Richard Dreyfuss Biography

Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (born October 29, 1947) is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and The Goodbye Girl.

Dreyfuss won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1977 for The Goodbye Girl, and was nominated in 1995 for Mr. Holland's Opus. He has also won a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and was nominated in 2002 for Screen Actors Guild Awards in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries categories.

Early life

Dreyfuss was born Richard Stephen Dreyfus in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Norman, an attorney and restaurateur, and Geraldine, a peace activist, and was raised in Bayside, Queens. Dreyfuss is Jewish. He has commented that he "grew up thinking that Alfred Dreyfus and [he] are of the same family." His father disliked New York City, and moved the family first to Europe, and later to Los Angeles, when Dreyfuss was nine. Dreyfuss attended Beverly Hills High School.

Career

Dreyfuss began acting during his youth, at the Beverly Hills Jewish Center. He debuted in the TV production In Mama's House, when he was fifteen. He attended San Fernando Valley State College, now California State University, Northridge, for a year, and was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, working in alternate service for two years, as a clerk in a Los Angeles hospital. During this time, he acted in a few small TV roles on shows, Peyton Place, Gidget, That Girl, Bewitched, and The Big Valley. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, he also performed on stage on Broadway, Off-Broadway, repertory, and improvisational theater.

Dreyfuss appeared alongside Henry Fonda, Gloria Grahame, Ron Thompson, Strother Martin, Jane Alexander, Lewis J. Stadlen, Richard X. Slattery and Pepper Martin in the play The Time of Your Life, which was revived on March 17, 1972 at the Huntington Hartford Theater in Los Angeles, and directed by Edwin Sherin.

Dreyfuss's first film part was a small, uncredited role in The Graduate. He had one line, "Shall I get the cops? I'll get the cops". He was also briefly seen as a stage hand in Valley of the Dolls (1967), in which he had a few lines. He appeared in the subsequent Dillinger, and landed a role in the 1973 hit American Graffiti, acting with other future stars such as Harrison Ford and Ron Howard. Dreyfuss played his first lead role in the Canadian film The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), receiving positive reviews, including praise from Pauline Kael.

Dreyfuss went on to star in the box office blockbusters Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), both directed by Steven Spielberg. He won the 1978 Academy Award for Best Actor at the 50th Academy Awards ceremony for his portrayal of a struggling actor in The Goodbye Girl (1977), becoming the youngest actor to do so (at the age of 30). This record stood for 25 years until it was broken in 2003 by Adrien Brody, who was one month shy of age 30 at the time of the 75th Academy Awards ceremony.

Around 1978, Dreyfuss began using cocaine frequently; his addiction came to a head four years later in 1982, when he was arrested for possession of the drug after he blacked out while driving, and his car struck a tree. He entered rehabilitation and eventually made a Hollywood comeback with the film Down And Out In Beverly Hills in 1986 and Stakeout the following year. Richard Dreyfuss also starred in the Rob Reiner movie, Stand by Me, a 1986 American coming-of-age drama/comedy film adapted from Stephen King's novella The Body. Dreyfuss plays the elder Gordie Lachance, who narrates the film.

In 1989, Dreyfuss reunited with Spielberg on Always, a remake of A Guy Named Joe in which he co-starred with Holly Hunter. He had a starring role opposite Bill Murray in the 1991 comedy What About Bob?, as a psychiatrist who goes crazy while trying to cope with a particularly obsessive new patient. That same year, Dreyfuss produced and starred as Georges Picquart in Prisoner of Honor, an HBO movie about the historical Dreyfus Affair.

In 1994, he participated in the historic Papal Concert to Commemorate the Shoah at the Vatican in the presence of Pope John Paul II, Rav Elio Toaf, chief rabbi of Rome, and Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, President of the Italian Republic. He recited Kaddish as part of a performance of Leonard Bernstein's Third Symphony with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Gilbert Levine. The event was broadcast worldwide.

Dreyfuss was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his performance as Glenn Holland in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995). Since then, he has continued working in the movies, television and the stage. In 2001/2002, he played Max Bickford in the television drama The Education of Max Bickford. In April 2004, he appeared in the revival of Sly Fox on Broadway (opposite Eric Stoltz, René Auberjonois, Bronson Pinchot and Elizabeth Berkley).

