Eric Pierpoint

Last updated
Eric Pierpoint
Eric Pierpoint at Star Trek Las Vegas 2007.jpg
Eric Pierpoint at Star Trek Las Vegas 2007
Born (1950-11-18) November 18, 1950 (age 73)
Occupation(s)Actor, author
Years active1984–present

Eric Pierpoint (born November 18, 1950) is an American actor and author. He is perhaps best known for his role as George Francisco on Fox Network's Alien Nation . He has also notably appeared on each of the first four Star Trek television spin-offs.

Contents

Early life

Pierpoint is the son of Patricia Adams Pierpoint and stepson of former CBS news White House correspondent Robert Pierpoint. He was born in Redlands, California, the middle of three children and lived there until age nine. His mother relocated to Washington, DC in 1959 upon marrying the elder Pierpoint, who legally adopted all three children. He graduated from Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland and was on the wrestling, soccer, and tennis teams. He spent time accompanying his stepfather on news assignments during his teen years, often meeting high ranking US Government officials. He then attended the University of Redlands in Redlands, California, majoring in philosophy and receiving his Bachelor's Degree. He was captain of the soccer team, and took his first drama course as a senior and began his pursuit of acting after graduation. [1] He then attended The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he received his Master's Degree in Fine Arts. [2]

Career

Acting

Pierpoint's onscreen career began in 1984, landing his first role in the film Windy City . Later that same year, he was cast in his first lead role in the short-lived television series Hot Pursuit , which was produced by Kenneth Johnson. He continued to appear in guest roles on TV series during the 1980s, including winning a recurring role on the sixth season of the popular show Fame . In 1989, he was again cast by Kenneth Johnson in another TV series, the television adaption of the 1988 film Alien Nation . Pierpoint would take over the role of Detective Samuel "George" Francisco, originated by Mandy Patinkin in the film, starring opposite Gary Graham as Detective Matthew Sikes. The series, though very popular among fans, was canceled after one season. Pierpoint went on to play the character in five subsequent Alien Nation TV movies from 1993 to 1997. Between 1993 and 2005, he starred in five separate guest roles on all four Star Trek series spin offs. He also continues to work regularly outside of science fiction, garnering many roles in popular films and TV shows during his career, including the 1997 film Liar, Liar and the more recent TV series Hart of Dixie and Parks and Recreation .

In addition to numerous roles on television and film, Pierpoint has been active in theater, starring in many plays throughout his career. His most recent role was in The Lion In Winter for the Ensemble Theater Company.

Writing

In 2013, he completed his first book, a Young Adult Historical Fiction novel titled The Last Ride of Caleb O'Toole , which was published on September 3, 2013. [3] His second novel, also historical fiction, is currently being written.

In addition to reading his work to middle school children in an educational book tour, he also teaches guest master classes in acting at various universities. [4]

Personal life

Pierpoint has been active in the Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles for a number of years. [5] He currently resides in Topanga, California.

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1984 Windy City Pete
1986 Invaders from Mars Rinaldi
1992 Forever Young Fred
1995 The Stranger Sheriff Gordon Cole(Video)
Midnight Man Patrick 'Paddy' White
1996 Where Truth Lies Joe McNamara
Driven Hal
Little Witches Sheriff Gordon
1997 Liar Liar Richard Cole
Steel Major
2003 The Movie Hero Blake's Dad
Holes Sheriff
2004 Eulogy Mr. Carmichael
Messiah Abbot
2005 The World's Fastest Indian Earl
2006 Four Weeks Four Hours Larry
2007 TV Virus Rett
2008 Solar Flare Senator Melchard
2009 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen NSA Officer
2010 The Palace of Light Frank Druffel(Short)
Sex Tax: Based on a True Story Congressman Hayden
Nothing Special Alan
2011 Donner Pass George Donner
Phil Cobb's Dinner for Four Phil Cobb
2018 What We Keep Louis Hughes(Short)

