Bruce Dern
Bruce Dern | |
|---|---|
 Dern at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International promoting The Hateful Eight | |
| Born | Bruce MacLeish Dern June 4, 1936 |
| Education | The Choate School |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania (BA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Spouse(s) | Marie Dean (1957–1959; divorced) Diane Ladd (1960–1969; divorced) Andrea Beckett (1969–present) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Jean MacLeish John Dern |
Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He is often playing supporting villainous characters of unstable nature. He has appeared in over eighty films, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Coming Home (1978) and the Academy Award for Best Actor for Nebraska (2013). He won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 1982 Berlin Film Festival for That Championship Season and Best Actor at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival for Nebraska. His other film roles include They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), The Cowboys (1972), The Great Gatsby (1974), Family Plot (1975), Black Sunday (1977) and The Hateful Eight (2015).
Early life
Dern was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Jean (née MacLeish) and John Dern, a utility chief and attorney.[1][2] He grew up in Kenilworth, Illinois.[3] His paternal grandfather, George Henry Dern, was a former Utah governor and Secretary of War (he was serving in the latter position during the time of Bruce's birth). Dern's maternal grandfather was a chairman of the Carson, Pirie and Scott stores,[4][5] his maternal granduncle was poet Archibald MacLeish, and his maternal great-grandfather was Scottish-born businessman Andrew MacLeish. Dern's godfather was former Illinois governor and two-time presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson.[6][7]
His ancestry includes Dutch, English, German and Scottish. He attended The Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) and the University of Pennsylvania.
Career
After starring in the Philadelphia premiere of Waiting for Godot, Dern starred in an uncredited role in Wild River (1960). He appeared in numerous scenes in the film. In one scene, his villainous character becomes upset, when a villainous friend hit a woman, that he himself gets punched to the ground. He guest-starred as E.J. Stocker in the ABC western series, Stoney Burke, about the titular rodeo rider (Jack Lord). In 1964, he appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's major film, the psychological thriller Marnie, in a short role as the sailor seen in flashbacks about Marnie's mother. Later, he had a small but crucial role in Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte, with the titular character played by Bette Davis. Dern guest-starred in several popular television series during the 1960s and the early 1970s, and played a murderous rustler in Clint Eastwood's Hang 'Em High (1968). He also starred in Sydney Pollack's They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) and in Support Your Local Sheriff!, as a gunfighter.
Dern appeared in four films in 1972, including The Cowboys as Asa Watts, a serial killer of Wil Andersen. John Wayne warned Dern, "America will hate you for this." and he wryly replies, "Yeah, but they'll love me in Berkeley." he also played Freeman Lowell, the caretaker of Earth's last forests in the dark sci-fi film Silent Running (1972), starring with Jack Nicholson in The King of Marvin Gardens, and in Thumb Tripping. Other memorable roles include Tom Buchanan in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, a psychotic Goodyear Blimp pilot who launches a terrorist attack at the Super Bowl in 1977's Black Sunday, and as Captain Bob Hyde in 1978's Coming Home, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 1976, he appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's final film Family Plot, as the boyfriend of Blanche Tyler (Barbara Harris). Dern told an interviewer that, due to Hitchcock's failing health, the director often asked his assistance during production.
In 1983, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival for his role in That Championship Season.[8] His most recent efforts include the Independent films The Astronaut Farmer and Monster, a recurring role on the HBO series Big Love, and the monster film Swamp Devil for RHI Films New York and the Sci Fi Channel. On November 1, 2010, he was presented the 2,419th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His daughter Laura Dern and his ex-wife Diane Ladd received stars on the same date. He was honored with a Legend Award at the inaugural Gold Coast International Film Festival on June 1, 2011. On May 26, 2013, he won the Best Actor award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival for his role in Alexander Payne's Nebraska.[9][10] Dern was nominated for the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Actor.
Personal life
Dern married Marie Dawn Pierce in 1957, but divorced less than two years later. In 1960, Dern married Diane Ladd. Their first daughter, Diane Elizabeth Dern was born November 29, 1960 and died at eighteen months from head injuries, after she fell into the swimming pool on May 18, 1962. Their second daughter, Laura was born on February 10, 1967 and is also an actress. Shortly after his divorce from Ladd in 1969, Dern married Andrea Beckett.
