Tony Goldwyn

Goldwyn in 2014, photo by Prphotos.com

Birth Name: Anthony Howard Goldwyn

Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, United States

Date of Birth: May 20, 1960

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish (paternal grandfather), Irish, English, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Scottish, German

Tony Goldwyn is an American actor, singer, producer, director, and political activist. His roles include the films Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, Ghost, Nixon, Tarzan, voicing the lead role; The Last Samurai, The Last House on the Left (2009), Divergent, and its follow-ups; and King Richard, and television’s From the Earth to the Moon and Scandal. He has directed the films A Walk on the Moon, Someone like You, The Last Kiss, and Conviction (2010), and episodes of The L Word, Grey’s Anatomy, Dexter, Justified, Scandal, and The Divide, the latter of which he also co-created.

He is the son of producer Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. and actress Jennifer Howard. His brother is producer John Goldwyn. Tony is married to production designer Jane Musky, with whom he has two children.

Tony’s paternal grandfather, famous early Hollywood mogul Samuel Goldwyn, was a Polish Jewish immigrant. Tony’s other ancestry is Irish, English, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Scottish, and German. Tony has said that he did not know that his grandfather was Jewish until he attended his funeral; Samuel died in 1974, when Tony was fourteen.

Tony’s paternal grandfather was Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz/Gelbfisch, the son of Aaron/Abraham David Gelbfisz/Goldfish and Hannah Reban Jarecka). Samuel was a Polish Jew, who was born in Warsaw, and became a producer in Hollywood. Aaron was the son of Zalman Gelbficz.

Tony’s paternal grandmother was actress Frances Howard (born Frances Howard McLaughlin, the daughter of Charles Douglas McLaughlin and Helen Victoria “Bonnie” Howard). Frances was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and had Irish heritage on at least her father’s side. She was Catholic. Tony’s great-grandfather Charles was from Batavia, New York, and was said to have been the maternal grandson of Daniel O’Connell, the political leader of Ireland’s Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 1800s, who was a Member of the U.K. Parliament and Lord Mayor of Dublin. Daniel was known as “The Liberator.”

Tony’s maternal grandfather was Sidney Howard, a playwright (born Sidney Coe Howard, the son of John Lawrence Howard and Helen Louise Coe). Sidney was born in California. Helen was the daughter of Lawrence White Coe and Mary Louise Graves.

Tony’s maternal grandmother was Clare Eames, an actress (born Clare Jeness Eames, the daughter of Hayden Eames and Clare Hamilton). Tony’s grandmother Clare was born in Connecticut. Hayden was born in Shanghai, China, the son of American parents, Ithamar/Ithamer Bellows Eames, a lawyer who worked in international courts, and Emma A. Hayden. Tony’s great-grandmother Clare was the daughter of William Thomas Hamilton, a Democratic politician, who was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland, from March 4, 1849 to March 3, 1853, and again, from March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1855, a U.S. Senator from Maryland, from March 4, 1869 to March 3, 1875, and a Governor of Maryland, from January 14, 1880 to January 9, 1884; and of Clara Holmes Jenness.

Sources: Genealogies of Tony Goldwyn – http://www.wikitree.com
https://www.geni.com

Genealogies of Tony’s parents – http://www.findagrave.com

Marriage record of Tony’s paternal great-grandparents, Charles Douglas McLaughlin and Helen Victoria “Bonnie” Howard – https://www.familysearch.org

Marriage record of Tony’s maternal grandparents, Sidney Coe Howard and Clare Jeness Eames – https://www.familysearch.org