Corey Fischer (1945-2020) *75

was an American actor. Fischer was born in Los Angeles and received a BA in French and Theatre Arts from UCLA. In the mid-sixties he worked in Los Angeles in improvisational theatre, notably with The Committee, and went on to work in film and television. An early film appearance was in the biker cult film Naked Angels and an early television appearance was in a 1966 episode of Daniel Boone.

Fischer appeared in Robert Altman's first three Hollywood movies: MASH, Brewster McCloud, and McCabe and Mrs. Miller and many of the best-known TV comedies of the seventies including All in the Family, Sanford and Son and Barney Miller as well as the TV version of M*A*S*H. In 1972-75 he played "Givits" a guitar-playing ex-rabbinical student in Sunshine starting with the groundbreaking TV movie that became the prototype for a number of "Disease-of-the-week" movies that followed. He continued to play Givits in the short-lived spin-off series, also titled Sunshine, (13 episodes) and, finally, a second TV movie, Sunshine Christmas.

In 1976 Fischer worked with L.A.'s ProVisional Theatre, an experimental, political ensemble. With them, he toured nationally in America Piece by Susan Yankowitz and the company-created Voice of the People. He was then invited to become part of The Winter Project by director Joseph Chaikin. Relocating to New York for two years, he participated in Chaikin's project and acted in Chaikin's production of The Dybbuk at the Public Theater.