Born on May 20, 1959 in New York City, Bronson Pinchot is an American actor raised in Southern California. He attended South Pasadena High School, before gaining a scholarship to Yale University. He was also a member of Morse College, and was initially interested in painting before pursuing acting.
Bronson Pinchot was cast in an off-Broadway play after his graduation, where he was seen by a casting director. He was then chosen to play the role of Barry in
Risky Business in 1983. He then appeared on films like 1984’s
The Flamingo Kid and
Beverly Hills Cop. His role there led him the part of Balki Bartokomous in
Perfect Strangers, an ABC sitcom which highlighted his humorous foreign accent. In 1987, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Pinchot had a reputation in Hollywood as being difficult to work with, and he didn’t fare well in the short-lived series
The Trouble with Larry. He first appeared on Broadway in 1990’s
Zoya’s Apartment, a comedy of the Circle in the Square Theater. His career in the big screen started out as a disappointment, but he later gained success starring in
True Romance in 1993. He then reprised his role as Serge in
Beverly Hills Cop III, which earned him a notable status in the industry. In 1996, he was cast in
Courage Under Fire, and was in
The First Wives Club as a flamboyant interior designer. He had a number of television roles as the 1990s progressed, being cast in Stephen King’s
The Langoliers in 1995. He also joined the cast of
Step by Step as a hair salon owner. He was also widely applauded for impersonating the legendary Stan Laurel in
The All-New Adventures of Laurel and Hardy: For Love or Mummy in 1999.
In 2005, Pinchot was cast in VH1 show
The Surreal Life season 5. T he show features celebrities who are said to be past their primes and puts them in a Hollywood Hills mansion for two weeks. In this season's circus/carnival theme, Pinchot was introduced as “the Man from Mypos,” in reference to the fictional island-country where he supposedly came from in
Perfect Strangers.
On one of the show's earlier episodes, Pinchot got into a tiff with
The Apprentice alumna
Omarosa Manigault after he called her one of the fakest people he had ever met. Also, on the episode where the cast was made to put a burlesque show at a Hollywood night club, Pinchot performed a stand-up comedy routine to the delight of the crowd. In a later episode, meanwhile, he showed his softer side when he comforted and cried with supermodel
Janice Dickinson, who finally broke down after a clash with Omarosa.
(Photo courtesy of VH1)