Anthony Jared Zerbe (born May 20, 1936) is an American stage, film and television actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his role as the post apocalyptic cult leader Matheis in the 1971 version of Omega Man.
Zerbe was born in Long Beach, California, the son of Catherine (née Scurlock) and Arthur Lee Van Zerbe. From 1959 to 1961, Zerbe served in the United States Air Force. Zerbe studied at the Stella Adler Theater Studio in New York. He is the former artistic director of Reflections, A New Plays Festival at the GeVa Theatre in Rochester, New York, which is currently touring the United States in Behind The Broken Words, a performance of contemporary poetry, comedy and dramatic works with fellow actor Roscoe Lee Browne. Zerbe also continues to perform in a project, Prelude to Lime Creek, with poet and lyricist Joe Henry.
In 1976, Zerbe won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing Performance By a Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Lieutenant KC Trench in the private detective series Harry O.
He married Arnette Jens on October 7, 1962.
Hailing from Long Beach, California, talented character actor Anthony Zerbe has kept busy in Hollywood and on stage since the late 1960s, often playing villainous or untrustworthy characters, with his narrow gaze and unsettling smirk. Zerbe was born May 20, 1936, in Long Beach, and served a stint in the US Air Force before heading off to New York to study drama under noted acting coach Stella Adler. He made his screen debut as "Dutchie", one of Charlton Heston's fellow cowhands in the western Will Penny (1968), played a miner in Molly Maguires, The (1970), was a post-apocalyptic, lunatic messiah in Omega Man, The (1971), hustled a naive Paul Newman (I) in Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, The (1972), played a leper colony leader in Papillon (1973) and a former lawman gone bad in Rooster Cogburn (1975). Zerbe also starred alongside David Janssen (I) in the TV series "Harry O" (1974) as the urbane, nattily dressed Lt. K.C. Trench, Janssen's sometime nemesis, for which he picked up an Emmy Award. Definitely in strong demand for sinister roles, Zerbe played a crazed scientist in the corny KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978) (TV), was an arrogant father in Dead Zone, The (1983), made a great Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in "North and South, Book II" (1986) (mini), starred in the military drama Opposing Force (1986) and suffered a grisly demise in an airlock full of money in the James Bond thriller Licence to Kill (1989). Most recently, Zerbe has been seen as "Councillor Hamann" in Matrix Reloaded, The (2003) and Matrix Revolutions, The (2003). In addition to his extensive television and film appearances, Zerbe has appeared in Broadway productions including "The Little Foxes", "Terra Nova" and "Solomon's Child". He was in residence for five summer seasons at The Old Globe Theatre playing several key Shakespearean characters to strong critical acclaim. He has also held residencies at the Theatre of the Living Arts in Philadelphia, the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., and the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston. In 2003 he toured across several states with Roscoe Lee Browne in their production of "Behind The Broken Words", a performance of 20th-century poetry, comedy and drama.
