Basil Hoffman

Acting

Basil Hoffman

Born — Died

1938-01-18 — 2021-09-17

Place of birth

Houston, Texas, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

77 titles

Basil Harry Hoffman (January 18, 1938 — September 17, 2021) was an American actor with a film and television career spanning five decades, mostly in supporting roles. He starred in films with many award-winning directors, including Alan Pakula and Robert Redford. He has also authored two books about acting, including Acting and How to Be Good at It. Hoffman was born in Houston, Texas in January 1938, the son of Beulah (née Novoselsky) and David Hoffman, an antique dealer. He graduated from Tulane University; and he spent two years at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, receiving a scholarship for the second, graduating year. His thirteen years of work in New York includ…

Known for

Seinfeld poster
8.3

A stand-up comedian and his three offbeat friends weather the pitfalls and payoffs of life in New York City in the '90s. It's a show about nothing.

Seinfeld

1989

Columbo poster
8.1

Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.

Columbo

1971

The West Wing poster
8.3

The West Wing provides a glimpse into presidential politics in the nation's capital as it tells the stories of the members of a fictional presidential administration. These interesting characters have humor and dedication that touches the heart while the politics that they discuss touch on everyday life.

The West Wing

1999

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

M*A*S*H poster
7.9

The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is stuck in the middle of the Korean war. With little help from the circumstances they find themselves in, they are forced to make their own fun. Fond of practical jokes and revenge, the doctors, nurses, administrators, and soldiers often find ways of making wartime life bearable.

M*A*S*H

1972

Falcon Crest poster
5.6

Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the Californian wine industry. Jane Wyman starred as Angela Channing, the tyrannical matriarch of the Falcon Crest Winery, alongside Robert Foxworth as Chase Gioberti, Angela's nephew who returns to Falcon Crest following the death of his father. The series was set in the fictitious Tuscany Valley northeast of San Francisco.

Falcon Crest

1981

Film credits

2010s · 12 titles

Hail, Caesar! poster
5.9

When a Hollywood star mysteriously disappears in the middle of filming, the studio sends their fixer to get him back.

Hail, Caesar!

2016

The Artist poster
7.4

Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break.

The Artist

2011

The Last Word poster
6.6

A retired businesswoman – who tries to control everything around her – decides to write her own obituary. A young journalist takes up the task of finding out the truth, and the result is a life-altering friendship.

The Last Word

2017

Rio, I Love You poster
4.8

The third episode of the Cities of Love franchise, Rio, I Love You is an anthology, created by 10 visionary directors from across the globe. The story line of each segment focuses on an encounter of love in a different neighborhood of the city, demonstrating the distinctive qualities and character of that location. The film serves to bridge gaps between cultures, educating and entertaining the audience, while celebrating unique and universal expressions of love.

Rio, I Love You

2014

3 Geezers! poster
3.9

Follow actor J Kimball as he researches what it's like to be old for a role in an upcoming movie. When he meets the residents at The Coconuts convalescent home, he quickly discovers that his perceptions of the elderly may be off from today's reality. After being on the wrong end of some pranks, J enlists the help of his Hollywood friends to turn the tides. Mayhem ensues.

3 Geezers!

2013

Mommy I Didn't Do It poster
5.9

After finishing law school, Ellen Plainview is looking forward to spending some much needed time with her seventeen-year-old daughter, Julie. But when Julie is charged with the murder of a teacher she was rumored to be having an affair with, Ellen stops at nothing to clear her daughter's name, even when all the evidence seems to point to Julie’s guilt.

Mommy I Didn't Do It

2017

Mr. Roberts poster
NR

The question is...do you ever really know anyone?

Mr. Roberts

2019

Throwdown poster
3.2

A young criminal defense attorney struggles with a homicide case that is not as cut and dry as it appears while battling a drinking habit. The story goes beyond the lives of those directly related to the case and shines a much needed spotlight on the horrific world of human trafficking in the United States.

Throwdown

2014

No artwork available
NR

Retired Oscar-winning actor Calvin Adams attempts to outwit some neighborhood kids in a battle to sell the most lemonade.

