Elliott Gould

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Elliott Gould (born Elliott Goldstein on August 29, 1938) is an American actor.

Gould was born in Brooklyn, New York to Lucille and Bernie Goldstein, Eastern European Jewish immigrants. He graduated from the Professional Children's School, and was one of the most prominent American film actors in the early 1970s, best known for playing Trapper John in Robert Altman's satirical 1970 film MASH. Time magazine placed him on one of its covers in 1970, when he was at the brief height of his long career, calling him a "star for an uptight age".

Other notable film roles include Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Busting, A Bridge Too Far, Capricorn One, and The Lady Vanishes. Gould joined such distinguished company as Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum when he played the detective Philip Marlowe in Altman's 1973 film The Long Goodbye. He hosted Saturday Night Live six times, his final time being the first episode of the now-disastrous Jean Doumanian season (season 6) in November of 1980, where he was shocked to find that the original cast and producer had left and a new cast and producer had taken their place. He has never hosted after that, but has appeared in a season 16 (1990-1991) episode hosted by Tom Hanks where Hanks is welcomed into the Five-Timers club, a society for celebrities who have hosted SNL five times or more. Also in 1980, Gould filmed two movies for Disney studios, The Last Flight of Noah's Ark and The Devil and Max Devlin, in which he co-starred with Bill Cosby.

His career slowed down after a series of critical and commercial flops in the mid to late 1970s, but he has remained steadily employed in supporting and character roles in television and movies, including a recurring guest role on Friends as Jack Geller, the father of Monica and Ross Geller. He appeared in an episode of the popular television series Touched by an Angel where he played a concentration camp survivor. He also provided the voice of Rabbi Goldberg on several episodes of Nickelodeon's Hey Arnold!.

Gould received critical praise for his role as an aging mobster in Warren Beatty's 1991 film Bugsy. In addition, he appeared in American History X as the boyfriend of Edward Norton's character's mother. He also co-starred in the popular "caper" film Ocean's Eleven (2001) and its sequel Ocean's Twelve (2004), and soon Ocean's Thirteen (2007).