themselves.

Xena: Warrior Princess

1995

Film credits

2000s · 5 titles

1990s · 15 titles

Dark Angel poster
6.2

Jack Caine is a Houston vice cop who's forgotten the rule book. His self-appointed mission is to stop the drugs trade and the number one supplier Victor Manning. While involved in an undercover operation to entrap Victor Manning, his partner is killed, and a sinister newcomer enters the scene...

Dark Angel

1990

Against the Wall poster
6.2

In 1971, a warden at Attica Penitentiary is caught up in a hostage crisis when inmates take over the prison to demand better living conditions.

Against the Wall

1994

Love, Cheat & Steal poster
4.5

Paul Harrington thinks he has the perfect wife... stunning, kind, and ambitious. Yet behind Lauren's pretty face lies a wicked person who sent her former boyfriend to jail by setting him up. Reno Adams has lost seven years of his life in Jail and wants revenge. After escaping, he tracks Lauren down and intends to make her and her husband's life a living hell.

Love, Cheat & Steal

1993

Raven poster
4.4

Katz is the leader of the elite mercenary team Raven, on a deadly mission to obtain a powerful Soviet satellite decoder. But when the operation is sabotaged by U.S. officials, he sets out on a personal mission to eliminate the enemies and render his own brand of outlaw justice.

Raven

1997

Hell Hath No Fury poster
7.6

A woman is simultaneously framed for the murder of her husband and terrorized by the deranged woman who actually killed him.

Hell Hath No Fury

1991

The Fear Inside poster
4.5

An agoraphobic children's book illustrator is trapped inside her home by two young psychos-in-love, who terrorize her. It is only when her young son is threatened that she manages to overcome her paralyzing fears and attempt to leave her home to save him...

The Fear Inside

1992

No Strings Attached poster
2.8

A renowned journalist becomes a suspect in a series of murders after he becomes intimately involved with a mysterious woman. In an attempt to clear his name, he tries to find a connection between his lover and the increasing number of dead bodies.

No Strings Attached

1997

Breaking the Silence poster
10.0

Drama about an attorney who defends a teenage boy accused of murdering his abusive father and must come to grips with his shameful secrets about his own mother.

Breaking the Silence

1992

Dead On poster
3.8

In an erotic update of "Strangers on a Train", airline pilot Ted Beaumont and his lover, Erin Davenport, scheme to rid themselves of their respective spouses. Ted's wife disappears mysteriously and thinking that all is proceeding well, he plans an elaborate scheme to kill Erin's husband. However all is not as it seems.

Dead On

1994

History's Mysteries: The Enduring Mysteries of Stonehenge poster
NR

For 5,000 years the sacred site of Stonehenge has stood on the plain of Salisbury, a silent witness to the world's history. Though the elements have taken their toll on the giant stones that comprise the prehistoric circle, a myriad of mysteries remain. Who built Stonehenge? Was it the Druids or Merlin the Magician? Why was it built? Was it a landing pad for UFO's? An altar for human sacrifices? An astronomical computer? Modern Technology, combined with the sciences of anthropology, archaeology astronomy have provided us with a glimpse of the life...and death of the Stonehenge people. Via interviews with world-famous archaeologist and Stonehenge experts we will explore many of the lingering mysteries that have enchanted and enthralled us for 5 millennia.

History's Mysteries: The Enduring Mysteries of Stonehenge

1998

Stop at Nothing poster
7.7

An ex-prosecutor takes a bodyguard job protecting a girl from a mother who has lost custody. The father was accused of sexually abusing the daughter but the evidence was dismissed. Who's lying?

Stop at Nothing

1991

Mr. Ponzi and His Scheme poster
NR

Who was Charles Ponzi?... a scoundrel, a petty criminal, a misunderstood financial genius, a criminal mastermind, or perhaps simply a salesman extraordinaire? The fascination in examining the life of Charles Ponzi lies in trying to understand the machinations of his heart, mind, and soul as he perpetrated one of the largest frauds in U.S. history. While much opinion and speculation has been bandied about regarding this key point, the complexity of Charles Ponzi has made reaching a satisfying conclusion all but impossible.

