F. Murray Abraham was born on October 24, 1939 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and raised in El Paso, Texas. Primarily a stage actor, Abraham made his screen debut as an usher in the 'George C. Scott' , described Abraham as an "egomaniac" on the set, who considered himself more important than Sean Connery, since Connery did not have an Oscar. That said, the film was a critical success. Abraham had tired of appearing as villains and wanted to return to his background in comedy, as he also explained to People Weekly magazine in an interview he gave at the time of its release.
Attended the University of Texas at El Paso and the University of Texas at Austin.
He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and brought up in El Paso, Texas. His father, Frederick Abraham, who was born in Pennsylvania, was from an Assyrian Christian (Antiochian) family, from Syria. His mother, Josephine (Stello) Abraham, was also born in Pennsylvania, to Italian parents.
(July 2004) During a ceremony in Rome, he was awarded the "Premio per gli Italiani nel Mondo". This is a prize distributed by the Marzio Tremaglia foundation and the Italian government to Italian emigrants and their descendants who have distinguished themselves abroad.
Early in his career, he was one of the "Fruit of the Loom guys" (men dressed up as fruits) in the underwear commercials.
Attended and graduated from El Paso High School in El Paso, Texas .
Studied drama under the tutelage of Uta Hagen at HB Studio in Greenwich Village, New York City for a year in the early 1960s.
After his Academy Award for Amadeus , he turned down roles in films such as Clue and Poltergeist II: The Other Side .
Has filmed Scarface in Los Angeles at the same time as Amadeus in Prague, necessitating four round trip flights between the two.
One of his first plays in Los Angeles was a dramatization of a work by Ray Bradbury : "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit". He and Bradbury remained friends until Bradburys death.
Has appeared with Christian Slater in three films: Der Name der Rose , Beyond the Stars and Mobsters .
Has appeared with Sean Connery twice as his nemesis: Bernardo Gui in Der Name der Rose , and Professor Robert Crawford in Finding Forrester .
His first major success as an actor was as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus at age 45.
Learned to play the piano and to conduct for his role of Antonio Salieri in Amadeus .
(January 2010) He was the on-the-scene hero of a real-life crime scene at the Classic Stage Company in New York City, when he traded blows with a thief in the dressing room area during a public rehearsal.
As of 2017, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: All the Presidents Men , Amadeus and The Grand Budapest Hotel . Of those, Amadeus is a winner in the category.
Auditioned for the role of Charlie in An Unmarried Woman , but Paul Mazursky found that Cliff Gorman more closely resembled the directors New York artist friends.
He was originally considered for the role of painter Van Brenkelen in Miluji te modre , eventually played by Robert Russell.
He was awarded the John H. Finley Award by the Alumni Association of the City College of New York for exemplary dedicated service to the City of New York.
Received an honorary degree from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
Had two brothers: Robert and Jack Abraham, who were killed in separate automobile accidents.
Has two children with his wife Kate Hannah: Mick and Jamili Abraham.
He continues teaching drama classes at Brooklyn College in New York City.
British actors have their feel for Shakespeare and we Americans have,ours, and I think that we have a lot to learn from each other.
[on Amadeus (1984) ] Getting the part was just luck, good fortune.
[on Thir13en Ghosts (2001) ] I had a good time on that one. We,almost froze to death doing it but it pays a lot of bills. No,apologies. I had a good time.
[on post-Oscar typecasting] Right away, I got an offer to do someone who,murders children and I thought, "This is what Salieri means to them?".
I just throw it out and see what happens. If it sounds and feels right,then I continue.
I think creativity is spiritual. I absolutely believe that. I love,parties. I love a good time.
I am afraid of nothing on stage. I will try anything. As a matter of,fact, I embrace the danger. The difficulty is capturing surprise on,film.
As much preparation as I had made for the old man Salieri, gestures and,so on, the fact is after sitting for hours, your movements are kind of,slow. Once I looked into a mirror at my face, I felt like it was,completely convincing. I was Salieri.
All the stuff that you visualized that was going to work so beautifully,you discover is trashed, so you jump to something else.
I trust that the president will try, just give it one more shot, some,revolutionary way of not doing this, of bringing all those kids back,home safely.
