Gordon Clapp

Gordon Clapp is best known as the Emmy-winning, Tony-nominated actor who charmed audiences as Det. Greg Medavoy on NYPD Blue (1993) and as loudmouth instigator Dave Moss in the 2005 Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). He will appear in the upcoming DreamWorks feature Flags of Our Fathers (2006), directed by Clint Eastwood. Clapp plays gruff General Holland "Howlin' Mad" Smith, who helps mastermind the capture of the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during World War II. NYPD Blue (1993) finished its twelfth and final season in March, 2005, garnering Clapp a 1998 Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Glengarry's limited run went from the following May through August, earning Clapp a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor. Clapp has maintained a vibrant career on both sides of the camera. Films include Moonlight Mile (2002), Rules of Engagement (2000) and four films with director John Sayles - Sunshine State (2002), Matewan (1987), Eight Men Out (1988) and Return of the Secaucus Seven (1979). TV appearances include Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), Without a Trace (2002), Deadwood (2004), Less Than Perfect (2002), American Family (2002), Wings (1990), Cheers (1982) and several TV movies. He also executive produced and starred in three short films: Trailer Talk (2006), Bananas (2004), and the award-winning Fast Cars & Babies (2003). Armed with a theater degree from prestigious Williams College, the New Hampshire native spent much of his early career in Canada, in regional and Toronto theater and as a company member of Ottawa's premiere National Arts Centre. His stage and TV work earned him nominations for a Dora Moore Award (Toronto's equivalent to the Tony) and Gemini Award (Canada's equivalent to the Emmy. American regional credits include the Philadelphia Drama Guild, Buffalo's Studio Arena and Boston's Huntington Theater. A talented writer, Clapp's work has appeared in the New York Post, LA Golf and Variety, which earned him a Los Angeles Press Club Award for his humorous account of winning an Emmy. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Susan Karlin