Mr. Ponzi and His Scheme

1999

No artwork available
NR

The Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon grew quickly into a powerful religious order - only to stand accused of devil worship. Were the Knights Templar betrayed by the Pope or their own greed?

In Search of History - The Knights Templar

1997

Wrestling with God poster
7.0

Wrestling with God is the true story of Alexander Campbell, a man whose conscience came into conflict with the accepted religious precepts of his time, and the struggle and resentment he endured as a result.

Wrestling with God

1990

In Search of History: Salem Witch Trials poster
8.7

In the late 1600s, more than 150 men and women were accused of being witches. After the infamous Salem Witch Trials, 19 people were hanged for their alleged crimes, and one person was pressed to death under heavy stones. This History Channel documentary travels back to one of America's darkest times and reveals startling facts about who the real accusers were and what the community did to make restitution to the loved ones of the dead.

In Search of History: Salem Witch Trials

1998

1980s · 13 titles

The Mountain Men poster
5.9

The story concerns two grizzled mountain men -- Bill Tyler and Henry Frapp -- during the dying days of the fur-trapping era. The plot begins when Running Moon runs away from her abusive husband Heavy Eagle and comes across the two seedy fur trappers. The mountain men take her in, unaware that Heavy Eagle has dispatched an army of Indian braves to reclaim her.

The Mountain Men

1980

Memories of Me poster
5.4

After a heart attack, Abbie Polin (Crystal), a New York doctor, goes to Los Angeles to see his father, Abe (King), who works in Hollywood as the "king of the extras." Their relationship has been strained for several years. Lisa, the romantic interest in Abbie's life, bonds with Abe, who gets along famously with everyone but his son. Abe begins having memory loss and eventually is diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. He and his son grow closer in time and, before it's too late, Abbie tries to get Abe a speaking role in a film.

Memories of Me

1988

A Smoky Mountain Christmas poster
5.9

A country-western singer on a trip through the Tennessee mountains runs into a reclusive backwoodsman — and a witch.

A Smoky Mountain Christmas

1986

The Children of Times Square poster
6.3

An alienated teenage boy runs away from home and ventures to New York City where he falls in with a gang of juvenile delinquents working as drug dealers and pickpockets for a shady crime boss.

The Children of Times Square

1986

Deadly Lessons poster
5.8

A psycho is stalking the students at an exclusive girls' school.

Deadly Lessons

1983

Cocaine: One Man's Seduction poster
6.9

A 47-year-old real estate salesman gets trapped in the insidious web of cocaine addiction.

Cocaine: One Man's Seduction

1983

The Nativity poster
7.5

The Nativity is seen through the eyes of three young visitors from the 20th century who are transported back through time to the Holy City

The Nativity

1986

A Gun in the House poster
6.8

A woman who uses a handgun to defend herself and shoots a man who is assaulting her in her home is doggedly prosecuted by the district attorney, bent on making an example of her case.

A Gun in the House

1981

Picking Up the Pieces poster
5.0

A sheltered wife of a surgeon suddenly finds herself thrust into the middle of a messy divorce.

Picking Up the Pieces

1985

The Sound of Murder poster
NR

The wife of a cynical children's author and her navy man lover decide to murder him because he won't give her a divorce. Their plan is so diabolically complicated it just might work, but the wife has second thoughts.

The Sound of Murder

1982

When Your Lover Leaves poster
7.0

Comedy about a woman dumped by her married boyfriend who gets involved in a short-lived relationship with a neighbor. When that also doesn't work out, she decides she must first do something to please herself.

When Your Lover Leaves

1983

The Sky's No Limit poster
4.5

Story of the lives, loves and personal problems of three women astronaut candidates planning to be the first women in space.

The Sky's No Limit

1984

Stark: Mirror Image poster
9.0

Sequel to the original movie about a hard-boiled Kansas City cop finds him tracking a colleague's killer to Las Vegas.