When Life Gives You Lemons

2010

The Pineville Heist poster
7.0

A high school teen stumbles into the aftermath of a bank robbery gone wrong and finds himself locked inside his school trying to keep himself and his teacher alive as one of the psychotic robbers hunts them down.

The Pineville Heist

2016

No artwork available
NR

“SURREAL ESTATE” is a dark comedy short about a man, Mr. Smith, who attempts to rent a house and everything that can go wrong…does. It’s for anyone who has ever been to the DMV, changed checkout lines in a supermarket, or tried to navigate an automated telephone menu. It's the absurd chaos that develops in our minds as fantasy, but for Mr. Smith, it's all too real.

Surreal Estate

2011

No artwork available
NR

The French American is a drama film directed by Darla Rae

The French American

2015

1990s · 7 titles

Switch poster
5.9

Steve Brooks, a sexist womanizer, is killed by a group of his angry former lovers. In heaven, he makes a bargain with God for redemption and agrees to return to Earth. Once there, he must have a sincere relationship with a female and make her fall in love with him. If not, Steve's soul will become the property of the devil. But the devil hedges his bet, and Steve is reincarnated as a woman named Amanda Brooks.

Switch

1991

Lambada poster
5.5

Kevin Laird is a Beverly Hills school teacher by day and a mystery man by night. Using his lambada dance moves to first earn the kid's respect and acceptance, Kevin then teaches them academics. But when a jealous student exposes Kevin's double life, his two worlds collide, threatening his job and reputation.

Lambada

1990

No artwork available
9.0

Mimi, a free spirited girl out shopping, is given a mysterious box by a dying man, who instructs her not to give it to his killers. While being chased by the thugs who killed him, she meets Howard, an uptight dental student, who enlists his private detective uncle to help them find out the truth about the box.

Mimi & Me

1991

Culture poster
6.7

A junior editor gets a nice promotion while working for a famous New York daily. With the function comes a secretary, a veteran lady accustomed in a certain working tradition. But her new boss goes on a different working culture whose motto is "Speed, efficiency and organization".

Culture

1997

The Ice Runner poster
5.3

US-agent West travels to Moscow for the CIA in order to buy Russian weapons and to send them to the rebels in Afghanistan. When West gets caught he hides his identity and receives 15 years in a working camp in Siberia as penalty

The Ice Runner

1992

The Elvira Show poster
5.0

An unaired half-hour sitcom pilot starring Cassandra Peterson as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Elvira moves to Manhattan, Kansas with her eccentric witch aunt Minerva and their sarcastic talking black cat Renfield. They try to blend into the conservative small town while Elvira works as a fortune teller and sells love potions on the side.

The Elvira Show

1993

Hefner: Unauthorized poster
5.0

The unauthorized biography of Hugh Hefner and the birth of the Playboy empire.

Hefner: Unauthorized

1999

1980s · 11 titles

Ordinary People poster
7.4

Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having difficulty being supportive to Conrad. Calvin is trapped between the two trying to hold the family together.

Ordinary People

1980

Night Shift poster
6.1

A nebbish of a morgue attendant gets shunted back to the night shift where he is shackled with an obnoxious neophyte partner who dreams of the "one great idea" for success. His life takes a bizarre turn when a prostitute neighbor complains about the loss of her pimp. His partner, upon hearing the situation, suggests that they fill that opening themselves using the morgue at night.

Night Shift

1982

The Milagro Beanfield War poster
6.5

The accidental breakdown of an irrigation valve launches a hot confrontation between the mainly Latino farmers in a tiny New Mexico town and the real estate developers and politicians determined to acquire their land for a golf resort.

The Milagro Beanfield War

1988

All of Me poster
6.5

Just before stubborn millionaire Edwina Cutwater dies, she asks her uptight lawyer, Roger Cobb, to amend her will so that her soul will pass to the young, vibrant Terry Hoskins – but the spiritual transference goes awry. Edwina enters Roger's body instead, forcing him to battle Edwina for control of his own being.

All of Me

1984

My Favorite Year poster
6.6

Fledgling comic Benjy Stone can't believe his luck when his childhood hero, the swashbuckling matinee idol Alan Swann, gets booked to appear on the variety show he writes for. But when Swann arrives, he fails to live up to his silver screen image. Instead, he's a drunken womanizer who suffers from stage fright. Benjy is assigned to look after him before the show, and it's all he can do to keep his former idol from going completely off the rails.