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1984 Hot Pursuit Jim Wyler12 episodes
1985-1986 Hill Street Blues Tom Hopper3 episodes
1985-1986 Fame Paul Seeger24 episodes
1987 Beauty and the Beast DonaldEpisode: "Masques"
1989 In the Heat of the Night Clay CaulderEpisode: "Stranger in Town"
Heartland Jack KemperEpisode: "The Tornado"
1989-1990 Alien Nation Detective George Francisco21 episodes
1991 WIOU Marc Adamson4 episodes
Nurses Dr. MonfordEpisode: "Coming to America"
Matlock David HoukEpisode: "The Suspect"
1993 Time Trax Jason PetermanEpisode: "The Prodigy"
Sex, Love and Cold Hard Cash Andy (uncredited)TV movie
Star Trek: The Next Generation Ambassador VovalEpisode: "Liaisons"
1994 Children of the Dark Dr. David TannerTV movie
Alien Nation: Dark Horizon Detective George FranciscoTV movie
Party of Five Bruce CurranEpisode: "Kiss Me Kate"
1995 Murder, She Wrote Bradford ThorpeEpisode: "Death 'N Denial"
Alien Nation: Body and Soul Detective George FranciscoTV movie
1996 Alien Nation: Millennium Detective George FranciscoTV movie
Alien Nation: The Enemy Within Detective George FranciscoTV movie
1997 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Captain SandersEpisode: "For the Uniform"
Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy Detective George FranciscoTV movie
Babylon 5 DanielEpisode: "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars"
Ally McBeal James HortonEpisode: "Silver Bells"
1994-1998 Silk Stalkings Eric Russell / Dr. Finch8 episodes
1998 The Pretender Sheriff Randall CarverEpisode: "Someone to Trust"
1999 Beverly Hills, 90210 AdamEpisode: "Dog's Best Friend"
Sliders President Jefferson WilliamsEpisode: "A Current Affair"
Star Trek: Voyager KortarEpisode: "Barge of the Dead"
2000 Seven Days 'Koop'Episode: "The Dunwych Madness"
2001 Touched by an Angel Jack McHenryEpisode: "The Penalty Box"
1994-2001 Diagnosis: Murder Dr. Don Matthews / George Ridgeway2 episodes
2001-2002 JAG Dr. Kubota / Lieutenant Colonel Maples2 episodes
2003 Mister Sterling Chuck Stanley3 episodes
Strong Medicine Dr. SullivanEpisode: "Vaccinations"
2004 Crossing Jordan FiremanEpisode: "Fire in the Sky"
2005 CSI: Miami Fire Chief Kyle DonaldsonEpisode: "Nothing to Lose"
Surface Admiral Philip GearyEpisode #1.1
Medium Chief ParkerEpisode: "Dead Aim"
2002-2005 Star Trek: Enterprise Harris / Shiraht5 episodes
2006 McBride: Requiem Senator David FletcherTV movie
2007 Brothers & Sisters Stanley HancockEpisode: "Grapes of Wrath"
Murder 101: If Wishes Were Horses Captain Raymond CainTV movie
Big Love Larry Schoenfeld2 episodes
2008 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 'Cash' DooleyEpisode: "Bull"
2009 Eleventh Hour Joseph BreenEpisode: "Minamata"
2010 A Soldier's Love Story TerryTV movie
The Mentalist Vint MolinariEpisode: "The Blood on His Hands"
2011 The Cape Chief Tom RossEpisode: "Pilot"
Chemistry Arthur 'Artie' Delacorte10 episodes
2011-2012 Parks and Recreation Chief Trumple3 episodes
2012 Workaholics Don WaltersEpisode: "The Business Trip"
2014 Farmed and Dangerous Mick Mitcherson4 episodes
2011-2015 Hart of Dixie Harold Tucker7 episodes
2015 Wicked City Bruce ForresterEpisode: "The Very Thought of You"
2016 Four Stars Admiral Hank CrawfordTV movie
2017 Six Don BuckleyEpisode: "Collateral"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Nimoy</span> American actor (1931–2015)

Leonard Simon Nimoy was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the Star Trek franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original Star Trek series in 1966, then Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six Star Trek films, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Nimoy also directed films, including Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), and appeared in several films, television shows, and voice acted in several video games. Outside of acting, Nimoy was a film director, photographer, author, singer, and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Frakes</span> American actor and director (born 1952)

Jonathan Scott Frakes is an American actor and director. He is best known for his portrayal of Commander William Riker in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and subsequent films and series. He has also hosted the anthology series Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, voiced David Xanatos in the Disney television series Gargoyles, and narrated the History Channel documentary, Lee and Grant. He is the credited author of the novel The Abductors: Conspiracy, which was ghostwritten by Dean Wesley Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Winfield</span> American actor (1939–2004)

Paul Edward Winfield was an American stage, film and television actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark film Sounder (1972), which earned him an Academy Award nomination. He portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1978 television miniseries King, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award. Winfield was also known for his roles in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Terminator, L.A. Law, and 24 episodes of the sitcom 227. He received four Emmy nominations overall, winning in 1995 for his 1994 guest role in Picket Fences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Dorn</span> American actor

Michael Dorn is an American actor best known for his role as the Klingon character Worf in the Star Trek franchise, appearing in all seven seasons of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), and later reprising the role in Seasons 4 through 7 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1995–1999) and season three of Star Trek: Picard (2023). Dorn has appeared more times as a regular cast member than any other Star Trek actor in the franchise's history, spanning five films and 284 television episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Graham</span> American actor (born 1950)

Gary Graham is an American actor, musician, and author. He has had a long career since the late 1970’s in television and movies but is perhaps best known for his starring role as Detective Matthew Sikes in the television series Alien Nation (1989–1990) and five subsequent Alien Nation television films (1994–1997) as well as his work in the Star Trek franchise, most notably the recurring role of Soval, the Vulcan ambassador to Earth in Star Trek: Enterprise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Combs</span> American actor (b. 1954)

Jeffrey Alan Combs is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Herbert West in the Re-Animator film series (1985–2003) and portraying a number of characters in the Star Trek universe, most notably Brunt and the various Weyouns on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1994–1999) and Thy'lek Shran on Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dina Meyer</span> American actress (born 1968)

Dina Meyer is an American actress. She began her career appearing in a recurring role on the Fox teen drama series Beverly Hills, 90210 (1993–94), before landing a leading role opposite Keanu Reeves in the 1995 film Johnny Mnemonic.

