Active theatrically since high school, William Atherton (born William Atherton Knight) was the youngest-ever member of New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre repertory troupe. After further dramatic studies, Atherton worked extensively on the New York stage; his first film was the Manhattan-lensed The New Centurions (1972). Handsome and personable enough for leading roles, Atherton has nonetheless specialized in playing rigid bureaucrats, notably the rule-bound antagonist in 1984's Ghostbusters. On television, William Atherton was among the dozens of stars in the 1983 miniseries Malibu.