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Peter Bonerz

A beak-nosed comic actor with an improvisational background, Peter Bonerz went from playing Jerry the dentist pal on "The Bob Newhart Show" (CBS, 1972-78) to directing episodes of the series and then developed into one of the more prolific sitcom directors of the 1980s and 90s. Bonerz first acted on stage in a production of "Agamemnon" at Columbia University in 1961, then made his Off-Broadway debut doing an improvisational character in "The Premise" (1962). He left New York and between 1963 and 1969 appeared with "The Committee," a revered San Francisco improv troupe. When he returned to Manhattan, he made his Broadway debut in Paul Sills' "Story Theatre" (1970), with a cast which also included Paul Sand and Valerie Harper. (It was also adapted as a short-lived syndicated series in 1971.)