Editing Ken Lerner

{{short description|American actor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ken Lerner
| image = 
| birth_date = {{Birth_date and age|1948|5|27}}
| birth_place = [[Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S.
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| birth_name = Kenneth Lerner
| alma_mater = [[Brooklyn College]]
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1975–present
| children = [[Sam Lerner]]
| relatives = [[Michael Lerner (actor)|Michael Lerner]] (brother)
}}

'''Kenneth Lerner''' (born May 27, 1948) is an American television, stage and film actor. He is known for playing [[Principal Flutie (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Principal Flutie]] in the first episodes of the [[television series]] ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', and earlier roles on ''[[Happy Days]]'', along with numerous film and television guest-starring roles.

==Early life==
Lerner was born in [[Brooklyn, New York]], of [[History of the Jews in Romania|Romanian-Jewish]] descent. He is the youngest of three sons of Blanche and George Lerner, who was a fisherman and antiques dealer.<ref>[http://www.filmreference.com/film/36/Ken-Lerner.html Ken Lerner Biography at Film Reference.com((?)-)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> His brother was actor [[Michael Lerner (actor)|Michael Lerner]].

==Career==
{{Expand section|date=January 2023}}
Lerner is typically [[Typecasting (acting)|typecast]] as whiny or unlucky characters, including an agent who is stabbed in the back with a pen by [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]'s character Ben Richards in ''[[The Running Man (1987 film)|The Running Man]]''. One of his first roles was as one of the Malachi Brothers in the television series ''[[Happy Days]]'' in 1975–76.

In 2011, Lerner was seen in an American nationally televised commercial for [[Wells Fargo Bank]]. In late 2013, Lerner starred in a commercial for [[T-Mobile USA]]. In 2016, Lerner played a small role as a corrupt business manager named Arthur in the [[HBO]] television series ''[[Silicon Valley (TV series)|Silicon Valley]]''.<ref name="Fan">{{cite news | last=Falcetti| first=L.| title ='Silicon Valley' Season 3, Episode 6 Recap: Bachmanity Insanity| publisher = [[FanSided]]| date =30 May 2016 | url =https://hiddenremote.com/2016/05/30/silicon-valley-season-3-episode-6-recap-bachmanity-insanity/| access-date =10 November 2016}}</ref> Lerner plays a recurring role on the series ''[[The Goldbergs (2013 TV series)|The Goldbergs]]'', on which his son [[Sam Lerner]] stars.

