John George Nicolay (February 26, 1832 – September 26, 1901) was a German-born American author and diplomat who served as private secretary to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and later, with John Hay , co-authored Abraham Lincoln: A History , a ten-volume biography of the 16th president. He was a member of the German branch of the Nicolay family .
17-758: He was born Johann Georg Nicolai in Essingen , Kingdom of Bavaria . In 1838, he immigrated to the United States with his father and attended school in Cincinnati, Ohio . Nicolay moved to Illinois, where he edited the Pike County Free Press at Pittsfield, Illinois , and he became a political power in the state. Then he became assistant to the secretary of state of Illinois. While in this position, he met Abraham Lincoln and became his devoted adherent. In 1861, Lincoln appointed Nicolay as his private secretary , which
34-555: A character actor , one of his few leading roles is in Passion of Mind , also starring Demi Moore and Stellan Skarsgård . His role in Crash won him a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture award and a Best Acting Ensemble award from Broadcast Film Critics Choice. He appeared in the CBS sitcom Mom from 2015 to 2021. Fichtner voiced Ken Rosenberg in
51-788: A diplomatic post in France. After the death of the president, Nicolay became United States Consul at Paris, France (1865–69). For some time after his return to the United States, he edited the Chicago Republican . He was marshal of the United States Supreme Court (1872–1887). In 1881, Nicolay wrote The Outbreak of Rebellion . Nicolay and John Hay , who had worked with Nicolay as assistant secretary to Lincoln, collaborated on Abraham Lincoln: A History . It appeared in The Century Magazine serially from 1886 to 1890 and
68-702: A Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice in 1978. In an interview with Michael Rosenbaum , Fichtner recalled he took a theatrical improvisation class initially to fill a fine arts requirement, and the professor recommended he consider taking further acting classes. He then studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. On May 18, 2008, Fichtner received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Farmingdale State College. In his acceptance address, he credited Farmingdale admissions counselor Don Harvey with his decision to study acting. Harvey, who became
85-500: A lifelong friend, took Fichtner to his first Broadway show . Fichtner began his acting career playing the role of Rod Landry in As the World Turns in 1987. He has also appeared in the films Contact , Heat , Armageddon , Go , Equilibrium , Black Hawk Down , The Perfect Storm , The Longest Yard , Crash , Ultraviolet , Drive Angry and The Dark Knight . Mainly
102-708: Is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate , Germany . This Südliche Weinstraße location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . William Fichtner William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. Born in New York , he started his career with supporting appearances in Virtuosity (1994), Heat and Strange Days (both, 1995). A prolific character actor in film, Fichtner
119-668: Is recognized for memorable performances in Contact (1997), Armageddon (1998), Go (1999), The Perfect Storm (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), Crash (2004), and The Longest Yard (2005). In 2005, Fichtner starred as Sheriff Tom Underlay in Invasion . He later appeared as Alexander Mahone in Prison Break , Carl Hickman in Crossing Lines , and Adam Janikowski in Mom . Fichtner
136-598: The 1992 documentary Lincoln , the German-born Nicolay is voiced by the Austrian-born actor Arnold Schwarzenegger . In the 1988 NBC mini-series Lincoln , based on Gore Vidal 's book, Nicolay is portrayed by actor Richard Travis. In Steven Spielberg 's 2012 film Lincoln , Nicolay is portrayed by Jeremy Strong . In the 2017 documentary film The Gettysburg Address , Nicolay is portrayed by actor William Fichtner . Essingen, Rhineland-Palatinate Essingen
153-755: The 2011 video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 . He also played Eric Sacks in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014). In September 2024, it was reported that Fichtner had joined the cast of The Talamasca as Jasper in a series regular role. Fichtner is a fan of the NFL team the Buffalo Bills , and appeared in a commercial for them before the 2014 season . He narrated the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Four Falls of Buffalo , chronicling their four consecutive Super Bowl appearances from 1990 – 93 . He
170-560: The Supreme Court, and he suffered from a wide range of ailments in his final years. He lived with his daughter Helen Nicolay at her home at 212 B Street SE in Washington, D.C. He died at home of unspecified causes on September 26, 1901. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in the city. In the TV series Carl Sandburg's Lincoln , aired on NBC in 1974–1976, he was portrayed by Michael Cristofer . In
187-680: The Vezina Trophy (for goal tending) at the National Hockey League awards show. He later guest starred as judge Christopher Mulready in The West Wing episode " The Supremes ." He also had a role as the corrupt Gotham National Bank manager in the feature film The Dark Knight and as Jurgen in Equilibrium . In June 2009, Fichtner had a recurring role as TV producer Phil Yagoda on Entourage . He also voiced Master Sergeant Sandman in
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#1732847853614204-401: The biography of Lincoln that he wrote with Hay. Helen Nicolay wrote in the preface to the book that the envelopes contained "miscellaneous notes, personal jottings, private letters, and newspaper clippings." In 1949, Helen Nicolay published a biography of her father. Historian Joshua M. Zeitz writes, "Above all, Nicolay and Hay created a master narrative whose influence would ebb and flow over
221-532: The video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . He is credited as Willian Fichtner in Vice City and Bill Fichtner in San Andreas . Between 2005 and 2006, he also starred in the sci-fi TV series Invasion as Sheriff Tom Underlay. After Invasion was canceled, he played ruthless FBI Agent Alexander Mahone in three seasons of Prison Break (2006–2009). In 2009, he co-presented
238-485: The years but that continues to command serious scrutiny and engagement.... Early in the writing process, Nicolay assured Robert Todd Lincoln ": Nicolay was a founding member of the Literary Society of Washington in 1874, according to a book about the society written by his daughter Helen Nicolay. Both Nicolay and Hay were members of long standing in the society. Poor health had forced Nicolay to resign as Marshal of
255-556: Was born on Mitchel Air Force Base on Long Island and raised in Cheektowaga, New York , a suburb of Buffalo . He is the son of Patricia A. (née Steitz) and William Frederick Fichtner. He has German ancestry. He graduated from Maryvale High School in 1974. After graduating from Farmingdale State College in 1976 with an associate degree in criminal justice, he attended the State University of New York at Brockport and earned
272-462: Was issued (1890–94) in book form as 10 volumes, together with the two-volume Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln . The resulting biography is a definitive resource on Lincoln and his times. Nicolay and Hay also edited Lincoln's Works in 12 volumes (1905). In 1912, Nicolay's daughter, Helen Nicolay (1866–1954), published Personal Traits of Abraham Lincoln . The book was based on envelopes of material that Nicolay had collected but been unable to use in
289-530: Was the first official act of his new administration. Nicolay served in this capacity until Lincoln's death in 1865. Twice Lincoln sent Nicolay to record treaties with Native Americans. In 1862 he went to Minnesota for a Chippewa treaty that was delayed because of the Santee Sioux uprising . The next year he traveled to Colorado for the Ute Treaty. Shortly before his assassination , Lincoln appointed Nicolay to
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