Credits

Brian Cox

Called "the most prolific Scottish actor of his generation," Brian Cox has distinguished himself in a variety of classic, period, and contemporary roles in English and American movies, stage plays, and television films. He’s performed in everything from Shakespeare ("King Lear") to Ludlum ("The Bourne Supremacy"), epics ("Braveheart") to science-fiction ("X2"), Pirandello ("Six Characters in Search of an Author") to Raymond Chandler ("Poodle Springs").

Mr. Cox has won Emmy and Olivier Awards, and he has the further distinction of having been the first actor to play Hannibal Lecter on-screen (in Michael Mann’s "Manhunter"). He has portrayed formidable historical figures such as Leon Trotsky and Hermann Goering, and he has convulsed audiences as the character Harry Moon on NBC’s "Frasier."

For "Mean Streets USA," Brian Cox focuses on Dashiell Hammett’s story "Too Many Have Lived," featuring detective Sam Spade.

Tate Donovan

Tate Donovan, though born on the East Coast, was educated at the University of Southern California. Among the first films in which he acted were "Space Camp,""Clean and Sober,"and "Memphis Belle." More recently, he was featured in "Good Night, and Good Luck."

Mr. Donovan has done stage plays at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and off- and on-Broadway (where he played opposite Judi Dench in "Amy’s View").

TV viewers will know Tate Donovan from his role as Jimmy Cooper in "The O.C."

This actor is no stranger to audio work, either: His was the voice of "Hercules"in that popular animated vehicle. With his performance of Jim Fusilli’s story "Serpent’s Dance,"involving New York private investigator Terry Orr, Tate Donovan returns to the East Coast to tackle a much more modern sort of myth.

Harriet Sansom Harris

Harriet Harris, celebrated for playing very plainspoken and capable women, seems a perfect choice to portray Sue Grafton’s popular female private-eye character Kinsey Millhone ("The Parker Shotgun").

Born in Texas, Ms. Harris has made her mark in (among other places) New York and Hollywood. She is well-known for her recurring roles on "Desperate Housewives" (as Felicia Tilman) and on "Frasier" (as the agent Bebe Glazer). Her work in such NYC theater productions as "The Crucible," "Jeffrey," "Bella," "The Man Who Came to Dinner" (with Nathan Lane) and "Thoroughly Modern Mille" has won her several awards, including (in 2002) the Tony.

Harriet Harris’s film credits include "Nurse Betty," "Addams Family Values," and "Memento." She is scheduled to play the role of Vera Charles in the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ 2006 production of "Mame."

John Michael Higgins

The multi-talented actor-director John Michael Higgins, born in Boston, is a young veteran of American theatre, movies, and TV.

As a stage actor, he has done everything from commedia dell’arte to improv-comedy; from Shakespeare, Shaw and Sheridan to Paul Rudnick’s play "Jeffrey" (the title role of which he originated in its New York production).

John Michael Higgins drew enthusiastic reviews for his portrayal of David Letterman in "The Late Shift." He earned favor as the recurring character Steven Miller in the fifth season of "Ally McBeal." But his most acclaimed performance yet may be as Terry Bohner in "A Mighty Wind," the Chris Guest-Eugene Levy "mockumentary" for which Mr. Higgins also composed songs and arranged vocal harmonies for the mythical New Main Street Singers.

In "Mean Streets USA," John Michael Higgins performs Michael Connelly’s story "Cielo Azul," a grim adventure featuring LAPD detective Harry Bosch.

Stacy Keach

Born in Georgia, Stacy Keach grew up in Southern California, where his father was first an actor-director at the Pasadena Playhouse and then a radio producer-director.

Mr. Keach began acting early, first in plays and then in films ("The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter," "Brewster McCloud," "Fat City, "Luther"). He has won several awards (including the Tony) for his stage work in everything from Shakespeare to Arthur Kopit. A New York Times reviewer once dubbed him "the finest American classical actor since John Barrymore."

On television, Mr. Keach has made lasting impressions playing two iconic American figures: Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer, and Nobel laureate Ernest Hemingway.
KCRW listeners will remember Stacy Keach’s presence in the cast of the station’s unabridged dramatization of Ross Macdonald’s "Sleeping Beauty." On "Mean Streets USA," Mr. Keach steps stage-center for a solo performance of the same author’s Lew Archer story, "The Angry Man."

Sharon Lawrence

Sharon Lawrence, born in North Carolina, was drawn early to the New York stage, where she did her first work in revival productions of such classic hits as "Zorba," "Cabaret," and "Fiddler on the Roof." Later she starred at the Shubert Theatre in the Broadway musical "Chicago." In Los Angeles, she has done plays at the Mark Taper Forum and with the Matrix Company.

Ms. Lawrence earned television fame, a SAG Award, and three Emmy nominations on the long-running "N.Y.P.D. Blue," in the role of Assistant District Attorney Sylvia Costas Sipowicz. Sharon Lawrence has also starred in the series "Fired Up," "Wolf Lake," and "Ladies Man."

Her movie credits include "The Face on the Milk Carton," "Gossip, "Word of Honor," and "Little Black Book." She produced as well as starred in the TV-movie "Five Desperate Hours."

Sharon Lawrence, on "Mean Streets USA," performs the Elmore Leonard story "Karen Makes Out."

Dakin Matthews

With a degree in theology, Dakin Matthews may be especially well-suited to exploring the good and evil sides of Raymond Chandler’s mean streets in "I’ll Be Waiting."

Born in Oakland, Mr. Matthews was educated in San Francisco, New York, and Rome. He was artistic director of the Berkeley Shakespeare Festival, and a founding member of John Houseman’s Acting Company. He has taught drama at Juilliard (where his students included Kevin Kline and Patti LuPone), written plays, and published books and articles on theatrical history.

