Dream On

Background:

Beginning acting around age 17, Brian Benben has sharpened his craft by performing at late 1970s off-off-Broadway productions. He entered television in the early 1980s and received early recognition while portraying gangster Michael Lansker in the Primetime Emmy-winning show "The Gangster Chronicles" (1981), which he reprised in its film version, "Gangster Wars" (1981), and playing Dr. Mark Doyle in the CBS medical drama series "Kay O'Brien" (1986).

Benben played his most popular role to date, as dreamer Martin Tupper, on HBO cult adult sitcom, "Dream On" (1990-1996). He also starred and co-executive produced his own show, "The Brian Benben Show," which was short-lived and was aired for nine episodes in 1998.

On the big screen, moviegoers could catch Benben in the films "Clean and Sober" (1988), "Mortal Sins" (1990), "Dark Angel" (1990), "Radioland Murders" (1994), and Surf's Up (2007; voice; scenes deleted).

This 5' 7" charming, compactly built, extremely affable actor has been married to actress Madeleine Stowe since 1982. They have two children together.

Brian Edward

Childhood and Family:

Son of a produce buyer father, Brian Edward Benben was born on June 18, 1956 in Winchester, Virginia. He has been married since 1982 to actress Madeleine Stowe (born on August 18, 1958), who played his wife Ruth Lasker in the "The Gangster Chronicles" (1981) series. They have a daughter, May (born in 1996), and a son. Benben, who moved to NYC at age 17, now live with his family on a working cattle ranch outside Fredericksburg, Texas.

The Brian Benben Show

Career:

At the age of 17, young Brian Benben moved to NYC and began performing in such late 1970s off-off-Broadway productions as John O'Keeffe's classic comedy "Wild Oats," Sam Shepard's musical "The Tooth of Crime," Wolf Mankowitz's "The Overcoat," "Gossip," Eugene O'Neill's "A Moon for the Misbegotten," and the role of Bottom in William Shakespeare's romantic comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

In the early 1980s, Benben began appearing on television, making his TV series debut as gangster Michael Lansker in the Primetime Emmy-winning show "The Gangster Chronicles" (1981), where he met future wife Madeleine Stowe who played his wife Ruth Lasker. That same year, he also reprised his gangster role in its film version, "Gangster Wars," which was directed by Richard Sarafian.

Benben subsequently co-starred with Milton Berle and Jeff Marcus in the TV movie adaptation of Dick Goldberg's play, "Family Business" (1983), and was spotted as a guest in an October 1986 episode of the syndicated anthology TV series "Tales from the Darkside." Meanwhile, he returned to the stage and appeared on Broadway in Scottish artist and playwright John Byrne's "Slab Boys" (1983).

In 1986, Benben co-starred with Patricia Kalember in the CBS medical drama series "Kay O'Brien," and in the following years, from 1987 to 1988, he played Billy in the Golden Globe-winning drama series "A Year in the Life."

During this time, Benben starred opposite Peter Boyle and Robert Carradine in the fact-based made-for-cable-TV docudrama "Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8" (1987) and guest-starred in an episode of NBC/ABC long-running legal drama starring Andy Griffith, "Matlock." He also supported Michael Keaton, Kathy Baker, and Morgan Freeman in Glenn Gordon Caron's dramatic movie, "Clean and Sober" (1988).

From 1990 to 1996, Benben played his most popular role to date, as dreamer Martin Tupper, on HBO cult adult sitcom, "Dream On." Meanwhile, he was cast in the films "Mortal Sins" (1990), a psychological thriller directed by Yuri Sivo, "Dark Angel" (1990), an action/thriller by Craig R. Baxley in which he co-starred with Dolph Lundgren as an F.B.I. investigating a spate of mysterious deaths, and "Radioland Murders" (1994), a romantic comedy by Mel Smith in which he portrayed Mary Stuart Masterson's soon-to-be ex-husband Roger. He was also on TV commercial for H.B.O. network, promoting "Dream On" (1990) and "The Larry Sanders Show" (1992), alongside Garry Shandling, and co-starred with Kathy Lamkin in the comedic TV movie "Comfort, Texas" (1997).

Following the demise of "Dream On," Benben starred and co-executive produced his own show, "The Brian Benben Show," which was short-lived and was aired for nine episodes in 1998. He then wen on to star in the TV movies "The Flamingo Rising" (2001), which based on Larry Baker's novel with Benben starred as Hubert Lee, the guy who will open the world's largest drive-in movie theater across the street from a funeral parlor, and "Sister Mary Explains It All" (2001), which based on Christopher Durang's play with Benben starred opposite Diane Keaton.

He also starred as Dr. Heywood Klein in the crime/drama miniseries starring Yancey Arias, "Kingpin," which debuted on the NBC network in the U.S. and CTV in Canada on February 2, 2003 and lasted 6 episodes. Additionally, he appeared as a guest in a December 2005 episode of Showtime's horror show, "Masters of Horror."

Benben recently co-starred with Natasha Richardson in the failed TV series pilot "The Mastersons of Manhattan" (2007). That same year, he had deleted voice scenes in the Academy Award-nominated computer-animated mockumentary film, "Surf's Up."

Awards:
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