<i>Alien Nation</i> (TV series) Science fiction police procedural TV series (1989–1990)

Alien Nation is a science fiction police procedural television series in the Alien Nation franchise. Adapted from the 1988 Alien Nation movie, it stars Gary Graham as Detective Matthew Sikes, a Los Angeles police officer reluctantly working with "Newcomer" alien Sam "George" Francisco, played by Eric Pierpoint. Sikes also has an on again-off again flirtation with a female Newcomer, Cathy Frankel, played by Terri Treas.

U.S. television science fiction is a popular genre of television in the United States that has produced many of the best-known and most popular science fiction shows in the world. Most famous of all, and one of the most influential science-fiction series in history, is the iconic Star Trek and its various spin-off shows, which comprise the Star Trek franchise. Other hugely influential programs have included the 1960s anthology series The Twilight Zone, the internationally successful The X-Files, and a wide variety of television movies and continuing series for more than half a century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Katt</span> American actor and musician (born 1951)

William Theodore Katt is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Ralph Hinkley/Hanley on the ABC television series The Greatest American Hero (1981–83).

William Windom was an American actor. He was known as a character actor of the stage and screen. He is well known for his recurring role as Dr. Seth Hazlitt alongside Angela Lansbury in the CBS mystery series Murder, She Wrote.

"Demons" is the twentieth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on May 6, 2005, on UPN. The episode was written by showrunner Manny Coto and directed by LeVar Burton. "Demons" is the first part of a two part story, concluding with "Terra Prime".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Hilton Jacobs</span> American actor and singer (born 1953)

Lawrence Hilton Jacobs, also credited as Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, is an American actor and singer. Best known for playing Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington in Welcome Back Kotter (1975–79), he has also appeared in a number of films and television shows, including Claudine (1974), Cooley High (1975), Roots (1977), Bangers and Mash (1983), Alien Nation (1989–90), The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992), and 31 (2016).

Gina Ravera is an American actress. She has appeared in the films Showgirls (1995), Soul Food (1997), Kiss the Girls (1997), and The Great Debaters (2007). She co-starred as detective Irene Daniels in the TNT crime drama series The Closer (2005-2009).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Worthy</span> American actor (born 1967)

Richard Worthy is an American actor. He is best known for appearing in a variety of science fiction and fantasy television shows. He is perhaps best known for his recurring role as Simon O'Neill cylon model number four in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica.

<i>Alien Nation: Body and Soul</i> American TV series or program

Alien Nation: Body and Soul was the second television movie produced to continue the story after the cancellation of the Alien Nation television series. In this series, human Los Angeles Police Department Detective Matthew Sykes and his alien partner George Francisco investigate crimes related to the Tenctonese, a race of aliens that have become stranded on earth.

<i>Alien Nation: Millennium</i> American TV series or program

Alien Nation: Millennium was the third television film produced to continue the story after the cancellation of Alien Nation.

Frank Collison is an American actor known to television audiences as the hapless telegrapher Horace Bing in the series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and Grandpa Goodman in Mr. Pickles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Carhart</span> American actor

Timothy Carhart is an American actor. He starred in the CBS drama Island Son (1989–90) and has had recurring roles in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–03) and 24 (2002). He also starred in the 1992 Broadway revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. His film appearances include Ghostbusters (1984), Pink Cadillac (1989), Thelma & Louise (1991), and Beverly Hills Cop III (1994).

Alien Nation is an American science fiction media franchise created by Rockne S. O'Bannon, comprising film, television, and other media productions about alien refugees living on Earth. The series began with the 1988 film Alien Nation, which was adapted into a Fox Network television series of the same name in 1989. Fox cancelled the series abruptly after one season, but continued the story in five TV movies. The series also produced other media and merchandising tie-ins, including novels and comics. Aside from the sci-fi angle, the franchise fits into many different genres including drama, police procedural and buddy cop.

References

  1. "THE BIG INTERVIEW: FTN interviews Eric Pierpoint". 31 March 2013.
  2. Corrigan, Ned (October 27, 1984). "Working in Movies and TV, and Beating the Odds". The Washington Post.
  3. "Sourcebooks Storefront". www.sourcebooks.com. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  4. Missoulian, ROB CHANEY of the. "Stage, screen actor Pierpoint gives UM class career advice" . Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  5. "Eric Pierpoint". www.littlereview.com. Retrieved 7 October 2018.