Peter Riegert

Peter Riegert (born April 11, 1947) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter best known for his supporting roles in films such as Donald "Boon" Schoenstein in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), Mac MacIntyre in Local Hero (1983), Sam Posner in Crossing Delancey (1988), and Lt. Mitch Kellaway in The Mask (1994), as well as his portrayal of corrupt politician Ronald Zellman on the HBO series The Sopranos (2001–2004).

Born in the Bronx borough of New York City to a Jewish family—his father, Milton, was a food wholesaler, and his mother, Lucille, a piano teacher—Riegert grew up in the nearby suburb of Ardsley and graduated from the University at Buffalo. Before pursuing acting, he worked as an eighth-grade teacher in Brooklyn, a social worker, and a political aide to Congresswoman Bella Abzug, and he did not consider a career in performance until age 23. Riegert began his professional career on stage, making his Broadway debut in the short-lived musical Dance with Me (1975) and later appearing in plays including The Nerd (1987), An American Daughter (1996), and David Mamet's The Old Neighborhood (1997).

Peter Riegert was born on April 11, 1947, in the Bronx borough of New York City. He grew up in Hartsdale, New York, a suburb north of the city, in a family of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.

His parents were Lucille, a piano teacher born in New York to Jewish emigrants from the Russian Empire, and Milton Riegert, a food wholesaler born in Utah to Russian Jewish parents. The family's Jewish heritage traced back to Eastern European roots, with maternal grandparents originating from regions including Vitebsk (now in Belarus) and other parts of the Russian Empire.

Riegert was raised in a non-observant Jewish household, fostering an awareness of his cultural identity without adherence to traditional religious practices. His mother's profession introduced elements of music into the home.