Frederick Applegate (born February 20, 1953)[1] is an American actor, singer and dancer.
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Fred Applegate | |
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Born | (1953-02-20) February 20, 1953 (age 69) |
Occupation | Actor, singer, dancer |
Applegate grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey and South Orange, New Jersey. He attended Columbia High School and was on the original Ultimate (Frisbee) team. He graduated from Northwestern University.[2]
Applegate played Cogsworth in the National tour of Beauty and the Beast. He originated the roles of Inspector Kemp and The Blind Hermit in the Broadway musical Young Frankenstein (2007).[3] He originated the role of the Monsignor in the Broadway production of Sister Act (2011)[4] and the role of Father Jack O'Brien in The Last Ship, which premiered on Broadway in October 2014.[3]
Other Broadway credits include M. Dindon/M. Renaud in La Cage aux Folles (2010),[5] Max Bialystock in The Producers (replacement, 2003; in the West End production in 2005[6]) and as Franz Leibkind in the first national tour. He also played Max Detweiler in The Sound of Music. (1998).[3]
Applegate appeared Off-Broadway at Lincoln Center's Mitzi Newhouse Theater in the musical Happiness in 2009, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman.[7] Applegate played the role of "Panisse" in the Encores! staged concert of Fanny in February 2010.[8] He participated in a reading of a new musical, Presto Change-O in December 2014, directed by Marc Bruni, as a presentation of the Barrington Stage Company Musical Theatre Lab.[9] He appeared in the national tour of Anything Goes, as "Moonface Martin", which started in October 2012.[10]
Applegate has played the role of the Wizard in the Broadway production Wicked, [11][3] played the role of Constable Joe in the Broadway musical Tuck Everlasting, [12][3] and also played the role of Uncle Patrick Carney in the Broadway play The Ferryman.[13]
Applegate was a member of the resident acting company of the Guthrie Theatre for three years.[5]
Applegate's voice can be recognized as the narrator of documentaries for PBS, National Geographic, Disney, Bravo, and A&E. He has guest starred in over 150 episodes of television including Seinfeld, Cosby, Growing Pains, FM, Malcolm in the Middle, ER, Murphy Brown, Newhart and many others.[5] His film credits include Georgia Rule,[14] Stuart Saves His Family (1995),[15] and The Producers.[16][1]