Michael Wager

Michael Wager (born Emanuel Weisgal,^[1] April 29, 1925 – c. January 2012)^[2] was an American film and television actor.

Wager was born in New York, New York, and nicknamed "Mendy". He was the son of Meyer Weisgal, a journalist, publisher, playwright, fundraiser, and Zionist activist, and Shirley (Hirshfeld).^[3]

He appeared in the war films, Hill 24 Doesn't Answer and Exodus, and he appeared in a recurring role, as Jonas Roving, on the soap opera Ryan's Hope. One of his roles was Thomas the Apostle in King of Kings. He also appeared in the soap opera Search for Tomorrow and made TV commercials.^[4]

Wager married Susan Blanchard on October 9, 1962.^[5] Wager was bisexual.^{[citation needed]}

He was a good friend of the Bernsteins, the composer Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia. He lived above them in The Dakota, and was especially close to Felicia. He was with both Lenny and Felicia before their respective deaths.^{[citation needed]}

He was hugely into opera and the opera queen Mendy in Terrence McNally's play The Lisbon Traviata was based on him.^[6]

He was portrayed by Zachary Booth in Bradley Cooper's 2023 film Maestro.

• Michael Wager at IMDb
• Michael Wager at the Internet Broadway Database
• Michael Wager at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection

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