My Favorite Year

1982

The Ratings Game poster
5.7

A New Jersey trucker creates a hit TV show with help from his girlfriend in the ratings business.

The Ratings Game

1984

Communion poster
5.4

A novelist's wife and son see him changed by an apparent encounter with aliens in the mountains.

Communion

1989

Welcome Home, Jellybean poster
7.0

A CBS Schoolbreak Special about a 12-year-old mentally-challenged girl whose parents decide to remove her from the institution where she was raised, and try to give her a home life.

Welcome Home, Jellybean

1984

Games Mother Never Taught You poster
8.0

Hard-working career wife Laura becomes the first female executive in an all-male office and is dismayed to find she now has to learn the rules of the corporate game.

Games Mother Never Taught You

1982

Kidco poster
6.6

A boy who lives at a country club where his father works decides to make some extra money by selling composted horse manure as fertilizer, and has his three sisters (two of which are older) join him in the enterprise. As their sales increase, they draw increased scrutiny from the IRS and state tax board, as well as the large scale competitor who seeks to put them out of business at any cost.

Kidco

1984

Scout's Honor poster
7.5

Gary Coleman stars as little Joey Seymour, a clever but lonely orphan shuffled from one foster home to the next, who is also determined to be the best Cub Scout ever. Pearl Bartlett (Katherine Helmond) is a hard-working executive who dislikes children, but she must take on a troop of Cub Scouts and become a den mother to save her job. Somewhere along the way, Joey teaches Pearl the true meaning of caring.

Scout's Honor

1980

1970s · 14 titles

Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
7.4

After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

1977

All the President's Men poster
7.7

During the 1972 elections, two reporters' investigation sheds light on the controversial Watergate scandal that compels President Nixon to resign from his post.

All the President's Men

1976

The Electric Horseman poster
6.1

A former champion rodeo rider is reduced to using his saddle skills to promote a breakfast cereal in a gaudy Las Vegas show. When he's asked to perform with a $12 million horse, he discovers it is being doped to remain docile. He flees into the desert astride the beast in an act of defiance. A story-hungry female reporter gives chase.

The Electric Horseman

1979

Love at First Bite poster
6.0

Dracula and Renfield relocate to '70s era New York in search of Cindy Sondheim, the reincarnation of Dracula's one true love, Mina Harker. "Trouble adjusting" is a wild understatement for the Count as he battles Cindy's psychiatrist, Jeffrey Rosenberg, a descendant of Van Helsing, who may be in love with Cindy too.

Love at First Bite

1979

Comes a Horseman poster
6.1

Ella Connors is a single woman who gets pressured to sell her failing cattle farm to her corrupt ex-suitor, Jacob Ewing. She asks for help from her neighbor, Frank Athearn. As Ella and Frank fight back through stampedes, jealousy, betrayal, and sabotage... they eventually find love.

Comes a Horseman

1978

At Long Last Love poster
5.1

Four socialites unexpectedly clash: heiress Brooke Carter runs into gambler Johnny Spanish at the race track while playboy Michael O. Pritchard nearly runs into stage star Kitty O'Kelly with his car. Backstage at Kitty's show, it turns out she and Brooke are old friends who attended public school together. The foursome do the town, accompanied by Brooke's companion Elizabeth, who throws herself at Michael's butler and chauffeur Rodney James.

At Long Last Love

1975

Jennifer: A Woman’s Story poster
7.0

The widow of a wealthy shipbuilder tries to hold onto his business and becomes involved with boardroom intrigue in her bitter struggle to maintain control of the company. Based on British TV series "The Foundation." Pilot to a prospective series.

Jennifer: A Woman’s Story

1979

Lady Liberty poster
5.5

An Italian woman faces challenges at JFK Airport when Customs confiscates the mortadella sausage she brought as a gift for her fiancé, leading to a humorous and frustrating ordeal.

Lady Liberty

1971

Cage Without a Key poster
6.0

A high school girl who needs a ride accepts one from a boy she doesn't know. He then forces her to participate in a robbery, in which a clerk is killed. They are soon caught, and the girl, despite her protestations of innocence, is convicted of first-degree murder and sent to prison. Once she gets there, she finds out that her troubles are just beginning.