Stark: Mirror Image

1986

1970s · 5 titles

Series credits

MacGyver poster
7.7

He's everyone's favorite action hero... but he's a hero with a difference. Angus MacGyver is a secret agent whose wits are his deadliest weapon. Armed with only a knapsack filled with everyday items he picks up along the way, he improvises his way out of every peril the bad guys throw at him. Making a bomb out of chewing gum? Fixing a speeding car's brakes... while he's riding in it? Using soda pop to cook up tear gas? That's all in a day's adventures for MacGyver. He's part Boy Scout, part genius. And all hero.

MacGyver

1985

Dallas poster
6.9

The world's first mega-soap, and one of the most popular ever produced, Dallas had it all. Beautiful women, expensive cars, and men playing Monopoly with real buildings. Famous for one of the best cliffhangers in TV history, as the world asked "Who shot J.R.?" A slow-burner to begin with, Dallas hit its stride in the 2nd season, with long storylines and expert character development. Dallas ruled the airwaves in the 1980's.

Dallas

1978

Murder, She Wrote poster
7.5

An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.

Murder, She Wrote

1984

Murder, She Wrote poster
7.5

An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.

Murder, She Wrote

1984

Murder, She Wrote poster
7.5

An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.

Murder, She Wrote

1984

Great Performances poster
6.1

The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

Great Performances

1971

Knots Landing poster
6.9

The domestic adventures, misdeeds and everyday interactions of five families living on a cul-de-sac in a small California community.

Knots Landing

1979

Xena: Warrior Princess poster
7.5

Xena is an infamous warrior on a quest to seek redemption for her past sins against the innocent. Accompanied by her comrade-in-arms Gabrielle, the campy couple use their formidable fighting skills to help those who are unable to defend themselves.

Xena: Warrior Princess

1995

The A-Team poster
7.5

A fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel work as soldiers of fortune while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit."

The A-Team

1983

Dynasty poster
6.5

The saga of a wealthy Denver family in the oil business: Blake Carrington, the patriarch; Krystle, his former secretary and wife; his children: Adam, lost in childhood after a kidnapping; Fallon, pampered and spoiled; Steven, openly gay; and Amanda, hidden from him by his ex-wife, the conniving Alexis. Most of the show features the conflict between 2 large corporations, Blake's Denver Carrington and Alexis' ColbyCo.

Dynasty

1981

St. Elsewhere poster
5.7

St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series starred Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd and William Daniels as teaching doctors at a lightly-regarded Boston hospital who gave interns a promising future in making critical medical and life decisions.

St. Elsewhere

1982

Highway to Heaven poster
7.4

A probationary angel is sent back to Earth to team up with an ex-cop and help people.

Highway to Heaven

1984

Doogie Howser, M.D. poster
6.6

Doogie Howser is a doctor. He is also a 16-year-old genius who graduated college at age 10 and finished medical school at age 14. But he is still a teenager, with normal teenage friends and problems. But unlike a normal teenager, he is just learning to drive while also consulting on serious medical cases like heart transplants.

Doogie Howser, M.D.

1989

Hotel poster
6.8

Hotel is an American prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983 to May 5, 1988 in the timeslot following Dynasty. Based on Arthur Hailey's 1965 novel of the same name, the series was produced by Aaron Spelling and set in the elegant and fictitious St. Gregory Hotel in San Francisco. Establishing shots of the hotel were filmed in front of The Fairmont San Francisco atop the Nob Hill neighborhood. Episodes followed the activities of passing guests, as well as the personal and professional lives of the hotel staff.

Hotel

1982

Lou Grant poster
7.4

The trials of a former television station manager turned newspaper city editor, and his journalist staff.

Lou Grant

1977

The Facts of Life poster
7.1

Mrs. Edna Garrett, housemother and dietitian at the Eastland School, teaches a group of girls in her charge how to solve those problems that every teenager has to face.