== Selected filmography ==

*1975–1983 ''[[Happy Days]]'' as Frankie / Rocco Malachi / Rocco Baruffi (10 episodes)
* 1977 ''[[Hot Tomorrows]]'' as Michael
* 1977 ''[[Grand Theft Auto (film)|Grand Theft Auto]]'' as Eagle I
* 1979 ''[[Gas Pump Girls]]'' as 'Peewee', Member of The Vultures Motorcycle Gang
* 1980 ''[[Any Which Way You Can]]'' as Tony Paoli Jr.
* 1984 ''[[Irreconcilable Differences]]'' as Doctor 
* 1985 ''[[Secret Admirer (film)|Secret Admirer]]'' as Waiter
* 1985 ''[[Love on the Run (1985 film)|Love on the Run]]'' as Aaron
* 1985 ''[[The A-Team]]'' (TV Series) as Cruise Crew Member 
* 1986 ''[[Miracles (1986 film)|Miracles]]'' as Stuart
* 1986 ''[[Jake Speed]]'' as Ken
*1986  ''[[It's a Living]]'' as Dr Cutler
* 1987 ''[[Project X (1987 film)|Project X]]'' as Finley
* 1987 ''[[The Running Man (1987 film)|The Running Man]]'' as Agent
* 1988 ''[[Maniac Cop]]'' as Mayor Killium (uncredited) (Scenes not present in USA release, added in Japanese version as a subplot)
* 1989 ''[[Hit List (1989 film)|Hit List]]'' as Gravenstein
* 1989 ''[[Relentless (1989 film)|Relentless]]'' as Arthur
* 1989 ''[[The Fabulous Baker Boys]]'' as Ray
* 1989 ''[[Immediate Family (film)|Immediate Family]]'' as Josh
* 1990 ''[[The Golden Girls]]'' as Doctor (Season 6, Episode 1: "[[The Golden Girls (season 6)|Blanche Delivers]]")
* 1990 ''[[RoboCop 2]]'' as Tom Delaney
* 1990 ''[[The Exorcist III]]'' as Dr. Freedman
* 1991 ''[[Fast Getaway]]'' as Tony Bush
* 1991 ''[[The Doctor (1991 film)|The Doctor]]'' as Pete
* 1991 ''[[Diary of a Hitman]]'' as Optometrist
* 1991 ''[[And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird]]'' as Matthew Carson, Home Movies
* 1992 ''[[Unlawful Entry (film)|Unlawful Entry]]'' as Roger Graham
* 1993 ''[[Mother's Boys]]'' as Jude's Analyst
* 1994 ''Rave Review'' as Saul Slobin
* 1994 ''[[Fast Getaway II]]'' as Tony Bush
* 1994 ''[[Relentless IV: Ashes to Ashes]]'' as Al Rosenberg
* 1994 ''[[ER (TV Series)]]'' as Harry Stopek (Season 1, Episode 4)
* 1995 ''[[For Better or Worse (film)|For Better or Worse]]'' as Sergeant Moss
* 1995 ''[[Bodily Harm (film)|Bodily Harm]]'' as Alex Shaw
* 1996 ''[[Dead Girl (film)|Dead Girl]]'' as Producer
* 1997 ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' (TV Series) as Principal Bob Flutie
* 1997 ''[[High Voltage (1997 film)|High Voltage]]'' as Justice of The Peace (uncredited)
* 1998 ''[[Senseless]]'' as Dean Barlow
* 1998 ''[[Godzilla (1998 film)|Godzilla]]'' as Teacher (uncredited)
* 1999 ''[[The Story of Us (1999 film)|The Story of Us]]'' as Dr. Rifkin
* 2000 ''Boys Life 3'' as Judge Levin (segment "Inside Out")
* 2001 ''The Woman Every Man Wants'' as Rosen
* 2001 ''[[They Crawl]]'' as Glen, The Coroner
* 2001 ''Mafioso: The Father, the Son'' as Sid Freeman
* 2002 ''[[ER (TV Series)]]'' as Mr. Sidell (Season 8, Episode 18)
* 2003 ''[[National Security (2003 film)|National Security]]'' as Hank's Lawyer
* 2003 ''[[Friends]]'' as Professor Spafford (Season 9, Episode 20: "[[The One with the Soap Opera Party]]")
* 2003 ''[[Frankie and Johnny Are Married]]'' as Rob, Production Manager
* 2004 ''True Vinyl'' as Hotel Clerk
* 2005 ''[[Scrubs (TV series)|Scrubs]]'' (TV Series) as Charles James
* 2005 ''Jesus, Mary and Joey'' as Saulley
* 2006 ''All In'' as Rosenbloom
* 2006 ''[[NCIS (TV series)|NCIS]]'' (TV Series, in [[Bloodbath (NCIS)|Bloodbath]]) as Albert Hencheck (uncredited)
* 2006 ''[[Undisputed II: Last Man Standing]]'' as Phil Gold
* 2009 ''[[Desperate Housewives]]'' (TV Series) as Dr. Bernstein 
* 2009 ''[[Two and a Half Men]]'' (TV Series) as Dr. Levine
* 2011 ''[[L.A. Noire]]'' (Video Game) as Walter Mensch (voice)
* 2011 ''[[The Mentalist]]'' (TV Series) as Judge Markland
* 2012 ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' (TV Series) as Dr. Schneider
* 2013 ''[[Anger Management (TV series)|Anger Management]]'' (TV Series) as Judge
* 2016 ''[[Silicon Valley (TV series)|Silicon Valley]]'' (TV Series) as Arthur
* 2016 ''[[The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story|The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story]]'' as Howard Weitzman
* 2017-2023 ''[[The Goldbergs (2013 TV series)|The Goldbergs]]'' (TV Series) as Lou Schwartz
* 2018'' [[Bayou Caviar]]'' as Shlomo
* 2022'' [[Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story]]'' as Joe Zilber

== References ==
{{more footnotes needed|date=February 2008}}
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*Golden Girls 1990 doctor [https://web.archive.org/web/20060207081903/http://websites.cable.ntl.com/~fraxis/the_ww/old/features/lerner.html Interview] at ''Watcher's Web''
*{{IMDb name|0503624|Ken Lerner}}
*http://www.kenlerner.com/

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lerner, Ken}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American people of Romanian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Brooklyn College alumni]]
[[Category:Jewish American male actors]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Male actors from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]