Cage Without a Key

1975

The Great Ice Rip-Off poster
7.5

A retired cop goes up against a slick jewel thief and his gang, who have pulled a diamond heist and are trying to smuggle the diamonds cross-country.

The Great Ice Rip-Off

1974

Love’s Dark Ride poster
6.7

A young advertising executive, blinded in a gun accident, attempts to rebuild his life and career by living through a nightclub entertainer who befriends him.

Love’s Dark Ride

1978

Ellery Queen: Too Many Suspects poster
8.0

When a famous fashion designer is found murdered, Inspector Richard Queen of the NYPD is baffled by her dying clue, prompting him to bring in his son, mystery writer Ellery Queen, to help in the investigation. This was the pilot film for the short-lived TV series.

Ellery Queen: Too Many Suspects

1975

American Raspberry poster
5.6

Some unknown source has interrupted all television transmissions around the world. In place of the regular broadcasts, a lineup of extremely tasteless programs and commercials have been substituted. Included in the mix are such show as The Shitheads, The Charles Whitman Invitational, and commercials for a number of improbable products.

American Raspberry

1977

America on Parade poster
9.0

Television special for the American Bicentennial starring Red Skelton, featuring the America on Parade pageant at Disneyland.

America on Parade

1976

Series credits

Seinfeld poster
8.3

A stand-up comedian and his three offbeat friends weather the pitfalls and payoffs of life in New York City in the '90s. It's a show about nothing.

Seinfeld

1989

Columbo poster
8.1

Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.

Columbo

1971

The West Wing poster
8.3

The West Wing provides a glimpse into presidential politics in the nation's capital as it tells the stories of the members of a fictional presidential administration. These interesting characters have humor and dedication that touches the heart while the politics that they discuss touch on everyday life.

The West Wing

1999

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

M*A*S*H poster
7.9

The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is stuck in the middle of the Korean war. With little help from the circumstances they find themselves in, they are forced to make their own fun. Fond of practical jokes and revenge, the doctors, nurses, administrators, and soldiers often find ways of making wartime life bearable.

M*A*S*H

1972

Falcon Crest poster
5.6

Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the Californian wine industry. Jane Wyman starred as Angela Channing, the tyrannical matriarch of the Falcon Crest Winery, alongside Robert Foxworth as Chase Gioberti, Angela's nephew who returns to Falcon Crest following the death of his father. The series was set in the fictitious Tuscany Valley northeast of San Francisco.

Falcon Crest

1981

The Practice poster
7.6

A provocative legal drama focused on young associates at a bare-bones Boston firm and their scrappy boss, Bobby Donnell. The show's forte is its storylines about “people who walk a moral tightrope.”

The Practice

1997

The Rockford Files poster
7.6

Cranky but likable L.A. PI Jim Rockford pulls no punches (but takes plenty of them). An ex-con sent to the slammer for a crime he didn't commit, Rockford takes on cases others don't want, aided by his tough old man, his lawyer girlfriend and some shady associates from his past.

The Rockford Files

1974

Hill Street Blues poster
7.6

A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.

Hill Street Blues

1981

Hill Street Blues poster
7.6

A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.

Hill Street Blues

1981

Night Court poster
7.3

An eccentric fun-loving judge presides over an urban night court and all the silliness going on there.

Night Court

1984

The Waltons poster
7.1

The Waltons live their life in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II.

The Waltons

1972

Barney Miller poster
7.4

Barney Miller is the kind of cop we'd all like to run into. Always sensible, he maintains order over a band of detectives who gamble, hit on anything in skirts, go to renaissance philosophy conventions for fun, and would really prefer to be writing. Nearly all of the action takes place in the squad room where citizens and criminals are brought in to complicate the mix.

Barney Miller

1975

Matlock poster
7.0

Thrifty, folksy and cantankerous, Matlock charges a premium for his services but is worth every penny: This renowned attorney, always clothed in his trademark light-gray suit and driving his signature Ford Crown Victoria, has an uncanny knack for finding overlooked clues and exposing murderers in dramatic courtroom scenes.

