Edward Ernest Reinhold, Jr. (born May 21, 1957), known by his stage name Judge Reinhold, is an American actor, known for co-starring in movies such as Billy Rosewood in Beverly Hills Cop, Ruthless People, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and The Santa Clause trilogy.
Life and Career[]
Reinhold was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the son of Regina Celeste (née Fleming) and Edward Ernest Reinhold, Sr., a trial lawyer. He was raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia, until his family moved to Martin County, Florida, prior to his junior year in high school. His father nicknamed him "Judge" when he was just two weeks old.
Reinhold graduated from Martin County High School, although he attended Alexis I. duPont High School for his 9th and 10th grade. He went on to attend Mary Washington College and North Carolina School of the Arts, after which he performed at various regional theaters, including Burt Reynolds' Dinner Theater in Jupiter, Florida.
Reinhold has appeared in more than 60 films. His first appearance on screen was in the Wonder Woman episode "Amazon Hot Wax" (1979), in which he played Jeff Gordon, a singer who gets caught up in an extortion ring in the music business. Reinhold's first major film role was as high school senior Brad Hamilton in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) along with then-unknown actors Sean Penn, Phoebe Cates, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Nicolas Cage. He appeared in an uncredited role in Pat Benatar's music video for "Shadows of the Night." He later played Detective Billy Rosewood, the junior police detective sent to trail Eddie Murphy, in Beverly Hills Cop (1984), and in 1986, starred in Ruthless People.
Reinhold starred in the Canadian hard rock band Harem Scarem's 1992 music video "Honestly" as the male love interest.
In 1994, Reinhold appeared in Beverly Hills Cop III and The Santa Clause. He has reprised the role of Dr. Neil Miller for the Santa Clause sequels as well. Reinhold appeared as himself on two episodes of the third season of Arrested Development, headlining a fictional court TV show called Mock Trial with J. Reinhold.
Reinhold was nominated for an Emmy for a role on Seinfeld in which he played the infamous "close talker" who developed an obsession with Jerry's parents. He has also been seen in Steven Spielberg's epic miniseries Into the West and replaced Charles Grodin in two direct-to-video movies in the Beethoven film series.
Reinhold was featured in the 2008 political satire Swing Vote.
Reinhold's nickname "Judge" has been the subject of comedy in both Clerks: The Animated Series and Arrested Development, both times with him playing himself appointed as a judge in a court of law. Additionally, the 2009 film Fanboys features Billy Dee Williams playing a judge named Reinhold.
Reinhold is credited as the whistler on the Martini Ranch song "Reach."
He is set to reprise his role as Billy Rosewood in the fourth Beverly Hills Cop film.