Paul Reiser (born March 30, 1957) is an American actor. Though known mostly for his starring television roles, he started his career as a stand-up comedian.
Reiser's TV credits include My Two Dads and an acclaimed performance in the British TV drama My Beautiful Son.
Reiser's most notable movie role was a treacherous company executive in James Cameron's 1986 Aliens; but Reiser is most well-known for his role in Mad About You, a long running sitcom co-starring Helen Hunt. The show was so successful that, in the final 1999 season, he and Hunt were paid $1 million per episode for the show.
Reiser co-wrote Mad About You's theme song, entitled "Final Frontier", with Don Was. The most famous version of the song is the one recorded by Anita Baker prior to the 1997 season. Reiser and Baker performed the song together while appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, with Reiser accompanying the songstress on the piano.
Reiser graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York City and earned his bachelor's degree at Binghamton University, where he majored in music (piano, composition). He was active in campus theater productions, but it was during the summers between college, when he performed in New York City comedy clubs, that he found his calling.
Reiser married Paula Ravets in 1988; they have two sons together, Ezra (born 1995), and Leon, born in 2000. His daughter, Samantha, is a cheerleader at Stuyvesant High School.
Reiser has written two books: Couplehood, about the ups and downs of being in a committed relationship, and Babyhood, about the toils and joys of having a baby.
He is number 77 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.
Aliens (1986)
