Corbin Bernsen

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Corbin Bernsen (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor, most widely known for his work on television. His greatest fame came from his role of Arnold Becker on L.A. Law during the late 1980s and early 1990s^[1], though he has appeared regularly as cast member or guest on other shows, including General Hospital, Cuts, and Psych.

Bernsen's first nation-wide attention came from a regular role on the soap opera, Ryan's Hope, on which he appeared for two years in the mid-1980s.^[1] He was propelled into stardom when he was cast as one of the stars on the hit primetime Steven Bochco series L.A. Law. The role earned him Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, appearances on dozens of magazine covers, and guest starring roles on then-popular shows such as Seinfeld and The Larry Sanders Show.^[1] He was one of the few actors to remain on the show from 1986 until the show's end in 1994.

He also was a primary character in the feature film Major League and its sequels.

Bernsen appeared on General Hospital when he played the recurring role of attorney John Durant from September 2004 until the character was murdered in May 2006. He played Jack Sherwood on Cuts, appeared twice on Celebrity Mole, and played a lawyer on Boston Legal. He also had a recurring role as Captain Owen Sebring on the US Military Drama JAG.

He also starred as the scary dentist Dr. Finestone in the horror movie The Dentist and also in the sequal The Dentist 2.

Contents 1 Public Media Works 2 Personal life 3 Trivia 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Public Media Works

Bernsen is president and co-owner of Public Media Works, a new media company that develops entertainment for targeted fan bases.^[2] He directed and starred in Carpool Guy, the company's first film; it was targeted at soap opera fans^[3] and released on DVD in 2005.

Bernsen's role at Public Media Works led him to follow up with Kyle MacDonald, the blogger behind one red paperclip who sought to engage in a series of trades which would culminate in receiving a house. After hearing a radio interview with MacDonald, Bernsen contacted him and soon made him a standing offer of a role in a Public Media Works "extremely-low-budget" film. The film, still being written by Bernsen at the time of the offer, is titled Donna on Demand', which stars Stephen, a young sixteen year old boy that finds himself attracted to his estranged cousin, the offer was accepted once MacDonald obtained a snow globe, something MacDonald knew Bernsen would be interested in as a collector.^[4]

[edit] Personal life

Bernsen was born in North Hollywood, California to Harry Bernsen, a Hollywood producer, and actress Jeanne Cooper, who appears on The Young and the Restless.^[1] His father is of Scandinavian Jewish descent ^[5] and his mother was born on a Cherokee reservation.^[5]

Bernsen is married to British actress Amanda Pays. The couple has four sons: Oliver Miller (born 1989), twins Henry Pays and Angus Moore (born 1992), and Finley (born 1998). Bernsen was previously married to Brenda Cooper.^{[citation needed]}

Bernsen is a born-again Christian who also appears in Christian-themed films and programs.^[5]One of them, notably, is Judgment (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0257408/)

As noted elsewhere in this article, and as discussed in a featurette on USA Network on January 16, 2007, Bernsen likes snow globes, and has hundreds of them in his collection.^[5]

[edit] Trivia

• Bernsen was so eager to get the role in L.A. Law that he drove cross-country in his jeep to track down Steven Bochco and ask him to give him another shot.^{[citation needed]}
• He guest-starred in Hi-Jinks.
• On or about June 2, 2006, blogger Kyle MacDonald traded a KISS motorized snow globe to Bernsen for a role in the film Donna on Demand.
• He appeared on the most recent version of I've Got a Secret, with his secret being "I collect snow globes". He stumped the panel.
• He appeared in a small role in the 2005 movie "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" as Mr. Dexter

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Biography from a USA Network website for Psych
2. ^ Summary of Public Media Works from the OTC Bulletin Board website
3. ^ Interview with Bernsen from Soap Opera Digest
4. ^ Podcast featuring in its second-half an interview with Bernsen (in MP3 format) by a "new marketing" podcaster
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Chrismukkah, Gersh Kuntzman, Sasquatch Books 2006.

[edit] External links

• Corbin Bernsen at the Internet Movie Database
• Corbin Bernsen article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
• Corbin Bernsen at TV.com
• Corbin Bernsen at the Notable Names Database