American actor and musician, a jazz pianist and singer and composer. Moriarty had a lead role on the television series “L.A. Law” from 1990-94 and received three Emmy Award nominations, but in 1995, he quit in protest over a political issue in the storyline.
Moriarty majored in theater at Dartmouth before receiving a Fulbright Scholarship to attend the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. After graduating, he began to hone his acting skills, and at age 22, he performed at the New York Shakespeare Festival. During the early part of his career, he sold tires and encyclopedias and worked as a waiter, but beginning in 1972, he was cast in a string of films like “Hickey and Boggs,” 1972, “Bang the Drum Slowly,” 1972, and “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” 1978. Tall, wide-eyed and baby-faced, with a delicate, high-pitched voice, he was soon in demand as a character actor although he was rarely cast as a villain. In 1974, he appeared in “Find Your Way Home” and won a Tony Award, and that same year, he received an Emmy for his work in “The Glass Menagerie.” He won another Emmy for his celebrated work in “Holocaust” in 1978.
Although his stage career continued to flourish through the 1980s and 1990s, his film career was less successful. By appearing in many low budget horror films, Moriarty was cast in leading roles; however, these appearances brought him little prestige.
He was a member of the editorial board for New York Quarterly, a journal that published a number of his poems, and he has released several jazz albums. A resident of Canada, he is politically active and has talked about forming a Republican Party of Canada.
From 1966-78, Moriarty was married to Françoise Martinet. He was married a second time, from 1978-97, to Anne Martin. On 10/10/1998, he married his third wife, Suzana Cabrita; however, they later separated. He has one son, Matthew Christopher.
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