Grizzard was born in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, the son of Mary Winifred (née Albritton) and George Cooper Grizzard, an accountant.

Grizzard was raised in Washington, DC, and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, returning to Washington after graduation to work in advertising.
He began his acting career at Washington's Arena Stage.

Grizzard memorably appeared as an unscrupulous United States Senator in the film Advise and Consent in 1962.
His other theatrical films included the drama From the Terrace with Paul Newman (1960), the Western story Comes a Horseman with Jane Fonda (1978), and a Neil Simon comedy, Seems Like Old Times (1980).

Grizzard made his Broadway debut in The Desperate Hours in 1955.
He was a frequent interpreter of the plays of Edward Albee, having appeared in the original 1962 production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
as Nick, which won him a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album along with his castmates.
He also appeared in the 1996 revival of A Delicate Balance and the 2005 revival of Seascape.
He also starred in You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running.
He won the 1996 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for A Delicate Balance.
Additional Broadway credits include The Creation of the World and Other Business, The Glass Menagerie, The Country Girl, The Royal Family, and California Suite.

Grizzard guest-starred several times during the 1990s on the NBC television drama Law & Order as defense attorney Arthur Gold.
He also portrayed President John Adams in the Emmy Award-winning WNET-produced PBS miniseries The Adams Chronicles.
In 1980, he won an Emmy for his work in The Oldest Living Graduate.
 He starred as reporter Richard Larsen in The Deliberate Stranger, a television movie about serial killer Ted Bundy.
 
He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2002.
Grizzard was born in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, the son of Mary Winifred (née Albritton) and George Cooper Grizzard, an accountant.
Grizzard was raised in Washington, DC, and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, returning to Washington after graduation to work in advertising. He began his acting career at Washington's Arena Stage.
Grizzard memorably appeared as an unscrupulous United States Senator in the film Advise and Consent in 1962. His other theatrical films included the drama From the Terrace with Paul Newman (1960), the Western story Comes a Horseman with Jane Fonda (1978), and a Neil Simon comedy, Seems Like Old Times (1980).
Grizzard made his Broadway debut in The Desperate Hours in 1955. He was a frequent interpreter of the plays of Edward Albee, having appeared in the original 1962 production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as Nick, which won him a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album along with his castmates. He also appeared in the 1996 revival of A Delicate Balance and the 2005 revival of Seascape. He also starred in You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running. He won the 1996 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for A Delicate Balance. Additional Broadway credits include The Creation of the World and Other Business, The Glass Menagerie, The Country Girl, The Royal Family, and California Suite.
Grizzard guest-starred several times during the 1990s on the NBC television drama Law & Order as defense attorney Arthur Gold. He also portrayed President John Adams in the Emmy Award-winning WNET-produced PBS miniseries The Adams Chronicles. In 1980, he won an Emmy for his work in The Oldest Living Graduate.  He starred as reporter Richard Larsen in The Deliberate Stranger, a television movie about serial killer Ted Bundy.  
He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2002.
George Grizzard