Eugene Dynarski (September 13, 1933 – February 27, 2020) was an American actor. Three of the most popular projects that he has been involved with were two Steven Spielberg films, Duel and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the Westwood Studios computer game Command & Conquer: Red Alert.
Acting career Dynarski attended Harbor College in San Pedro, Los Angeles, where he majored in theater arts.
Dynarski acted on stage before he began working in films and on television.
In 1971's Duel, Dynarski had a small role as a truck driver in a cafe that was mistakenly identified by car driver David Mann (Dennis Weaver) as his tormenting truck driver that resulted in a short-lived fight at Chuck's Cafe. In Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Dynarski plays a major supporting role as Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, appearing throughout much of the game's Soviet campaign and, to a lesser extent, the Allied campaign. In the 1974 film Earthquake, Dynarski portrays Fred, a worker at the Mulholland Dam who becomes the first fatality of the disaster.
Dynarski also appeared in numerous television shows. He was one of 32 actors or actresses to have guest-starred in both the original Star Trek television series (episodes "Mudd's Women" and "The Mark of Gideon") and in one of the series' spin offs (Star Trek: The Next Generations "11001001"). In Monkees TV series, Dynarski played the Dragonman's sidekick, Toto, in the episode titled "Monkee Chow Mein" (original US air date: March 13, 1967). His many other TV credits include episodes of Batman (episodes 47 and 48), Starsky & Hutch, CHiPs, Little House on the Prairie and The A-Team.
Dynarski is also known for his two appearances as Izzy Mandelbaum Jr. on Seinfeld and as Helmut Jitters in the short film Apple Jack.
His final role was in The X-Files episode "Patience" as Ernie Stefaniuk.
Dynarski and David Weitz, a friend, built the Gene Dynarski Theater, which opened June 20, 1979, in Los Angeles. Over years they converted a bare four-walled space into a 99-seat theater.
Death Dynarski died on February 27, 2020, in Studio City, Los Angeles, at the age of 86.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1965 Morituri Merchant Marine Uncredited1966 Star Trek: The Original Series Ben Childress S1:E6, "Mudd's Women"1966 The Monkees Zeppo S1:E16, "Son of a Gypsy"1967 The Monkees Toto S1:E26, "Monkee Chow Mein"1967 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Centaur I Episode: "Journey with Fear" 1968 In Enemy Country Capek 1969 Star Trek: The Original Series Krodak S3E16 "The Mark of Gideon"1971 Duel Truck Driver in Chuck's Cafe 1974 Airport 1975 1st. Friend 1974 Earthquake Dam Caretaker 1976 All the President's Men Court Clerk 1976 Starsky and Hutch Vic Bellamy S1:E22 1977 Close Encounters of the Third Kind Ike 1984 Best Defense Gil 1985 Movers & Shakers Board Member #2 1988 Star Trek: The Next Generation Quinteros Episode: "11001001"1989 Breaking In Brock, Ernie's Mob Connection 1996 Command & Conquer: Red Alert Joseph Stalin 1997 Seinfeld Izzy Mandelbaum Jr. S9E4 "The Blood"1999 Boy Meets World Mr. Peterman S7E7 "It's About Time"2000 The X-Files Ernie Stefaniuk S8E3 "Patience"
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