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William Atherton (born July 30, 1947), born William Atherton Knight II, is an American film, stage and television actor. Atherton was born in Orange, Connecticut, the son of Roby (maiden name Robison) and Robert Atherton Knight. He studied acting at the Drama School at Carnegie Tech and graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1969. Atherton got his big break playing hapless fugitive Clovis Poplin in The Sugarland Express, the feature film debut of Steven Spielberg. After this, he garnered major roles in dark dramas such as The Day of the Locust and Looking for Mr. Goodbar, as well as... MORE

William Atherton (born July 30, 1947), born William Atherton Knight II, is an American film, stage and television actor. Atherton was born in Orange, Connecticut, the son of Roby (maiden name Robison) and Robert Atherton Knight. He studied acting at the Drama School at Carnegie Tech and graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1969. Atherton got his big break playing hapless fugitive Clovis Poplin in The Sugarland Express, the feature film debut of Steven Spielberg. After this, he garnered major roles in dark dramas such as The Day of the Locust and Looking for Mr. Goodbar, as well as the big-budget disaster film The Hindenburg. He also played the young cowboy Jim Lloyd in the 1978 miniseries Centennial, based on the novel by James Michener. Atherton entered pop culture history in 1984, when he appeared in the hit comedy Ghostbusters as the overbearing EPA agent Walter Peck. In 1985, Martha Coolidge chose Atherton to play Professor Jerry Hathaway in the teen comedy Real Genius. In 1988, Atherton played narcissistic reporter Richard "Dick" Thornburg in the blockbuster action film Die Hard, as well as its 1990 sequel. Other film credits include No Mercy, The Pelican Brief, LESS