Loudon Wainwright releases album, takes TV role

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Along with a new album, "Last Man on Earth" (due Sept. 25), singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III is expanding his acting resume. The artist has a recurring role as the dysfunctional father of a college freshman on "Undeclared," set to premiere Sept. 18 on Fox. Series creator-director Judd Apatow is a longtime fan of Wainwright and worked to get him involved without knowledge of his prior acting experience. Wainwright previously appeared on the "M*A*S*H*" television series, as well as on the silver screen in last year's Sandra Bullock flick "28 Days," in 1989's "Jacknife" starring Robert De Niro and in the 1985 Neil Simon film "The Slugger's Wife."