Michael McGreevey
Actor · Born February 7, 1948 (78) · Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Michael McGreevey began his professional career at the age of seven, appearing in The Girl Most Likely (1957) with Jane Powell, the first of 18 films he would act in over the next 20 years. A successful child actor, Michael also appeared in over 100 television shows, including stints as a series regular on Riverboat (1959) (Burt Reynolds' first show) and guest-star appearances on such acclaimed series as Naked City (1958), Route 66 (1960) and three two-part specials for The Magical World of Disney (1954). At 18 years of age he enrolled in classes at UCLA while continuing his professional acting career, starring opposite Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum and Sally Field in The Way West (1967) (Field's first film), with David Niven in The Impossible Years (1968) and alongside Richard Widmark and Lena Horne in Death of a Gunfighter (1969), as well as guest-starring in numerous television shows (The Mod Squad (1968), Love, American Style (1969)) and made-for-TV movies (including If Tomorrow Comes (1971) with Patty Duke). Graduating from UCLA Film School with honors, he continued to work as an actor, but set his sights on one day moving behind the camera and trying his hand at writing, directing, and producing. While co-starring opposite Kurt Russell in a series of very successful movies for Disney (The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), Snowball Express (1972) and The Strongest Man in the World (1975)) and making guest-star appearances on acclaimed television series like The Waltons (1972), Michael began writing. He was lucky enough to get his first professional writing assignment collaborating with his father, John McGreevey (Emmy Award; WGA Laurel Award) developing a three-hour movie for television about the Kennedy assassination entitled Ruby and Oswald (1978). A truly monumental television event, "Ruby and Oswald" was a ratings winner as well as a critical success. Michael continued writing on his own, branching out into series television, working on such shows as "The Waltons" with creator Earl Hamner Jr., Palmerstown, U.S.A. (1980) with Alex Haley and Norman Lear, Quincy, M.E. (1976) and many others. Michael was nominated for an Emmy award for his teleplay of the ABC Afterschool Special, The Celebrity and the Arcade Kid (1983). What started out as a freelance assignment writing one episode of Fame (1982), the NBC series based on the popular film, turned into three seasons (72 episodes) as writer, story editor and eventually producer. Having written more episodes than anyone else, Michael was the obvious choice to write the last "Fame" show, effectively closing the door on the School of the Arts and bringing the award-winning series to an end. After "Fame", Michael decided he needed a break from the grind of series television, and returned to writing long-form television, developing movies and mini-series for all the networks, including NBC's highest rated movie of the '194 season, Bonanza: The Return (1993). Michael returned to series television as the Supervising Producer of High Tide (1994) for the '95-'96 season and then assumed the same duties on the syndicated series, Tarzan: The Epic Adventures (1996), completing 22 episodes for the '96-'97 season. He realized another life-long dream by directing one of the "Tarzan" episodes. Having been bitten by the directing bug, Michael immediately took on another assignment, helming three episodes of the Fox Network's children series, Mowgli: The New Adventures of the Jungle Book (1998). The producers (Alliance, Kushner-Locke) were so pleased with his work on this demanding action/adventure series that they asked him to direct an independent feature based on the Kipling books, The Jungle Book: Search for the Lost Treasure (1998), starring Gary Collins and Michael Beck. Immediately after completing the film, McGreevey returned to television, executive-producing (as well as writing and directing) 26 one-hour episodes of the syndicated series Born Free (1998) (a continuation of the very popular movie based on Joy Adamson's extraordinary work with the lioness, Elsa, in Africa). Since finishing the series, Michael has co-written an action\thriller television movie and series pilot, "Endangered," and co-wrote the script for a big-budget adaptation of the L. Frank Baum classic, "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus." He is presently developing an original screenplay, "13 Weeks," a romantic comedy about working in series television, and shooting three documentaries entitled "Aging Without Symptoms," "Welcome to Eden," and "The Face of America."
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Biography from IMDb.
- February 7, 1948 (78)
- Phoenix, Arizona, USA
- Actor
- 27 on MovieCove · 45 credits in all
Known for
What are Michael McGreevey's films like?
Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 10
Light 8 · Serious 3 · Dark 0
Grounded 9 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0
Gentle 9 · Charged 1 · Intense 1
Steady 9 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 5
Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 9 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 9 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 0
Resolved 9 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Ally: 3 of 6 analyzed roles.
- Heroas Shawn in The Clown and the Kid (1961)
- Shadowas J.D. Gray in For the Love of Willadean (1964)
- Allyas R. Schuyler in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)
- Allyas Richard Schuyler in Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972)
- Allyas Richard Schuyler in The Strongest Man in the World (1975)
- Shadowas Reverend in A Lesson of Love (2014)
Moods and endings
- Happy9
- Bittersweet2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Michael McGreevey's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 16 of their 27 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (6).
Subscription and free streaming for Michael McGreevey's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
45 credits, 27 with a MovieCove page.
A Lesson of Love(2014)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Parks and Recreation(2009)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Born Free (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
The Jungle Book: Search for the Lost Treasure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
Boone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
Nurse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Palmerstown, U.S.A. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Ruby and Oswald (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
The Shaggy D.A.(1976)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Charlie's Angels(1976)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all shows
Wonder Woman(1975)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Snowball Express(1972)
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
The Waltons(1972)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
If Tomorrow Comes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
The Wacky Zoo of Morgan City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Dial Hot Line (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Love, American Style (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Death of a Gunfighter(1969)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
The Impossible Years(1968)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
The Way West(1967)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
The Invaders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Arrest and Trial (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
Sammy, the Way-Out Seal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
The Clown and the Kid(1961)
Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Dr. Kildare (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Chartroose Caboose (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
Route 66(1960)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Startime (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Riverboat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
The Man in the Net(1959)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Day of the Outlaw(1959)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Black Saddle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Naked City(1958)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows
The Donna Reed Show(1958)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all shows
Wagon Train(1957)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all shows
Lassie(1954)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all shows
Career shape
Star power in the 85th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 45 titles from 1954 to 2014; peak year 1968.
Film career
Peak 1968 · at the high point of their film career. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1959Screen debut· Day of the Outlaw
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Michael McGreevey's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 45th percentile, the median of all 16; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 47th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th10
- 25th to 49th9
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
11 of their 27 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser11
- Broadly Agreed6
- Mixed6
Reviewers score the acting 58/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles; fans 72, detractors 37. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Michael McGreevey work with?
People who share at least 2 of Michael McGreevey's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Robert F. Brunner shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Robert ButlerShared titles: Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Butler
Writers
- Joseph L. McEveetyShared titles: The Strongest Man in the World (1975), Michael O'Hara the Fourth (1972), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)See all 4 shared titles with Joseph L. McEveety
Actors
- Cesar RomeroShared titles: The Strongest Man in the World (1975), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)See all 3 shared titles with Cesar Romero
- Joe FlynnShared titles: The Strongest Man in the World (1975), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)See all 3 shared titles with Joe Flynn
- Kurt RussellShared titles: The Strongest Man in the World (1975), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)See all 3 shared titles with Kurt Russell
- Richard BakalyanShared titles: The Strongest Man in the World (1975), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)See all 3 shared titles with Richard Bakalyan
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Robert F. BrunnerShared titles: The Strongest Man in the World (1975), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), Snowball Express (1972), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), For the Love of Willadean (1964)See all 5 shared titles with Robert F. Brunner
- Cotton WarburtonShared titles: The Strongest Man in the World (1975), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)See all 3 shared titles with Cotton Warburton
- Frank V. PhillipsShared titles: Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), Snowball Express (1972), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)See all 3 shared titles with Frank V. Phillips
- Andrew JacksonShared titles: The Strongest Man in the World (1975), Michael O'Hara the Fourth (1972)See all 2 shared titles with Andrew Jackson
Producers
- Ron MillerShared titles: Michael O'Hara the Fourth (1972), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), Snowball Express (1972), For the Love of Willadean (1964)See all 4 shared titles with Ron Miller
- Bill AndersonShared titles: The Strongest Man in the World (1975), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)See all 2 shared titles with Bill Anderson