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Lyman Ward

Highest Rated: 83% Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Lowest Rated: Mikey (1992)

Birthday: Jun 21, 1941

Birthplace: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

If the fates had aligned differently, Lyman Ward would have played two iconic pop culture patriarchs. As it stands now, the lanky character actor is best known to moviegoers as the clueless father in the beloved teen romp "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," written and directed by John Hughes. Four years later, Ward was cast as Jim Walsh, Brandon and Brenda's doting dad, on one of the 1990s' defining TV shows, "Beverly Hills, 90210." Ward filmed the pilot episode, but his scenes were later re-shot with series fixture James Eckhouse. Despite the snub, Ward has enjoyed a distinguished acting career, appearing in dozens of movies and television shows since 1971. This includes working on at least two more John Hughes-related projects: the classic 1987 holiday drama "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" and the sitcom "Weird Science," which was inspired by Hughes's 1985 sci-fi comedy. Hughes also played a pivotal role in the actor's personal life. While filming "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," Ward met Cindy Pickett, the actress playing his onscreen wife. The couple married in 1986, but divorced in 1992.

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Highest rated movies

83% 92% Ferris Bueller's Day Off Watchlist
33% 16% Creature
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29% 32% Sleepwalkers
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45% Mikey
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The Force
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Having Babies
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62% The Wrong Woman
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Serial Killer
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A Stranger to Love
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Riding the Edge
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Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet 83% In the Forest Stan (Grandpa) (Character) - 2022
No Score Yet 53% Farah Goes Bang Walter (Character) - 2013
No Score Yet 32% The Secret Agent Club Shadow General (Character) - 1996
No Score Yet No Score Yet Serial Killer Dr. Harvard Jankowitz (Character) - 1996
No Score Yet No Score Yet A Stranger to Love Handley (Character) - 1996
No Score Yet 62% The Wrong Woman Jonah Slide (Character) - 1995
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Force Maddox (Character) - 1994
No Score Yet No Score Yet No Dessert Dad, 'Til You Mow the Lawn Larry (Character) - 1994
No Score Yet 45% Mikey Mr. Jenkins (Character) - 1992
29% 32% Sleepwalkers Mr. Robertson (Character) $28.1M 1992
No Score Yet No Score Yet Sweet Poison Warden (Character) - 1991
No Score Yet 27% Guilty as Charged Stanford (Character) - 1991
No Score Yet No Score Yet Tagget Bill Schiller (Character) - 1991
No Score Yet No Score Yet Best Shots Unknown (Character) - 1991
No Score Yet No Score Yet In the Frame Don Stuart (Character) - 1989
No Score Yet No Score Yet Riding the Edge John (Character) - 1989
No Score Yet No Score Yet Milk & Honey Adam (Character) - 1988
No Score Yet No Score Yet Hidden Rage Steven Hack (Character) - 1988
No Score Yet No Score Yet Perfect Victims Steven Hack (Character) - 1988
83% 92% Ferris Bueller's Day Off Tom Bueller (Character) $69.0M 1986
33% 16% Creature David Perkins (Character) - 1985
No Score Yet No Score Yet Having Babies Dr. Cabe (Character) - 1976

TV

Credit
91% 76% Transparent Dean Carl Spitzer (Guest Star) 2015
89% 88% Monk Mr. Carlson (Guest Star) 2008
No Score Yet 90% The Suite Life of Zack & Cody Unknown (Guest Star) 2005
No Score Yet No Score Yet JAG Unknown (Guest Star) 2001 2003
21% No Score Yet First Monday Justice Brian Chandler (Character),
Unknown (Guest Star)
2002
14% No Score Yet The Faculty Unknown (Guest Star) 1996
No Score Yet No Score Yet Pig Sty Unknown (Guest Star) 1995
No Score Yet No Score Yet Weird Science Coach Armstrong (Guest Star) 1994
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dave's World Unknown (Guest Star) 1994
No Score Yet 89% Murder, She Wrote Colin Crowe (Guest Star) 1991 1993
No Score Yet 88% The Wonder Years Ben Aidem (Guest Star) 1992
83% No Score Yet thirtysomething Jack Bronstein (Guest Star) 1988-1989
No Score Yet 89% Family Ties Unknown (Guest Star) 1989
No Score Yet 95% Magnum, P.I. Frank Foley (Guest Star) 1987
No Score Yet No Score Yet Hart to Hart Unknown (Guest Star) 1983
No Score Yet No Score Yet Barney Miller Harv Jetter (Guest Star) 1980 1982
43% 83% Battlestar Galactica Pallon / Karibdis (Guest Star) 1979
No Score Yet No Score Yet Alice Unknown (Guest Star) 1978
No Score Yet No Score Yet Kojak Larry Jordan (Guest Star) 1977
No Score Yet No Score Yet Laverne & Shirley Unknown (Guest Star) 1976
No Score Yet No Score Yet One Day at a Time Unknown (Guest Star) 1975
No Score Yet No Score Yet Bonanza Unknown (Guest Star) 1971