Ray Girardin (January 23, 1935 - February 28, 2019) was an American stage and screen actor and a writer, who appeared as Phil, the foreman on the house being built on the spot where Mork & Mindy first met, in Season 4's Present Tense.
Biography[]
Raymond George Girardin Jr was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Wakefield HS, followed by a 2-year stint in the Marine Corps. Upon his honorable discharge, Ray attended and graduated from Boston University’s renowned Theater Department. While at B.U., Ray appeared in numerous campus productions, while spending summers performing in countless stock theaters.[1][2]
Girardin began his career, after graduating from Boston University and moving to New York, where he performed on stage, and met his soon to be wife Marlene Ray.
After marrying Marlene( 1961 - 28 February 2019) they moved out to California where she took up a job in a salon (which she would go on to own) and he started his Hollywood career, and they started a family, adopting son Donny, with Michael to follow.[3]
After 30+ years in L.A., Marlene and Ray decided to relocate to Kent, CT, where Ray continued booking numerous acting roles in NY.[3]
A member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity for over 50 years, he gradually weaned himself from performing after relocating back to the East Coast, and turned to mentoring and nurturing a new generation of young actors as the director of a slate of successful plays at the Academy Theater at Orleans on Cape Cod.[1]
He died on February 28, 2019 in Amherst, Massachusetts after a short battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Career[]
After he and his wife settled in L.A, California, he kicked off his film and television career, appearing in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., in 1967. Guest appearances on various television series followed until, Ray landed the role of the ne’er-do-well Howie Dawson on General Hospital (1968-73).[4]
Other TV credits over the years include Law and Order, multiple episodes of The Rockford Files, Murder, She Wrote, Remington Steele and many others. On the comedy front, Ray’s appearances included The Bob Newhart Show, Happy Days, Mork & Mindy, and was a series regular on The Flip Wilson Show.
On the big screen, Ray made his big screen bow in the Julie Andrews starring Star! and had featured roles in films including Dad (with Jack Lemmon) Love Affair (Warren Beatty), Loverboy (Patrick Dempsey), as well as co-starring in the films Gospa with Martin Sheen, and in the burgeoning cult favorite Hollywood Man, which he wrote with his friend and co-star, William Smith.
Film[]
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Star! | Young Reporter |
| 1976 | Hollywood Man | Harvey |
| 1983 | Max Dugan Returns | Umpire |
| 1984 | The Lonely Guy | Henry, Bridge Jumper |
| 1987 | Number One with a Bullet | Lt. Kaminski |
| 1989 | Loverboy | Henry |
| 1989 | Dad | Butcher |
| 1994 | Love Affair | Wally Tripp |
| 1995 | Gospa | Father Zrinko Cuvalo |
| Year | TV Movie | Role |
| 1980 | Marriage Is Alive and Well | Airport Cop |
| 1980 | Where the Ladies Go | Jerry |
| 1980 | Joshua's World | Tiny |
| 1981 | Midnight Offerings | Clausen |
| 1981 | Freedom | John |
| 1982 | Help Wanted: Male | Gleason |
| 1982 | Prime Suspect | Ray Embry |
| 1982 | The Executioner's Song | Snyder |
| 1983 | Deadly Lessons | Maitland |
| 1983 | Full House | Ken Adams |
| 1983 | Secrets of a Mother and Daughter | Abe – the Bartender |
| 1984 | Concrete Beat | Phil |
| 1984 | Silence of the Heart | Harris |
| 1985 | A Reason to Live | Tom Yusem |
| 1985 | Badge of the Assassin | FBI Agent King |
| 1986 | Second Serve | Grigsby |
| 1986 | Long Time Gone | Michael Diablo |
| 1987 | Convicted: A Mother's Story | Mr. Anderson |
| 1988 | Scandal in a Small Town | Don |
| 1988 | Out of Time | Capt. Krones |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Episode(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | The Survival School Affair | Andrew Hague |
