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Revision as of 02:52, 20 July 2008

Jeff Goldblum
Jeff Goldblum, c. 1985
Born
Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum
Years active1974 - present
Spouse(s)Patricia Gaul (1980-1986)
Geena Davis (1987-1990)
AwardsSaturn Award for Best Actor (film)
1986 The Fly

Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (born October 22, 1952) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor. He often portrays quirky, intense or eccentric characters. He is also known for his distinctive appearance and his unique, staccato delivery of lines.

Biography

Early life

Goldblum was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of West Homestead, Pennsylvania, the son of Shirley, a radio broadcaster who later ran a kitchen equipment sales firm, and Harold Goldblum, a doctor.[1] He has a sister, Pamela and an older brother, Lee. Another older brother, Rick, lived only to age 23. His family is Jewish and belonged to an Orthodox synagogue;[2][3] Goldblum's paternal grandfather emigrated from Russia and his maternal grandfather from Austria.[1][2] Goldblum's parents were interested in show business.[4] Goldblum moved to New York City at 17 to become an actor. Goldblum worked on the stage and studied acting at the renowned Neighborhood Playhouse under the guidance of acting coach Sanford Meisner. He made his Broadway debut in a production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. He is an excellent jazz piano singer and declared that if he did not act, he would be performing musically as a career. His film debut was playing a thug in the 1974 Charles Bronson film Death Wish. He briefly appeared as a protester in the TV movie Columbo: A Case of Immunity (1975).

Career

Early in his career, he had a short role in Annie Hall (1977) where he attends a Hollywood party and is shown on the phone admitting, "I forgot my mantra." Goldblum has had leading roles in films such as The Fly and The Tall Guy. Goldblum's strong supporting roles include those in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), The Big Chill (1983), Into the Night (1985), Earth Girls Are Easy (1988), Jurassic Park (1993), and The Lost World (1997). He also had strong supporting roles in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) and the 1984 cult films The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension and Igby Goes Down (2002). Goldblum delivers the same line, "must go faster", in very similar situations in both Jurassic Park and Independence Day. In Jurassic Park he says it when he is sitting in the back of the SUV, with a broken leg, being chased by the tyrannosaurus. He says it in Independence Day when he and Will Smith are in the spaceship trying to escape the mother ship.

For several years, Goldblum was the voice for most of the US Apple commercials, including advertisements for the iMac and iBook. He also voices some of the U.S. Toyota commercials as well as Procter & Gamble's facial cream line. He has recently appeared on Irish TV in commercials for the National Lottery.

Goldblum teaches acting at Playhouse West in North Hollywood, along with Robert Carnegie. It was with several actors from this acting company that he improvised and directed the live action short film Little Surprises, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1996. According to gossip columnist Caffeinated Clint (as of September 2006) Goldblum is still rumored to reprise his role as Ian Malcolm in the upcoming film Jurassic Park IV.

The upcoming film Adam Resurrected is a film adaptation of the Yoram Kaniuk novel about a former circus clown who becomes the ringleader to a group of Holocaust survivors in an asylum after World War II. Goldblum was asked to take on the role of Adam, the story's main character, while visiting Israel for the first time in mid 2006.

In September 2006, it was announced that Goldblum was one of the founding members of a new theater company in New York called The Fire Dept. According to press materials, "The Fire Dept is made up of established and emerging writers, directors, actors and designers who have come together to create and produce work that cannot be replicated inside a television box or on a movie screen...The work of The Fire Dept combines the rigor and structure of great narrative storytelling with the vitality of formal experimentation to immerse audiences in a total experience that leaves them awake, alive and transformed." The company will devote energy into developing new live theater works as well as interpreting old favorites.

His guest appearance was on Sesame Street as Bob's long-lost brother Minneapolis (parody of Indiana Jones) where Big Bird's friend Snuffleupagus had a missing golden cabbage in the 1980s. He has also appeared on Tom Goes to the Mayor and Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!.

On June 26, 2008, it was announced that Goldblum will replace Chris Noth as a Senior Detective on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.[5]

Personal life

Goldblum with Geena Davis in 1990

Goldblum has been married twice. He was married to Patricia Gaul from 1980 to 1986. He was later married to Geena Davis, with whom he starred in three films (including the comedy Earth Girls Are Easy and the science fiction/horror film The Fly) from November 1, 1987 to October 1990. He claims to have maintained a good friendship with her in the ensuing years, saying, "she's a wonderful person and a wonderful actress." He was engaged to Laura Dern, with whom he co-starred in Jurassic Park. Goldblum was engaged to Catherine Wreford, a Canadian dancer, as documented in his 2006 mockumentary/documentary Pittsburgh,[6] but the two are no longer seeing each other. While as a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Goldblum said he enjoys curling.[citation needed]

Filmography


Theater

Broadway

London and Recklinghausen (Germany)

Television

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b Curtis, Nick (2008-01-29). "What Jeff loves about London". This is London. Retrieved 2008-01-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ a b Applebaum, Stephen (2007-04-27). "Goldblum's spiritual journey". Sunday Times.au. Retrieved 2007-04-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ Elkin, Michael (2007-03-15). "The Odds of March". The Jewish Exponent. Retrieved 2008-01-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ Knutzen, Eirik (2007-03-30). "TV Close-Up: Jeff Goldblum". Bend Weekly. Retrieved 2008-01-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ "Jeff Goldblum Has 'Criminal Intent,'Chris Noth leaving 'Law & Order' series". Zap2it. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  6. ^ Christopher Rawson, Goldblum's 'Pittsburgh' rides line between reality and role playing, A doc or a mock?, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 5, 2006
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