Among his film credits are "The Fighting Temptations" and "The Muse." On TV, Mr. Matthews has appeared on such crime-oriented shows as "Murder, She Wrote," "N.Y.P.D. Blue," "L.A. Law," and "Diagnosis Murder." Dakin Matthews has had recurring roles on "Jack & Bobby," "My Two Dads," "The King of Queens," "Desperate Housewives" (as Reverend Sikes) and "The Gilmore Girls" (as headmaster Hanlin Charleston).

Jefferson Mays

"Like most overnight successes," a New York Times writer observed of this actor who rocketed to stardom in "I Am My Own Wife," "Mr. Mays has been around a while."

Jefferson Mays fell in love with theatre while studying at Yale and received further acting training, and an MFA, at UCSD. He’d performed in seven plays in New York (and won several awards, including an Obie) before being present at the creation of "I Am My Own Wife" by Doug Wright, a one-man play in which the lead actor portrays some 40 characters in addition to the central figure: a 65-year-old East German transvestite.

"The theater is a place of hearing, predominantly," Mr. Mays has said. That holds true for radio, too. In "Mean Streets USA," Jefferson Mays performs "A Tough Case to Figure," by the Nero Wolfe Award-winning author Dick Lochte.

Tony Plana

Tony Plana, who performs the George P. Pelecanos story "The Dead, Their Eyes Implore Us," is an especially well-traveled actor. Born in Havana, Cuba, he emigrated with his family to Miami and was educated at Southern California’s Loyola-Marymount; later, he studied at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Theater audiences have seen Mr. Plana on Broadway in "Zoot Suit" and "The Boys of Winter" and at the Mark Taper Forum in "Richard III" and "Widows." He has been in over 60 films (including "JFK," "Nixon," "Salvador," "El Norte," and "Half Past Dead") and on many network-TV shows (from "Hill Street Blues" to "Monk"). Tony Plano was the family patriarch Roberto Santiago in Showtime’s "Resurrection Boulevard." On "The West Wing," he plays the recurring role of the US Secretary of State.

Mr. Plana is co-founder and executive artistic director of the East L.A. Classic Theatre.

Daniel Riordan

Daniel Riordan, the narrator guiding listeners down KCRW’s "Mean Streets USA," has much experience introducing listeners and viewers to dangerous and exotic places.

His voice has brought characters to life in a galaxy of animated series and features, including "X-Men Legends II," "The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction," "EverQuest II," and the Fox Family show "Transformers: Robots in Disguise."

Mr. Riordan has also explored the genres as an actor in such live-action vehicles as "Star Trek Enterprise," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," "Ed Wood," "The Waiting Game," "Silk Stalkings," "Diagnosis Murder," "Suspended Animation," and "Monk."

Daniel Riordan has also done stage work in New York and in San Francisco. This well-traveled narrator speaks with quiet authority as he directs us to our varied destinations along these "Mean Streets USA."

Meshach Taylor

Meshach Taylor, born in Boston, acquired dramatic training in Indiana, Ohio, and Florida, before earning his first attention (and awards) as an actor in Chicago, appearing there on television and with the Goodman Theatre.

After moving to Los Angeles, Mr. Taylor guest-starred on such TV series as "Barney Miller" and "Lou Grant" and had regular roles on "Buffalo Bill" and "Dave’s World." He is probably best-known to TV viewers for another recurring part: his Emmy-nominated portrayal of Anthony Bouvier, which he did for seven seasons on "Designing Women."

This versatile actor has appeared on Broadway in "Beauty and the Beast," hosted Home and Garden Television’s "Urban Gardener with Meshach Taylor," and been a celebrity panelist on the remake-version of "To Tell the Truth." His film credits include "Friends and Family."

Meshach Taylor brings Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins and several other characters to vivid audio life in "Silver Lining."

Kristoffer Tabori

You could say Kristoffer Tabori was born into show business: His mother was the actress Viveca Lindfors, and his father was director Don Siegel. (His stepfather was the playwright George Tabori.)

Kris Tabori made his acting debut as a child, in his mother’s film "Weddings and Babies." During the 1960s, he did theater work. Screen viewers first took real note of him in such films as "Making It," "Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker," and "Girlfriends."

Mr. Tabori won many admirers with his performances in public-television productions including "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and "Rappaccini’s Daughter." In recent years, the actor has done much directing work, earning several nominations and an Emmy Award.

Kristoffer Tabori is also a modern-radio veteran, having acted in several episodes of the 1970s series "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre." For KCRW, he brings his talents to a performance of "Find Miriam," an intriguing story by Stuart Kaminsky – the author most recently named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America.

Kevin Tighe

A Los Angeles native, Kevin Tighe came to the fore in the 1970s playing Paramedic Roy DeSoto in the long-running television series "Emergency!" When that show ended, Mr. Tighe went for a decade to New York, where he continued his acting studies and did theater work.

Returning to California in the late 1980s, Kevin Tighe resumed his film career with roles in the John Sayles movies "Matewan" and "Eight Men Out." In "Winchell," he portrayed William Randolph Hearst. His many other movie credits include "Mumford," "What’s Eating Gilbert Grape," "Road House," "Men of War," "Spy Games," "Rose Red," "Another 48 Hours," and "The Darwin Conspiracy."

On the small screen in recent years, Mr. Tighe played the part of Henry Janeway in "Star Trek: Voyager."

For "Mean Streets USA," Kevin Tighe performs Andrew Vachss’s brief, chilling tale, "It’s a Hard World."