Biography
Richard Portnow is an American actor. Born on 26 January 1947 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, he graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in speech and theatre.
He began his career on stage, appearing in off-Broadway and Broadway productions including The House of Blue Leaves and A Month of Sundays. Portnow has worked in film and television since 1980, with roles including Detective Mastrionotti in Barton Fink (1991) and Handsome Frank in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).
Other credits include Se7en (1995) as Dr Beardsley, Sister Act (1992) as Willy, Private Parts (1997) as Ben Stern, and the recurring role of attorney Harold 'Mel' Melvoin in The Sopranos (1999–2007).