Dreyfuss recorded the voiceover to the Apple, Inc., then Apple Computer, Inc., "Think Different" ad campaign in 1997. The short version of the ad: "Here's to the crazy ones. The rebels. The troublemakers. The ones who see things differently. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

In November 2004, he was scheduled to appear in The Producers in London, but withdrew from the production a week before opening night. The media noted that Dreyfuss was still suffering from problems relating to an operation for a herniated disc in January, and that the part of Max Bialystock in the play is a physically demanding one. Both he and his assistant for the production stated that Dreyfuss was accumulating injuries that required him to wear physical therapy supports during rehearsals. Dreyfuss was eventually fired from the production, though he would return in 2008.

In 2006, he appeared as one of the survivors in the 2006 film Poseidon. Dreyfuss portrayed U.S Vice President Dick Cheney in Oliver Stone's 2008 George W. Bush bio-pic W.

In early 2009, he appeared in the play Complicit (directed by Kevin Spacey) in London's Old Vic theatre. His participation in the play was subject to much controversy, owing to his use of an earpiece on stage, reportedly because of his inability to learn his lines in time. He guest-voiced as himself in the "Three Kings" episode of Family Guy in 2009, and later appeared again in the episode "Peter-assment". Dreyfuss has guest starred in the sixth season of Weeds as Warren Schiff, Nancy's high school teacher to whom she had lost her virginity.

Also in 2009, he portrayed the Biblical figure Moses in the Thomas Nelson audiobook production Word of Promise: Complete Audio Bible.

Dreyfuss has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.

Dreyfuss was among 99 other stars at the 2012 Academy Awards - Night of 100 Stars. He did an interview for the Bill Zucker Show with actor/singer Bill Zucker.

Other work

Politics

Dreyfuss has been outspoken on the issue of how the media influences the shaping of public opinion, policy, and legislation. In the 2000s, he expressed his sentiments in favor of right to privacy, freedom of speech, democracy, and individual accountability.

Dreyfuss has organized and promoted campaigns to inform and instruct audiences in what he considers potential erosion of individual rights, a personal initiative he began in 2006, responding to what he believes were violations of individual rights under the presidential administration of George W. Bush. On February 16, 2006, Dreyfuss spoke at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C. in hopes of prompting national discussion on impeachment charges against U.S. President George W. Bush. On November 17, 2006, Dreyfuss appeared on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher as a panel member to discuss teaching civics in schools. Dreyfuss formerly served on the Board of Trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. In 2007, Dreyfuss appeared in the youth voting documentary film 18 in '08. Dreyfuss publicly endorsed Jonathan Tasini's campaign for Charles Rangel's congressional seat in the 15th District of New York in 2010.

Academic

Dreyfuss is involved in a nationwide enterprise to encourage the teaching of American history in American primary schools. He is a Senior Associate Member of St. Antony's College, University of Oxford.

Books

In 1995, Dreyfuss co-authored with science-fiction writer Harry Turtledove the novel The Two Georges, an alternate history/mystery piece set in the year 1996 of an alternate timeline where the American Revolution was peacefully avoided. The Gainsborough painting of George Washington and King George III, which symbolizes English-speaking North Americans' loyalty to the British Empire, is stolen by anti-Imperial terrorists, and officers of the Royal North American Mounted Police must find it before it is destroyed.

Personal life

Dreyfuss married writer-producer Jeramie Rain in the early 1980s. With her, he had three children: Emily (1983), Benjamin (1986) and Harry (1990). His elder son, Benjamin, was born with Peters Anomaly, a rare genetic eye disorder which, after many operations, left him blind in his left eye. Dreyfuss and Rain have continued to raise money for ophthalmology centers throughout the United States. After his 1995 divorce from Rain, Dreyfuss then married Janelle Lacey in 1999 but they divorced in 2005.

Dreyfuss' mother died on October 19, 2000, due to complications from a stroke.

Dreyfuss suffers from bipolar disorder. In 2006, he appeared in Stephen Fry's documentary, Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, in which Fry (who also has the disorder) interviewed him about his life and use of lithium since the 1970s.

On August 9, 2008, it was reported that Dreyfuss was suing his father and uncle over a 24-year-old loan he claimed was never repaid. He said he gave his relatives $870,000 in 1984 when they owned an interest in a Los Angeles office building. In court papers filed on August 8, 2008, he claimed the loan was still outstanding and that his uncle, Gilbert, had refused to turn over financial records. He was reported to be seeking repayment of the loan, plus interest and punitive damages.

