Early life and education
Dugan grew up in Winfield Township, New Jersey. He pursued formal actor training at Montclair State University,1 then deepened his craft under two of the most influential acting teachers in twentieth-century American theater: Stella Adler and Howard Fine.4
Career
Film and television
Dugan's screen career began in the mid-1980s and spans nearly four decades. His notable film appearances include:4
- The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
- Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), in which he played Neanderthal No. 2
- Ghostbusters II (1989, see below)
- Kindergarten Cop (1990)
- Dave (1993)
- Beethoven's 2nd (1993)
- Junior (1994)
- Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)
On television, he has appeared in episodes of Friends, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bones, The Practice, Chicago Hope, Just Shoot Me, and Even Stevens, among other series.4
Theater and playwriting
Dugan's most distinctive body of work is his series of one-person historical plays, in which he writes the text, acts as sole performer, and sometimes directs. Critics have described him as "a national treasure" for this work,1 and he has had as many as five productions of his shows running simultaneously in various cities.4
Plays he wrote and starred in:
- Robert E. Lee: Shades of Gray
- Wiesenthal (see below)
Plays he wrote and directed:
- Frederick Douglass: In the Shadow of Slavery
- The Ghosts of Mary Lincoln
Beyond his own work, Dugan has performed leading roles in regional and touring productions including The Man Who Came to Dinner, Happy Birthday, Wanda June, Amadeus, Misery, and national tours of Oscar to Oscar and On Golden Pond, the latter alongside actor Jack Klugman. He is affiliated with the Colony Theatre in Los Angeles and Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills, and holds memberships in SAG-AFTRA, Actors Equity, and Theatrical Arts International.4
Wiesenthal
Wiesenthal is Dugan's most celebrated work. The one-man play dramatizes the life of Simon Wiesenthal, the Holocaust survivor who spent decades documenting Nazi war criminals and bringing them to justice. The play depicts Wiesenthal on the day before his retirement as he receives a final group of American visitors at the Jewish Documentation Center in Vienna.
The play was developed and performed in Los Angeles, where it was an LA Times Critics' Pick in 20101 and earned Dugan the 2011 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Solo Performance,1 three nominations at the 2011 Los Angeles Ovation Awards,1 and the 2003 Inland Theater League Best Actor Award for earlier productions.1 It was later produced Off-Broadway by Daryl Roth, directed by Jenny Sullivan, at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, New York).2 Previews began October 24, 2014;2 the official opening was November 5, 2014;25 the run closed February 22, 2015.6 The New York Times called the show "heartbreaking and beautiful."7 Dugan received nominations for the New York Drama Desk Award and the New York Outer Critics Circle Award for this run.1 A version of the production was also broadcast on PBS.1 The play has since been staged in Israel, India, Australia, Italy, and Mexico.7
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters II (1989)
In Ghostbusters II, Dugan appears as Restaurant Cop No. 1,3 one of two officers who respond to a disturbance at Armand's, an upscale Manhattan restaurant. On New Year's Eve 1989, the Ghostbusters burst into the dining room wearing only long underwear and covered in Psychomagnotheric Slime; the maitre d' calls the police. Dugan's cop proves unexpectedly sympathetic to the Ghostbusters' account and agrees, along with his partner, to escort them directly to Gracie Mansion to meet Mayor Lenny. The meeting backfires when Jack Hardemeyer intervenes and has the team committed to Parkview Psychiatric Hospital.8
His casting is confirmed in the film's official press kit.9
