Paul Benedict

Paul Benedict (September 17, 1938 – December 1, 2008) was an American actor who made numerous appearances in television and movies beginning in 1965. He was known for his roles as The Number Painter on the popular PBS children's show Sesame Street, and as the English neighbor Harry Bentley on the CBS sitcom The Jeffersons.

Early life

Benedict was born in Silver City, New Mexico, the son of Alma Marie (née Loring), a journalist, and Mitchell M. Benedict, a doctor. He grew up in Massachusetts. As a young man, he suffered from acromegaly, a pituitary disorder that affects the extremities and face, which accounted for his slightly oversized jaw and large nose.

Film and TV work

Benedict was best known for his role as Harry Bentley on the television show The Jeffersons. He played this role from 1975 when the show began until 1981, and then returned in 1983 and remained until the end of the show in 1985. His character was a well-mannered Englishman who lived in the apartment next door to George and Louise Jefferson. He worked at the United Nations as a translator and was a bachelor. He was liked by all of the characters on the show except George Jefferson, who found him annoying, but they eventually became friends as the show progressed. Harry was also known for telling boring, pointless stories about his past, particularly about his childhood and relatives in England.

Paul K. Benedict

Paul King Benedict (Chinese name: 白保羅 Bái Bǎoluó) (5 July 1912 – 21 July 1997) was an American anthropologist, mental health professional, and linguist who specialized in languages of East and Southeast Asia. He is well known for his 1942 proposal of the Austro-Tai language family and also his reconstruction of Proto-Sino-Tibetan and Proto-Tibeto-Burman. He was also a practicing psychiatrist in the New York area for 20 years and was also a pioneer in the field of ethnopsychiatry.

Life and career

Benedict was born in Poughkeepsie, New York and graduated from Poughkeepsie High School in 1930. He attended Cornell University before transferring to University of New Mexico, earning a bachelor of arts degree there in 1934. He then attended Harvard University earning a master's degree in 1935 and a Ph.D. in anthropology in 1941. During his studies, he traveled to Asia and studied at University of California for two years.

After he received his M.D. degree at the New York Medical College, he served as Chief Psychiatrist and Director of the Diagnostic Center at the New York State Department of Corrections. Benedict later published work on mental health in other cultures before turning his attention to language studies.