Born in 1931, Bronx-born Hal Linden was the son of Charles Lipshitz and Frances Rosen and had an older brother who would become a future professor of music at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. Similarly musical, Hal took up classical clarinet in his late teens and played regularly with symphony orchestras. After graduating from the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan, he studied music at Queens College, moving later to City College to pursue business. Hal also played in dance bands and was asked to join 'Sammy Kaye' . More musical leads such as "I Do! I Do!" and "The Pajama Game" came his way, along with dramatic pursuits in "I'm Not Rappaport" and "The Sisters Rosenzweig." Hal has also undertaken musical tours in his continuing role as clarinetist. He and wife Frances are avid golfers during their spare time.
Chose his stage name on the way from Philadelphia to an acting job in New York City. He saw the water tower in Linden, New Jersey, and the rest is history.
Played clarinet with the New York American Symphony at the age of fifteen.
Long associated with the March of Dimes, serving as national chairman for many years.
He was offered and turned down the lead role in "St. Elsewhere" .
Although he was nominated for seven Primetime Emmys for his great work on "Barney Miller" , he won two Daytime Emmys for hosting a series of daytime informational spots called "FYI: For Your Information" .
Won Broadways 1971 Tony Award as Best Actor for "The Rothschilds."
Even though he was trained as a clarinet player, he often played saxophone in live jazz bands to earn a living as a young man.
Met his wife when she was a dancer and she got him a reading for the understudy of Jeffery Moss in the musical "Bells Are Ringing" on Broadway. Judy Holliday , the shows (and movies) star, was at their wedding.
Best remembered by the public for his starring role on "Barney Miller" .
In 1984, he carried the Olympic Torch and ran a portion of the Los Angeles segment.
Building on his popularity on Barney Miller, Mr. Linden toured as a solo singing act during the same period. His musical talent and training resulted in an surprisingly outstanding performance.
Both his family name Lipshitz and stage name Linden are derived from the words for "limetree" in Yiddish and German, respectively.
He is most widely known to be a social butterfly.
