Background and career
Daniel von Bargen (June 5, 1950 – March 1, 2015) was an American character actor of film, stage and television. He was known for his roles as Mr. Kruger on Seinfeld (1997–1998), Commandant Edwin Spangler on Malcolm in the Middle (2000–2002), and Chief Grady in Super Troopers (2001).
Von Bargen was born to Juanita J. (née Bustle) and Donald L. von Bargen, and was of German and English descent. He was born in Cincinnati, where he grew up for most of his childhood before moving with his family to Southern California. In 1968, von Bargen graduated from Reading High School. He graduated from Purdue University in Indiana.
In 1974, von Bargen made his television debut in Feasting with Panthers, a play about Oscar Wilde's imprisonment at the Reading Gaol, on PBS's Great Performances anthology series. Von Bargen's film credits included The Silence of the Lambs, London Betty, RoboCop 3, Basic Instinct, Broken Arrow, Truman, The Majestic, Philadelphia, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Snow Falling on Cedars, Thinner, A Civil Action, Disney's The Kid, Super Troopers and Universal Soldier: The Return. Von Bargen played the maniacal sorcerer Nix in Clive Barker's Lord of Illusions and the Sheriff in The Postman. He played a terrorist in a season 5 episode of The X-Files. Von Bargen had played Mr. Kruger, George Costanza's boss, in the ninth season of Seinfeld, and also played the recurring antagonist Edwin Spangler, the eye patch wearing Commandant in charge of Marlin Academy who would always clash with Francis, in the Fox comedy Malcolm in the Middle for the first three seasons. Von Bargen's stage career included a long residency with Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island. He made his Off-Broadway debut in 1981 in Missing Persons. He also appeared in the debut of Larry Gelbart's Mastergate and other plays at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He made his Broadway debut when the show went to New York City. In 1990, he won a Theatre World Award for Outstanding New Performer for his role in Mastergate. His last film roles were as George Burgess in Things That Hang from Trees and Maury in London Betty. In 1993, von Bargen narrated the unabridged Streets of Laredo audiobook.
Von Bargen married actress Margo Skinner in the mid-1970s, and they moved to New York in 1980. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1987.
On February 20, 2012, von Bargen shot himself in the temple in an apparent suicide attempt. He managed to call 911, and an ambulance was dispatched to his apartment in Montgomery, Ohio. He suffered from diabetes and had previously had a leg amputated. When calling 911, he told the operator that he was scheduled to have two of his remaining toes amputated but did not want to undergo another surgery. "I have no children and no life, and I'm tired," he said. Von Bargen played fewer and fewer roles as his diabetes worsened. His last role was in the comedy London Betty in 2009. Von Bargen then died on March 1, 2015, of undisclosed causes at 64 years old. The Washington Post reported that his death "came after an unspecified long illness."
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
