Alvin Greenman was a renowned American actor, dialogue coach, and script supervisor whose illustrious career in the movie and television industry spanned an impressive fifty years.
Born in 1930 in the vibrant city of New York, his most recent television appearance was in 2001, where he made a memorable appearance as himself in the documentary series "Backstory." Greenman holds a unique distinction as the only actor to have appeared in both the original "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947) and its remake, "Miracle on 34th Street" (1994). In the former, he played the uncredited role of the young janitor at Macy's, while in the latter, he portrayed the doorman. Notably, both characters shared the same name, Alfred.
While script supervision and dialogue coaching comprised a significant portion of his work, Greenman continued to take on minor television and film roles throughout his career. As a dialogue coach and script supervisor, he contributed to the success of notable films such as "The Longest Yard," "The Karate Kid," and "Uncommon Valor," as well as popular television series and miniseries, including "Doogie Howser," "Hill Street Blues," and "Roots."
However, it is his endearing portrayal of Alfred in "Miracle on 34th Street" (1994) that has cemented his legacy as an actor. Although a minor character, his performance was memorable, with iconic lines such as: "There is a lot of bad ism's floating around this world and one of the worst is commercialism. Make a buck, make a buck. Even in Brooklyn it's the same -- don't care what Christmas stands for, just make a buck, make a buck."
