Biography

Character actor and photographer Dan Ziskie (originally from Detroit) was a familiar presence on the screen, seemingly born to portray dignified governmental authority figures. He is perhaps best remembered as Vice-Pres. Jim Matthews in seasons one and five of House of Cards (2013) and as shrewd, politically-connected banker C J Liguori on HBO's Treme (2010), set in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. With similar gravitas, he guest-starred as U.S. senators in Person of Interest (2011) and The Blacklist (2013) and as Attorney General Bates (who presided over the dismissal of Pres. Logan in the season five final of 24 (2001)). Further appearances include supporting roles in, among other top-rated shows, The Equalizer (1985), L.A. Law (1986), Quantum Leap (1989), The West Wing (1999), Law & Order (1990) and Gotham (2014).

Ziskie studied at the University of Michigan, from where he graduated with a B.A. in English. He excelled at college sports, notably football and relay races. Prior to finding his place in the performing arts, he worked as a crewman on a Great Lakes freighter and then had a brief fling with journalism. In the early '70s, Ziskie joined Chicago's improvisational Second City comedy troupe. He subsequently moved to New York where he acted on stage both on and off-Broadway. His first foray to 'the Great White Way' was as an understudy in a 1980 revival of 'Morning's at Seven'. Ziskie segued into screen acting that very same year, playing a bartender in two episodes of The Edge of Night (1956).

He also became an accomplished photographer, thanks to an uncle who operated a camera store in Detroit and gifted him his first camera, a Brownie. Ziskie explained in a later interview: "he would come to our house and he and my father would film hours of family events, when small film cameras were becoming available to everyone. I suppose that was the first seed of my interest in photography." Residing in New York, Ziskie particularly enjoyed taking photos of everyday people on the streets, publishing a collection of these in a 2017 monograph entitled Cloud Chamber.

Dan Ziskie died in New York of arteriosclerosis at the age of 80.
- IMDb mini biography by: I.S.Mowis