Harold Lipshitz was born on the 20th March 1931, in New York City, USA, and is an actor, musician and television director as well. As Hal Linden, he is best known for portraying the title role in “Barney Miller”, an ABC TV police-themed sitcom which was aired between 1974 and 1982. For this role, Hal was honored with three Golden Globe Award as well as seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations. For hosting ABC’s series of short informational spots in 1980 “FYI: For Your Information” he was rewarded with two Daytime Emmy awards.
Have you ever wondered how much wealth this acting veteran has accumulated so far? How rich Hal Linden is? According to sources, it is estimated that the total amount of Hal Linden’s net worth, as of early 2017, is around $2 million, acquired through his acting career which now spans over 60 years.
Hal Linden Net Worth $2 million
Hal was born the youngest child of Charles and Frances Lipshitz and is of American, Lithuanian and Jewish descent. He matriculated from both Herman Ridder Junior High School and High School of Music and Art before enrolling at Queens College in his hometown. Hal later attended Baruch College, but obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in business from City College of New York. He began his career in the entertainment industry as a clarinet and saxophone player in the early 1950s, touring and performing with Bobby Sherwood, Sammy Kaye and several other big names. While serving in the US Army at Fort Belvoir, Virginia between 1952 and 1954, Hal performed in the United States Army Band.
Although he debuted on the small screen in 1951, in “Search for Tomorrow”, he didn’t officially begin his acting career ’til 1958 when he was cast in the Broadway musical production “Bells Are Ringing”. Throughout the 1960s as well as 1970s, Hal Linden built a respectable stage acting career – for his performance as Mayer Rothschild in 1971 Broadway musical “The Rothschilds”, Hal was rewarded with a prestigious Tony Award. In 1973 he was cast for the role of detective Lou Isaacs in NBC’s TV movie “Mr. Inside/Mr. Outside” featuring Tony Lo Bianco in the leading role. It is certain that all these engagements provided a huge, positive impact on Hal Linden’s net worth.
However, the real breakthrough in Hal Linden’s acting career occurred in 1974, when he was cast for the title role in the eponymous television series “Barney Miller”. During the show’s seven seasons, Hal portrayal brought him seven prestigious Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and is doubtlessly one of Linden’s most memorable professional engagements, which resulted in a significant increment to his overall net worth as well as his popularity.
Hal has since appeared in numerous other TV series, the most memorable are “The Boys are Back”, “Gilmore Girls”, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, “Will & Grace” as well as more recently “Hot in Cleveland”, “Supernatural” and “American Project”.
Hal also added several notable movie credits to his professional acting portfolio including “A New Life” (1988), “Out to Sea” (1997), “Time Changer” (2002) and 2008 TV movie “A Kiss at Midnight”. All these engagements have helped Hal Linden to add a significant sum to his wealth.
Parallel to his acting career, Hal Linden was carefully maintained his musical one – ’til the 1980s he was a regular performer on New York City’s nightclub circuit. In 2011, he revived his music career with a cabaret tour “An Evening with Hal Linden: I’m Old Fashioned”. Later that year, he released his debut studio album – “It’s Never Too Late”. These ventures have certainly impacted Hal Linden’s net worth in a positive manner.
When it comes to his personal life, Hal Linden was married to dancer Fran Martin, between 1958 and 2010 when she passed away. He is the father of four children.
Both his family name Lipshitz and stage name Linden are derived from the words for "limetree" in Yiddish and German, respectively.
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Building on his popularity on Barney Miller, Mr. Linden toured as a solo singing act during the same period. His musical talent and training resulted in an surprisingly outstanding performance.
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In 1984, he carried the Olympic Torch and ran a portion of the Los Angeles segment.
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Best remembered by the public for his starring role on Barney Miller (1974).
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Met his wife when she was a dancer and she got him a reading for the understudy of Jeffery Moss in the musical "Bells Are Ringing" on Broadway. Judy Holliday, the show's (and movie's) star, was at their wedding.
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Even though he was trained as a clarinet player, he often played saxophone in live jazz bands to earn a living as a young man.
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Won Broadway's 1971 Tony Award as Best Actor (Musical) for "The Rothschilds."
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Although he was nominated for seven Primetime Emmys for his great work on Barney Miller (1974), he won two Daytime Emmys for hosting a series of daytime informational spots called FYI: For Your Information (1980).
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He was offered and turned down the lead role in St. Elsewhere (1982).
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Long associated with the March of Dimes, serving as national chairman for many years.
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Played clarinet with the New York American Symphony at the age of fifteen.
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Chose his stage name on the way from Philadelphia to an acting job in New York City. He saw the water tower in Linden, New Jersey, and the rest is history.
$2 Million
