ACTOR · BORN 1945
John Lithgow
- Born
- 19 October 1945, Rochester, New York, USA
- Known for
- Interstellar (2014), Shrek (2001), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), The Simpsons (1989)
41 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
11 Facts From John Lithgow's Career
- #012
On May 1, 2001, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Television category at 6666 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. The award is regarded as a lasting mark of his success in television.
- #013
Lithgow appeared in four films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: All That Jazz (1979), Terms of Endearment (1983), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) and Conclave (2024). Of these, Terms of Endearment won the award in that category.
- #015
His meeting with his wife, Mary Yeager, came about through an odd twist of fate. In 1980, Lithgow turned down playing opposite Blythe Danner in the Broadway premiere of Harold Pinter's 'Betrayal' to prioritize a friend's Off-Broadway play. That play ran less than three weeks, leaving him free to begin rehearsals in Los Angeles for the TV film The Oldest Living Graduate (1980) with Henry Fonda, and it was during this period that he met Mary.
- #017
Lithgow won two Tony Awards in his theater career: in 1973 for Best Featured Actor in a Play for David Storey's 'The Changing Room' and in 2002 for Best Actor in a Musical for 'Sweet Smell of Success'. He was also nominated three times: for Best Actor in a Play for 'Requiem for a Heavyweight' (1985) and 'M. Butterfly' (1988), and for Best Actor in a Musical for 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' (2005).
- #018
Lithgow appeared in two films selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry as 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant': All That Jazz (1979) and Shrek (2001).
- #023
Lithgow made his Broadway debut on March 7, 1973, in David Storey's play 'The Changing Room,' and just 18 days later, on March 25, he won a Tony Award, setting a record for a Broadway acting debut. The extraordinary achievement demonstrates the strength of his stage talent.
- #028
In May 2002, he won both the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Best Actor in a Broadway musical for his performance in 'Sweet Smell of Success.' The double honor confirmed his outstanding talent in musical theater.
- #034
Lithgow won an Emmy Award for his performance on 3rd Rock From the Sun. The award crowned his success in television comedy.
- #035
In 1989, he was honored with the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his leading performance in 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' at the James A. Doolittle Theatre in Los Angeles. The award marked an important turning point in his theater career.
- #037
In 1973, he was honored with a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance in 'The Changing Room' on Broadway in New York. The award was a major achievement early in his theater career.
- #040
Lithgow lives in Los Angeles, California. The city is known for its proximity to Hollywood, the center of his career.
Continue through the archive
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work