| 1967–1968 | Judd, for the Defense | Citizen Ritter
In a Puff of Smoke |
Mark Thurman
Induction Lieutenant |
| 1968–1973 | General Hospital | Multiple Episodes | Howie Dawson |
| 1974–1975 | The Rockford Files | Profit and Loss, Part 1: Profit
The Great Blue Lake Land and Development Company |
Ted
Murray Johnson |
| 1975 | Gunsmoke | Brides and Grooms | Cluff Tobin |
| 1976 | Switch | Switch-Hitter | Victor |
| 1977 | Police Story | Prime Rib | Bill Massey |
| 1977–1978 | Thunder | 12 episodes | Sam Williams |
| 1978 | Barney Miller | Wojo's Problem | Vince Licori |
| 1978 | Kaz | In a Safe Place | |
| 1978–1981 | Happy Days | The Kissing Bandit
Mother and Child Reunion |
Sgt. Ryan
Big Harold |
| 1979 | From Here to Eternity | Parts 1 - 3 | Sgt. Fred |
| 1980 | Skag | The Wildcatters | Moran |
| 1980 | Stone | Just a Little Blow Between Friends | |
| 1980 | Beulah Land | Part III | Captain Ponder |
| 1981 | The White Shadow | The Vanity Fare | Bill Price |
| 1982 | Mork & Mindy | Present Tense | Phil |
| 1982 | The Greatest American Hero | The Shock Will Kill You | Colonel Nelson |
| 1982 | Hart to Hart | Hart and Sole | Det. Jack Finnegan |
| 1982 | The Quest | Pilot | |
| 1982 | T.J. Hooker | Big Foot | Hatfield |
| 1982 | Benson | Benson's Army Reunion | Danny |
| 1983 | The A-Team | Steel | Carl Denham |
| 1983–1986 | Remington Steele | Steele Away with Me: Part 1
Steele Away with Me: Part 2 Santa Claus Is Coming to Steele |
Jack Merkle
Jack Merkle Lieutenant Benjamin |
| 1984 | Riptide | Pilot | Detective |
| 1984 | Newhart | Curious George at the Firehouse | Hank Dawson |
| 1984 | Dallas | Twelve Mile Limit | Richard Stevens |
| 1984 | Hunter | The Hot Grounder | Manny Roth |
| 1984–1985 | Hardcastle and McCormick | Outlaw Champion
The Game You Learn from Your Father |
Martin Grayson
Coach Harmson |
| 1984–1986 | Hill Street Blues | Grace Under Pressure
Come and Get It |
Harlan
Jerry |
| 1985 | Cover Up | Adams' Ribs | Paul Adams |
| 1985 | Charlie & Co. | 13 episodes | Walter Simpson |
| 1985–1988 | What's Happening Now!! | A Horse Is Not a Home
Shirley's Debt |
Duke
Ringmaster |
| 1986 | Melba | Manhunt | |
| 1986 | St. Elsewhere | When You Wish Upon a Scar | |
| 1986–1987 | Murder, She Wrote | One Good Bid Deserves a Murder
Death Takes a Dive If It's Thursday, It Must Be Beverly |
Lt. Casey
George Tibbits George Tibbits |
| 1987 | The Magical World of Disney | Bride of Boogedy | Elmer |
| 1987 | Hooperman | Don We Now Our Gay Apparel | Murphy |
| 1987 | The Law & Harry McGraw | Yankee Boodle Dandy | |
| 1987–1991 | L.A. Law | Divorce with Extreme Prejudice
Do the Spike Thing |
Detective Connolly
Lieutenant Connolly |
| 1989 | Baywatch | Shelter Me | Mr. Dietz |
| 1990 | Capital News | Tapes of Wrath | Arthur Baranco |
| 1991 | Married... with Children | Weenie Tot Lovers & Other Strangers | Mr. Schnick |
| 1991 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Ashes to Ashes | West Beverly Security Force Head |
| 1992 | The Royal Family | Cocoa in Charge | Cop No. 1 |
| 1995 | New York Undercover | Catman Comes Back | Truck Driver |
| 1995 | New York News | Past Imperfect | Cop |
| 1995–1999 | Law & Order | Performance
Custody Juvenile |
Detective Malone
Det. Sal Martel Nick Follett |
| 1996 | Cosby | Guard Almighty | Security Guard |
Mork & Mindy[]
Ray played the part of the highly affable and supremely romantic Phil, the foreman on the building site for the House that now occupies the spot where Mork and Mindy first met years before. When his crew start catcalling the couple as they try to get romantic with each other, Phil puts a stop to it, and comes down to talk to them, wanting to know how they met. And so keen to talk about how he met his wife, that he passes straight over the fact that Mork tells him the literal truth of his arrival on earth and meeting Mindy. Waxing lyrical about his intentions to get romantic with his own wife that night, he leaves the couple to reconnect in peace.