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Route 66 | Albert | Episode: "The Man on the Monkey Board" |
| 1961 | Naked City | Hollis / Nicky | Uncredited 2 episodes |
| 1961 | Sea Hunt | FBI Agent John Furillo | Episode: "Crime at Sea" |
| 1961 | Surfside 6 | Johnny Page | Episode: "Daphne, Girl Detective" |
| 1961 | Thriller | Johnny Norton | Episode: "The Remarkable Mrs. Hawk" |
| 1961 | Ben Casey | Billy Harris | Episode: "A Dark Night for Billy Harris" |
| 1961 | The Detectives | Jud Treadwell | Episode: "Act of God" |
| 1961–62 | Cain's Hundred | Eddie Light / Joe Krajac | 2 episodes |
| 1962–63 | Stoney Burke | E.J. Stocker | 17 episodes |
| 1962–63 | The Dick Powell Show | Deering | 2 episodes |
| 1963 | Kraft Suspense Theatre | Maynard | Episode: "The Hunt" |
| 1963 | The Outer Limits | Ben | Episode: "The Zanti Misfits" |
| 1963–65 | Wagon Train | Wilkins / Jud Fisher / Seth Bancroft | 3 episodes |
| 1963–66 | The Fugitive | Deputy Martin / Charley / Hutch / Hank / Cody | 5 episodes |
| 1964–65 | The Virginian | Bert Kramer / Lee Darrow / Pell | 3 episodes |
| 1964 | 77 Sunset Strip | Ralph Wheeler | Episode: "Lovers' Lane" |
| 1964 | The Greatest Show on Earth | Vernon | Episode: "The Last of the Strongmen" |
| 1964 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Jesse / Roy Bullock | 2 episodes |
| 1964–65 | Twelve O'Clock High | TSgt. Frank Jones / Lieutenant Michaels / Lieutenant Danton | 4 episodes (two as Michaels) |
| 1965 | Rawhide | Ed Rankin | Episode: "Walk into Terror" |
| 1965 | Laredo | Joe Durkee | Episode: "Rendezvous at Arillo" |
| 1965 | A Man Called Shenandoah | Bobby Ballantine | Episode: "The Verdict" |
| 1965; 1968 | The F.B.I. | Virgil Roy Phipps / PFC Byron Landy | 2 episodes |
| 1965–66; 1969 | Gunsmoke | Guerin / Lou Stone / Judd Print / Doyle Phleger | 4 episodes |
| 1966 | Branded | Les | Episode: "The Wolfers" |
| 1966 | The Loner | Merrick | Episode: "To Hang a Dead Man" |
| 1966 | Disneyland | Turk | Episode: "Gallegher Goes West: Crusading Reporter" |
| 1966–67 | Run for Your Life | Alex Ryder | 3 episodes |
| 1966–68 | The Big Valley | John Weaver / Gabe Skeels / Clovis / Harry Dixon / Jack Follet | 5 episodes |
| 1968–69 | Lancer | Tom Nevill / Lucas Thatcher | 2 epsiodes |
| 1968; 1970 | Bonanza | Bayliss / Cully Maco | 2 episodes |
| 1969 | Then Came Bronson | Bucky O'Neill | Episode: "Amid Splinters of the Thunderbolt" |
| 1970 | Land of the Giants | Thorg | Episode: "Wild Journey" |
| 1970 | The High Chaparral | Wade | Episode: "Only the Bad Come to Sonora" |
| 1970 | The Immortal | Luther Seacombe | Episode: "To the Gods Alone" |
| 1985 | Space | Stanley Mott | Miniseries |
| 1986 | Toughlove | Rob Charters | Television film |
| 1987 | Roses Are for the Rich | Douglas Osborne | Television film |
| 1987 | Uncle Tom's Cabin | Augustine St. Claire | Television film |
| 1989 | Trenchcoat in Paradise | John Hollander | Television film |
| 1990 | The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson | Scout Ed Higgins | Television film |
| 1991 | Into the Badlands | T.L. Barston | Television film |
| 1991 | Carolina Skeletons | Junior Stoker | Television film |
| 1993 | It's Nothing Personal | Billy Archer | Television film |
| 1994 | Dead Man's Revenge | Payton McCay | Television film |
| 1994 | Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight | George Putnam | Television film |
| 1995 | A Mother's Prayer | Grandpa | Television film |
| 1999 | Hard Time: The Premonition | Winston | Television film |
| 2003 | King of the Hill | Randy Strickland (voice) | Episode: "Boxing Luanne" |
| 2003 | Hard Ground | Nate Hutchinson | Television film |
| 2006–07; 2009–11 | Big Love | Frank Harlow | 29 episodes |
| 2007 | CSI: NY | Vet | Episode: "Boo" |
| 2013 | Pete's Christmas | Grandpa | Television film |
Awards and nominations
References
- ^ Bruce Dern Biography (1936-)
- ^ John Dern, 54, Utility Chief, Attorney, Dies
- ^ http://www.timeoutchicago.com/arts-culture/film/16460606/bruce-dern-accepts-career-achievement-award-at-the-chicago-international-
- ^ http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/new-again-bruce-dern
- ^ Borrelli, Christopher (November 11, 2013). "Bruce Dern's long run to 'Nebraska'". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ "Bruce Dern shows a dangerous streak in 'Big Love'". Los Angeles Times. January 13, 2010.
- ^ Bruce Dern was on Tavis Smiley recently and told the story of how Eleanor Roosevelt was not his godmother but a family friend whom his family visited at Hyde Park. "One year they were visiting and little Brucie got to go with them, and I was riding a bicycle in the afternoon, and ran into a tree and hit my head and had a concussion. In those days when you had a concussion they laid you down with your head on a pillow and then strapped your head across the pillow so you couldn’t move it to the side or forward or anything. When I kind of came to, I guess it was late at night, 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, and as I rolled my head to the side, I saw this lady’s legs. They were kind of veiny, and had a nightgown down to about here with little kind of tacky slippers. (Laughter) I didn’t understand. As I slowly came up and started looking up to where the woman’s face was, she had a book in her lap, and she looked like this (makes face) and had that Roosevelt bite. I realized, my God, it’s the president’s wife. (Laughter) I had – it was just before he went to Yalta, so I would have been about eight, I guess. This was ’44; I think that’s when he went to Yalta. So that was in my house. Somebody took that and ran with it and assumed, well, who would babysit a guy like that unless it was his godmother?"http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/bruce-dern/
- ^ "Berlinale: 1983 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
- ^ "Cannes Film Festival: Awards 2013". Cannes. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
- ^ "Cannes: Lesbian Drama 'Blue Is the Warmest Color' Wins Palme d'Or". The Wrap. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
External links
- 1936 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- Actors Studio members
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- American people of German descent
- American people of Dutch descent
- American people of English descent
- American people of Scottish descent
- Choate Rosemary Hall alumni
- Male actors from Chicago, Illinois
- Male Western (genre) film actors
- New Trier High School alumni
- Silver Bear for Best Actor winners
- University of Pennsylvania alumni