Paul Benedict

The English neighbor who was born in New Mexico

Paul Benedict had a jaw that didn't fit a conventional close-up. It wasn't a matter of ego but of genetics. He suffered from acromegaly, a condition that enlarged his features and gave him a look that casting directors in the 1970s couldn't ignore.

No one forgot that jaw.

In 1969, he began painting numbers on the walls of Sesame Street. Those children's segments were his first big platform, but the mass audience didn't identify him until years later, through a role in which he played for laughs by being absent-minded. In 1975, he agreed to play Harry Bentley in the sitcom The Jeffersons.

Many viewers swore Benedict was a British actor fresh off a British Airways flight. In reality, he was born in Silver City, New Mexico, and trained on the stages of Boston. His accent was such a precise technical construction that it kept the illusion alive through the ten seasons the series aired.

But his face hid a medical diagnosis.

An endocrinologist who saw him on television contacted the production company to tell the actor that his physical features were not natural. Thanks to that call, Benedict underwent surgery that stopped his bones from growing. The operation saved his life but didn't diminish his ability to steal every scene he appeared in.

Christopher Guest's Shadow

The films of the 1990s allowed him to move away from television's canned laughter. In 1996, he took part in Waiting for Guffman, which launched a vital creative partnership with director Christopher Guest. Benedict fit right into that world of dry humor and characters who take themselves far too seriously.

And the gamble paid off.

In 2000, he appeared in Best in Show as one of the judges at a dog show. He didn't need big speeches to convey a mix of authority and absurdity. His physical presence filled the frame without excessive gesturing, because his face already told a story of strangeness and dignity.

In 2003, he reunited with the same ensemble of actors in A Mighty Wind. By then he was a premium supporting player whom independent film fans looked for in the opening credits. He also worked under directors like Herbert Ross on The Goodbye Girl (1977) and Barry Sonnenfeld on The Addams Family (1991).

The stage was always her refuge.

Despite his success on screen, he never left the Broadway stage. In 1968, he debuted in the play Little Murders, and for decades he alternated filming in Los Angeles with performances in New York. His deep voice and impeccable diction made him a character actor who preferred technical precision to personal showmanship.

In December 2008, his brother found him dead at his home on Martha's Vineyard. He was 70 years old and had just finished his run in the play School for Scandal. The autopsy confirmed he died of natural causes at his residence in Massachusetts.