Matlock

1986

The Twilight Zone poster
7.7

This 1980s revival of the classic sci-fi series features a similar style to the original anthology series. Each episode tells a tale (sometimes two or three) rooted in horror or suspense, often with a surprising twist at the end. Episodes usually feature elements of drama and comedy.

The Twilight Zone

1985

Kojak poster
7.3

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

Kojak

1973

The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents poster
7.2

The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1985 to 1986, and on the USA Network from 1987 to 1989. The series is an updated re-imagining of the classic 1955 series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents

1985

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction poster
7.3

Can you tell the difference between fact and fiction? Several stories of strange, mysterious and incredible occurrences are chronicled during each episode. It is up to the viewer to decide which stories actually happened and which were completely fabricated by the show’s writers. The answer is revealed by Jonathan Frakes at the conclusion of each episode.

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction

1997

Sanford and Son poster
7.5

The misadventures of a cantankerous junk dealer and his frustrated son.

Sanford and Son

1972

Sledge Hammer! poster
8.0

Sledge Hammer! is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from 1986 to 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector Sledge Hammer, a preposterous caricature of the standard "cop on the edge" character. Al Jean and Mike Reiss, best known for their work on The Simpsons, wrote for the show and worked as story editors.

Sledge Hammer!

1986

Ellery Queen poster
7.5

Ellery Queen is an American television detective mystery series based on the fictional character Ellery Queen. It aired on NBC during the 1975-76 television season and stars Jim Hutton as Ellery Queen, David Wayne as his father, Inspector Richard Queen, and Tom Reese as Sgt. Velie. Created by the writing/producing team of Richard Levinson and William Link, the title character "breaks" the fourth wall to ask the audience to consider their solution.

Ellery Queen

1975

Eerie, Indiana poster
7.5

Teenage weirdness investigator Marshall Teller adventures through his new small-town home with his friends, geeky Simon Holmes and mysterious Dash X.

Eerie, Indiana

1991

Kindred: The Embraced poster
7.1

Kindred: The Embraced is an American television series produced by John Leekley Productions and Spelling Television. Loosely based on the role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade, the series premiered on Fox on April 2, 1996, and ran for eight episodes before it was canceled on May 9, 1996. The series focused on San Francisco Police Detective Frank Kohanek who discovers his city is home to numerous vampires while investigating alleged mobster, Julian Luna. Julian is the "prince" of the city, ruler of five groups of vampires in the city, collectively called "The Kindred". The vampires survive through the "masquerade", disguising themselves as humans, and Julian strictly enforces the laws that govern them to protect their anonymity. Julian and Frank form an uneasy bond as they work together to try to prevent a vampire war and Julian struggles with his romantic feelings for human reporter Caitlin Byrne. The eight episodes of the series have been released on VHS and DVD.

Kindred: The Embraced

1996

No artwork available
10.0

For the People is an American Legal drama that aired from July 21, 2002 until February 16, 2003.

For the People

2002

Out of the Blue poster
7.3

Out Of The Blue is an American fantasy sitcom that aired on ABC during the fall of 1979. It is chiefly notable as having featured a Mork & Mindy crossover, and for the controversy surrounding its status as a spin-off of Happy Days. The series stars Jimmy Brogan as Random, an angel-in-training who is assigned to live with a family and work as a high school teacher. The series aired from September 9 to December 16, 1979. Nine episodes had been aired at the time of cancellation. Some completed material was never broadcast.

Out of the Blue

1979

Maggie poster
10.0

Based on books by Erma Bombeck, Maggie Weston is a housewife living with husband Len and sons Mark and Bruce outside of Dayton, Ohio. There is a third son, LJ, who is never seen because he's "always in the bathroom." Rounding out the main cast are Maggie's friends.

Maggie

1981

Ace Crawford, Private Eye poster
6.7

Ace Crawford, Private Eye is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from March to April 1983. The series parodied the “hard-boiled detective” genre.

Ace Crawford, Private Eye

1983

Beauty and the Beast poster
7.4

Savvy Assistant District Attorney Catherine Chandler is saved by a noble, beast-like man named Vincent, who lives in a secret, utopian community beneath New York City. They share a psychic bond, and he protects her from above.

Beauty and the Beast

1987