Sam Waterston

Sam's parents married on July 6, 1935 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Sam's father, George Chychele Waterston, aka G. Chychele Waterston or George C. Waterston (b. Leith, Scotland, 20 May 1904, d. Sharon, Connecticut, 13 May 1995), was a diplomat and linguist. He was an immigrant, whose own father, George Waterston, was Scottish (from Midlothian), and whose own mother, Ellen Louise Giles, was English (from Middlesex). Sam's mother, Alice Tucker Atkinson (b. Brookline, Massachusetts, 10 December 1905, d. Sharon, Connecticut, 29 November 1993), was the daughter of musician Robert Whitman Atkinson (b. Heath Street, Brookline, Massachusetts, 14 December 1868, d. Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, 21 August 1934), Harvard 1891, and of wife (m. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 5 March 1904) Elizabeth Bispham Page (b. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 27 March 1875, d. Middleborough, Massachusetts, January 1962). Sam's mother was a Mayflower descendant.

Sam Waterston was born on November 15, 1940 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA as Samuel Atkinson Waterston.

He attended Groton Prep School and then entered Yale University on a scholarship (1958) where he studied French and History and graduated with a Bachelor's degree (1962). He spent his junior year studying at the Sorbonne in Paris. After failing to quash the acting bug, he studied at the American Actors Workshop in Paris. After leaving Yale, he spent some months at the Clinton Playhouse. He resides in Connecticut with his wife.

Shared a $25-a-month Greenwich Village apartment in New York City with friend and fellow actor Tom Ligon in the early 1960s.

Has appeared in four films with Mia Farrow: The Great Gatsby (1974), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), September (1987) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). Of these four, only The Great Gatsby (1974) was not directed by Woody Allen. It was directed by Jack Clayton.

Both he and his Rancho Deluxe (1975) and Heaven's Gate (1980) co-star Jeff Bridges were Oscar nominated for Best Actor in 1984, for The Killing Fields (1984) and Starman (1984) respectively.

Has appeared in four films directed by Woody Allen: Interiors (1978), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), September (1987) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).

Has played five U.S. Presidents: Abraham Lincoln three times, Lincoln (1988), The Civil War (1990) (voice only), and "Abe Lincoln in Illinois" on Broadway (1994); Thomas Jefferson (voice only) in Thomas Jefferson (1997); fictional President William Foster in The Enemy Within (1994); Theodore Roosevelt in Freedom to Speak (1983); and the unnamed fictional President in Shadow Conspiracy (1997).

He is an actor and producer, known for Law & Order (1990), The Killing Fields (1984) and Serial Mom (1994).

Has the distinction of starring on two television series in which he played a prosecutor -- District Attorney Forrest Bedford on I'll Fly Away (1991) and District Attorney Jack McCoy on Law & Order (1990).

Was nominated for Broadway's 1994 Tony Award as Best Actor (Play) for playing Abraham Lincoln in a revival of Robert E. Sherwood's "Abe Lincoln in Illinois".

Received an honorary degree from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut (2001).

Is the official spokesperson for TD Waterhouse, the online investment company. He appears in most of their television commercials (2003/2004).

Forrest Bedford, Waterston's character on I'll Fly Away (1991), was ranked #17 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].

Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7040 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on January 7, 2010.

As of 2016, has appeared in two films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Killing Fields (1984) and Hannah and Her Sisters (1986).