The Facts of Life

1979

Cagney & Lacey poster
7.0

Mary Beth Lacey and Chris Cagney are teamed up as NYPD police detectives. Their opposing personalities (one is tough and the other sensitive) mesh to make this one of the great crime-fighting duos of all time.

Cagney & Lacey

1982

Hunter poster
7.1

Hunter is an American police drama television series created by Frank Lupo, and starring Fred Dryer as Sgt. Rick Hunter and Stepfanie Kramer as Sgt. Dee Dee McCall, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1991. However, Kramer left after the sixth season to pursue other acting and musical opportunities. In the seventh season, Hunter partnered with two different women officers. The titular character, Sgt. Rick Hunter, was a wily, physically imposing, and often rule-breaking homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. The show's main characters, Hunter and McCall, resolve many of their cases by shooting dead the perpetrators. The show's executive producer during the first season was Stephen J. Cannell, whose company produced the series.

Hunter

1984

Walker, Texas Ranger poster
7.0

Modern-day Texas Ranger, Cordell Walker's independent crime-solving methods have their roots in the rugged traditions of the Old West. Walker's closest friend is former Ranger, C.D. Parker, who retired after a knee injury, and now owns "C.D.'s," a Country/Western saloon/restaurant. Rookie Ranger, James "Jimmy" Trivette is an ex-football player who bases his crime-solving methods on reason and uses computers and cellular phones. Alex Cahill is the Assistant DA who shares a mutual attraction with Walker, but often disagrees with his unorthodox approach to law enforcement.

Walker, Texas Ranger

1993

Kojak poster
7.3

A bald, lollipop sucking police detective with a fiery righteous attitude battles crime in New York City.

Kojak

1973

Trapper John, M.D. poster
6.6

Trapper John, M.D. is an American television medical drama and spin-off of the film MASH, concerning a lovable doctor who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, California. The show ran on CBS from September 23, 1979, to September 4, 1986.

Trapper John, M.D.

1979

Captain Planet and the Planeteers poster
6.9

Eco-villains beware: Captain Planet is here to save the day! With the guidance of Gaia, five Planeteers - representing Earth, Fire, Water, Wind and Heart - come together to defend our planet from environmental destruction. With their powers combined, the team becomes the solution to pollution!

Captain Planet and the Planeteers

1990

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest poster
7.2

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest is an American animated action-adventure television series.

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest

1996

Hardcastle and McCormick poster
6.5

Hardcastle and McCormick is an American action/drama television series from Stephen J. Cannell Productions, shown on ABC from 1983 through 1986. The series stars Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle and Daniel Hugh Kelly as ex-con and race car driver Mark "Skid" McCormick. The series premise was somewhat recycled from a previous Cannell series, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe.

Hardcastle and McCormick

1983

The Universe poster
8.0

From the planets to the stars and out to the edge of the unknown, history and science collide in a wondrous yet deadly adventure through space and time.

The Universe

2007

Another World poster
5.5

Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC for 35 years from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. Set in the fictional town of Bay City, the show in its early years opens with announcer Bill Wolff intoning its epigram, “We do not live in this world alone, but in a thousand other worlds,” which Phillips said represented the difference between “the world of events we live in, and the world of feelings and dreams that we strive for.” Another World focused less on the conventional drama of domestic life as seen in other soap operas, and more on exotic melodrama between families of different classes and philosophies.

Another World

1964

SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron poster
8.0

In a world of anthropomorphic felines, two demoted fighter pilots battle evil as high flying masked vigilantes.

SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron

1993

The Paper Chase poster
7.6

Critically lauded drama about the life and pressures of a group of students at a prestigious Eastern law school, with a strict and domineering contract-law professor named Charles Kingsfield, who alternately inspires and terrifies the students.

The Paper Chase

1978

Cover Up poster
6.9

Cover Up is an American action/adventure television series that aired for one season on CBS from September 22, 1984 to April 6, 1985. Created by Glen A. Larson, the series stars Jennifer O'Neill, Jon-Erik Hexum, Antony Hamilton, and Richard Anderson.

