---
name: "Michael Tolan"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/michael-tolan"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "27 November 1925"
died: "31 January 2011"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 82
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-20T06:14:18.227445+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Michael Tolan

Actor. Born 27 November 1925 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Died 31 January 2011.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 27 November 1925, Detroit, Michigan, USA
- **Died:** 31 January 2011
- **Active:** 1953–1990
- **Also known as:** Larry Tolan, Lawrence Tolan, Michael Tolin
- **Average Fi1m score:** 82, as actor, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1950s 76 (1), 1970s 86 (2), 1990s 82 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 81 to 75 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 1 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 2, Comedy 1, Crime 1, History 1, Mystery 1, Thriller 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $263m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Tolan, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q978129, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0865845/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/161650

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*All That Jazz*](https://film.one/film/all-that-jazz.md) (84)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Michael Tolan (born Seymour Tuchow) was an American actor. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, on 27 November 1925 and died in Hudson, New York, on 31 January 2011.

Tolan graduated from Wayne State University and studied under Stella Adler and at Stanford University. He began his career in radio and stage work in Detroit before moving to New York, where he made his Broadway debut in *Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?* (1955). He helped found the American Place Theatre.

His film roles included *Julius Caesar* (1953), *The Greatest Story Ever Told* (1965), *All That Jazz* (1979) as Dr. Ballinger, *Presumed Innocent* (1990) and *Perfect Stranger* (2007). He appeared frequently on television in series such as *Mission: Impossible*, *Kojak*, *Law & Order* and *Murder, She Wrote*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Presumed Innocent* (1990), Fi1m 82, as Mr. Polhemus — [page](https://film.one/film/presumed-innocent.md)
- *All That Jazz* (1979), Fi1m 84, as Dr. Ballinger — [page](https://film.one/film/all-that-jazz.md)
- *The Mary Tyler Moore Show* (1970), Fi1m 88, as Dan Whitfield — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-mary-tyler-moore-show.md)
- *Julius Caesar* (1953), Fi1m 76, as Officer to Octavius — [page](https://film.one/film/julius-caesar.md)

## Complete filmography (68)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Perfect Stranger* (2007), as Judge
- *Solomon Northup's Odyssey* (1991), as Henry Northup
- *When Will I Be Loved?* (1990), as Eric Patterson
- *Law & Order* (1990), series, as Norman Ackerman — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md)
- *Presumed Innocent* (1990), as Mr. Polhemus — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/presumed-innocent.md)
- *Murder, She Wrote* (1984), series, as Ralph Whitman, Lt. Alan Terwilliger
- *Talk to Me* (1984), as Dr. Howard
- *American Playhouse* (1982), series, as Henry Northup
- *Four Friends* (1981), Executive Producer
- *Nureyev and the Joffrey Ballet: Tribute to Nijinsky* (1980), as Narrator
- *All That Jazz* (1979), as Dr. Ballinger — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/all-that-jazz.md)
- *Night Terror* (1977), as Walter Turney
- *Perilous Voyage* (1976), as Reynaldo Solis
- *The Adams Chronicles* (1976), series, as Narrator (uncredited) · Narrator
- *Valley Forge* (1975), as Lt. Col. Tench
- *Moe and Joe* (1974), Actor
- *Five on the Black Hand Side* (1973), Producer
- *Kojak* (1973), series, as Dr. Peter Allender — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/kojak.md)
- *Toma* (1973), series, Actor
- *Barnaby Jones* (1973), series, as Reed Calder
- *Here We Go Again* (1973), series, as Glen
- *Ghost Story* (1972), series, as Keith Newton
- *McMillan & Wife* (1971), series, as Dr. Alec Janetta
- *Nichols* (1971), series, as Flying Fox
- *Cannon* (1971), series, Actor
- *The 300-Year Weekend* (1971), as Dr. Marshall
- *Dan August* (1970), series, as John Eberson
- *The Mary Tyler Moore Show* (1970), series, as Dan Whitfield — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-mary-tyler-moore-show.md)
- *The Bold Ones: The Senator* (1970), series, as Jordan Boyle
- *John and Mary* (1969), as James
- *Medical Center* (1969), series, as Julius
- *The Lost Man* (1969), as Insp. Carl Hamilton
- *Journey to the Unknown* (1968), series, as Craig Miller
- *Journey Into Darkness* (1968), as Craig Miller
- *Hour of the Gun* (1967), as Pete Spence
- *Mannix* (1967), series, as Dr. Norman Forrest
- *Roseanna* (1967), as Elmer B. Kafka
- *The Invaders* (1967), series, as Dr. Ted Willard
- *The Mind-Benders: LSD and the Hallucinogens* (1967), as Narrator (voice)
- *The Journey of the Fifth Horse* (1966), as Nikolai Alexeyvich Chulkaturin
- *NET Playhouse* (1966), series, as Chulkaturin
- *Mission: Impossible* (1966), series, as Santos Cardoza, Vitol Enzor, Ismet El Kebir — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/mission-impossible-1966.md)
- *The Rat Patrol* (1966), series, as Sgt. Kabir
- *Felony Squad* (1966), series, Actor
- *Tarzan* (1966), series, Actor
- *The Nurses* (1965), series, Actor
- *The F.B.I.* (1965), series, as Ben Heath, Paul Virdon, Neal Kriton, Alan Graves, Frankie Geller
- *The Greatest Story Ever Told* (1965), as Lazarus
- *Espionage* (1963), series, as Paul Haxton
- *The Outer Limits* (1963), series, as Prof. Stephen Grave
- *The Nurses* (1962), series, as Dr. Alex Tazinski "Ski"
- *The DuPont Show of the Week* (1961), series, as Carter
- *Special for Women* (1960), series, as The Single Man
- *Route 66* (1960), series, Actor
- *The Dybbuk* (1960), as Channon
- *Naked City* (1958), series, as Det. Alan Keller, Peter Merrell, Ricardo Gardio
- *Decoy* (1957), series, as Mike Bergen
- *Inner Sanctum* (1954), series, Actor
- *Julius Caesar* (1953), as Officer to Octavius — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/julius-caesar.md)
- *Hiawatha* (1952), as Ajawac
- *The Savage* (1952), as Long Mane
- *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as Lt. Col. Tench
- *The People Against O'Hara* (1951), as Vincent Korvac (as Lawrence Tolan) (uncredited)
- *Fort Worth* (1951), as Mort Springer
- *Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison* (1951), as Leo Daly
- *The Enforcer* (1951), as James 'Duke' Malloy
- *Studio One* (1948), series, as Octavius Caesar, Al Garson, Plenty Own
- *Kraft Television Theatre* (1947), series, Actor

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/michael-tolan