Lee Wilkof

Lee Wilkof (born June 25, 1951)is an American character actor who has been appearing on stage, film and television for 6 decades.

Wilkof is from Canton, Ohio. He is the middle child of Anne Louise and Darwin Wilkof. He has two brothers, Todd and Robert. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1972 and studied acting with Austin Pendleton in New York City.[citation needed ]

After graduating college, Wilkof co-wrote and performed in a comedy revue, The Present Tense, in 1977 at the Park Royal Theatre in New York City. Shortly after its closing, Wilkof moved to Los Angeles and landed small film and television roles. His big break came in 1982 with the leading role as Seymour in the original Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors."

Wilkof directed the film No Pay, Nudity with a cast that stars Nathan Lane, Gabriel Byrne, and Frances Conroy. In 2023 he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in Terence Blanchard's Champion, as The Announcer.

Wilkof plays the banjo and sings in the musical quartet Twenty Mule Team Weiner Train. He is the winner of the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest # 217.

Wilkof lives in Gardiner, New York with his wife, painter Connie Grappo. They have a daughter Perrie who is an acclaimed baker living in Columbus, Ohio. Wilkof was diagnosed with stage two throat cancer in 2020, and is currently cancer free.

Drama Desk Award nomination for The Present Tense