Dreyfuss and Russian-born Svetlana Erokhin married in 2006 and have lived in San Diego since then, although they frequently visit New York City and London, where Dreyfuss once lived. They lived in Carlsbad, California. In February 2008, they bought a $1.5 million house in the rural community of Olivenhain in eastern Encinitas, California, and plan to renovate the 1970s structure with state-of-the-art green technologies.

On June 10, 2011, Dreyfuss was made a Master Mason by the Grand Master of Masons of the District of Columbia at the Washington DC Scottish Rite building, as well as a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason and is a member of the Valley of the District of Columbia, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1966	Bewitched	Rodney	TV series 1 episode
1966	Gidget	Durf the Drag	TV series 1 episode
1967	Valley of the Dolls	Assistant stage manager	Uncredited
1967	The Graduate	Boarding House Resident	Uncredited
1967	The Big Valley	Lud Akley
1968	The Young Runaways	Terry
1969	Hello Down There	Harold Webster
1973	American Graffiti	Curt Henderson	Nominated "? Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1973	Dillinger	Baby Face Nelson
1974	The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz	Duddy	New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor (2nd place)
1974	The Second Coming of Suzanne	Clavius
1975	Inserts	The Boy Wonder
1975	Jaws	Matt Hooper	Nominated "? BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
1976	Victory at Entebbe	Colonel Yonatan 'Yonni' Netanyahu
1977	Close Encounters of the Third Kind	Roy Neary	Nominated "? Saturn Award for Best Actor
1977	The Goodbye Girl	Elliott Garfield	Academy Award for Best Actor BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
1978	The Big Fix	Moses Wine	Also producer
1980	The Competition	Paul Dietrich	Nominated "? Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor
1981	Whose Life Is It Anyway?	Ken Harrison
1984	The Buddy System	Joe
1986	Down and Out in Beverly Hills	David 'Dave' Whiteman
1986	Stand by Me	Narrator/Gordie LaChance (adult)
1987	Tin Men	Bill 'BB' Babowsky
1987	Stakeout	Det. Chris Lecce
1987	Nuts	Aaron Levinsky	Nominated "? Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
1988	Moon Over Parador	Jack Noah/President Alphonse Simms
1989	Let It Ride	Jay Trotter
1989	Always	Pete Sandich
1990	Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead	The Player	Venice Film Festival "? Pasinetti Award for Best Actor
1990	Postcards from the Edge	Doctor Frankenthal
1991	Once Around	Sam Sharpe	Also co-producer
1991	Prisoner of Honor	Col. Picquart	television film; also producer
1991	What About Bob?	Dr. Leo Marvin
1993	Lost in Yonkers	Louie Kurnitz
1993	Another Stakeout	Detective Chris Lecce
1994	Silent Fall	Dr. Jake Rainer
1995	The Last Word	Larry
1995	The American President	Senator Bob Rumson
1995	Mr. Holland's Opus	Glenn Holland	Nominated "? Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated "? Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1996	James and the Giant Peach	Centipede (voice)
1996	Mad Dog Time	Vic
1997	Night Falls on Manhattan	Sam Vigoda
1997	Oliver Twist	Fagin	television film; also producer
1998	Krippendorf's Tribe	Prof. James Krippendorf
1999	Lansky	Meyer Lansky
2000	The Crew	Bobby Bartellemeo/Narrator
2001	The Old Man Who Read Love Stories	Antonio Bolivar	Nominated "? Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor
2001	Who Is Cletis Tout?	Micah Donnelly
2001	The Education of Max Bickford	Max Bickford	TV series; also producer Nominated "? Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
2001	The Day Reagan Was Shot	Alexander Haig	television film Satellite Award for Best Actor " Miniseries or Television Film Nominated "? Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2003	Coast to Coast	Barnaby Pierce
2004	Silver City	Chuck Raven
2006	Poseidon	Richard Nelson
2007	Tin Man	Mystic Man	TV miniseries
2007	Ocean of Fear	Narrator
2008	Signs of the Time	Narrator
2008	W.	Dick Cheney
2008	America Betrayed	Narrator
2009	My Life in Ruins	Irv
2009	Leaves of Grass	Pug Rothbaum
2009	The Lightkeepers	Seth	Also executive producer
2010	Piranha 3D	Matthew Boyd	Cameo
2010	Weeds	Warren Schiff	4 episodes Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television
2010	RED	Alexander Dunning
2012	Coma	Professor Hillside	Television miniseries
2013	Very Good Girls	Danny, Gerry's father
2013	Paranoia	Francis Cassidy