Paul Benedict

Benedict was born in Silver City, New Mexico, and grew up in Massachusetts, where he graduated from Boston College High School and Suffolk University. Benedict served a tour of duty in the U.S. Marine Corps. His oversized jaw and large nose were partially attributed to acromegaly; he was first diagnosed with it by an endocrinologist who saw Benedict in a theatrical production. ==Film and TV work==

Norman Lear cast Benedict as a Zen Buddhist in Cold Turkey, which was completed in late fall 1969 but not released until February 1971. Benedict would go on to work with Lear in the coming years on various television projects. ==Theater==

Following his graduation from Suffolk University in his hometown of Boston, Benedict began acting at the Theatre Company of Boston and performed with Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino. He had directed a production of the work Off-off-Broadway several years before. In 2007, Benedict performed as "Hirst" in Harold Pinter's ''No Man's Land'' at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Benedict directed Frank D. Gilroy's Any Given Day on Broadway. Off-Broadway, he directed the original production of Terrence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, and Kathy Najimy's and Mo Gaffney's The Kathy and Mo Show, which won an Obie Award. ==Death==

On December 1, 2008, Benedict was found dead of a brain hemorrhage at his home in Aquinnah, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. He was 70 years old. Benedict was awarded a posthumous Elliot Norton Award by the Boston Theater Critics Association in 2009. ==Filmography==