Cover Up

1984

AfterMASH poster
5.5

AfterMASH is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from September 26, 1983, to December 11, 1984. A spin-off of the series M*A*S*H, the show takes place immediately following the end of the Korean War and chronicles the adventures of three characters from the original series: Colonel Potter, Klinger and Father Mulcahy. M*A*S*H supporting cast-member Kellye Nakahara joined them, albeit off-camera, as the voice of the hospital's public address system. Rosalind Chao rounded out the starring cast as Soon-Lee Klinger, a Korean refugee whom Klinger met, fell in love with and married in the M*A*S*H series finale "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen." AfterMASH premiered in the fall of 1983 in the same Monday night 9:00 P.M. EST. time slot as its predecessor M*A*S*H. It finished 10th out of all network shows for the 1983-1984 season according to Nielsen Media Research television ratings. For its second season CBS moved the show to Tuesday nights at 8:00 EST., opposite NBC's top ten hit The A-Team, and launched a marketing campaign featuring illustrations by Sanford Kossin of Max Klinger in a nurse's uniform, shaving off Mr. T's signature mohawk, theorizing that AfterMASH would take a large portion of The A-Team's audience. The theory, however, was proven wrong. In fact, the exact opposite occurred, as AfterMASH's ratings plummeted to near the bottom of the television rankings and the show was canceled nine episodes into its second season, while The A-Team continued until 1987, with 97 episodes.

AfterMASH

1983

Teachers Only poster
6.0

Teachers Only is an NBC television sitcom centered around the faculty of a high school; in the first season the school was Millard Fillmore High in Los Angeles, but in the second it is Woodrow Wilson High in New York with a changed cast. In both seasons Norman Fell played Principal Ben Cooper, but Lynn Redgrave's character, Diana Swanson, who had been an English teacher in the first season, became a guidance counselor in the second season. Redgrave and Fell were already established names when this show aired, but two of the supporting stars in the second season, Jean Smart would go on, three years later, to play her best known role, that of interior design studio receptionist Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the long running show, Designing Women. Also, Jean's co-star Teresa Ganzel became well known for her many game show appearances in the 1980s as well as her appearance in the comedic miniseries, Fresno. This show ran for only two seasons, in 1982 and 1983.

Teachers Only

1982

Blacke's Magic poster
6.8

Magician Alexander Blacke, with some help from his con-man father Leonard, solves mysteries that get in the way of his performances.

Blacke's Magic

1986

Whiz Kids poster
6.6

The premise follows four high school tenth-graders, who use their sophisticated knowledge of computers to become amateur detectives, solving crimes and bringing perpetrators to justice.

Whiz Kids

1983

Wildfire poster
6.8

Wildfire is an American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1986. The series follows the adventures of Sara, a 13-year-old girl growing up in the American West, as she discovers her true identity as a princess-in-hiding from another realm who is destined to fight an evil witch. The show was first broadcast on CBS for a single 13-episode season from September 13 to December 6, 1986.

Wildfire

1986

Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story poster
5.7

The true story of Barbara Hutton, who had inherited $40 million by the age of 6. This insight explores the effects that money can have on one's life, loves, and careers.

Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story

1989

The Word poster
4.8

A document is discovered that appears to be an ancient eyewitness account of the life of Jesus Christ. A public relations executive is hired to publicize this document as a new version of the Bible, but he finds himself enmeshed in controversy and intrigue.

The Word

1978

Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder poster
7.7

A sociopathic socialite plots her father's murder.

Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder

1987

History's Mysteries poster
6.3

History's Mysteries was an American documentary television series on the History Channel.

History's Mysteries

1998

The Dark Secret of Harvest Home poster
7.8

A New York commercial artist and his wife and daughter move to a quiet, rustic New England village they visited during their travels, only to find themselves mixed up in ritualistic lifestyle full of foreboding secrets.

The Dark Secret of Harvest Home

1978

A Peaceable Kingdom poster
6.7

A Peaceable Kingdom is an American television drama series that aired in 1989. The series was short-lived and was cancelled after only seven episodes.

A Peaceable Kingdom

1989