1. Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
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Richard Dreyfuss Biography (1947-)

Original name, Richard Stephan Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947, in Brooklyn, NY (some sources say Flatbush, NY); son of Norman (a lawyer and restaurateur)and Geraldine "Gerry" Dreyfus (a peace activist); married Jeramie Rain (alsoknown as Susan Davis; an actress and writer), March 20, 1983 (divorced, 1995); married Janelle Lacey (an accountant), May 30, 1999; children: (first marriage) Emily, Benjamin, Harry Spencer. Addresses: Agent: ICM New York, 40 West 57th St., New York, NY 10019.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Occupation

Actor, producer, writer, director

Birth Details

October 29, 1947

Brooklyn, New York, United States

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Film Appearances
• (Uncredited) Berkeley boarding house resident, The Graduate, Embassy, 1967
• (Uncredited) Stage manager, The Valley of the Dolls, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1967
• Terry, The Young Runaways, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1968
• Harold Webster, Hello Down There (also known as Sub-a-Dub-Dub), Paramount, 1969
• Curt Henderson, American Graffiti, Universal, 1973
• Baby Face Nelson, Dillinger, American International Pictures, 1973
• Clavius, The Second Coming of Suzanne (also known as Suzanne), Barry, 1974
• Title role, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (also known as L'apprentissage de Duddy Kravitz), Universal, 1974
• Matt Hooper, Jaws (also known as Stillness in the Water), Universal, 1975
• Boy Wonder, Inserts, United Artists, 1976
• Roy Neary, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (also known as The Close Encounter of the Third Kind and Watch the Skies), Columbia, 1977
• Elliott Garfield, The Goodbye Girl (also known as Neil Simon'sThe Goodbye Girl), Warner Bros., 1977
• Moses Wine, The Big Fix, Universal, 1979
• Iago, Othello, 1979
• Paul Dietrich, The Competition, Columbia, 1980
• Ken Harrison, Whose Life Is It, Anyway?, Warner Bros., 1981
• Joe, The Buddy System, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1984
• (In archive footage) Matt Cooper (segment Jaws), Terror in theAisles (also known as Time for Terror), 1984
• Dave Whiteman, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Buena Vista, 1985
• Narrator (the writer)/Gordon Lachance (adult), Stand by Me, Columbia, 1986
• Bill "B. B." Babowsky, Tin Men, Buena Vista, 1986
• Chris Lecce, Stakeout, Buena Vista, 1987
• Aaron Levinsky, Nuts, Warner Bros., 1987
• Jack Noah, Moon over Parador, Universal, 1987
• Jay Trotter, Let It Ride, Paramount, 1989
• Pete Sandich, Always, United Artists/Universal, 1989
• Dr. Frankenthal, Postcards from the Edge, Columbia, 1991
• Sam Sharpe, Once Around, Universal, 1991
• Player king, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Cinecom International, 1991
• Dr. Leo Marvin, What about Bob?, Buena Vista, 1991
• Chris Lecce, Another Stakeout (also known as The Lookout and Stakeout 2), Buena Vista, 1993
• Uncle Louie, Lost in Yonkers (also known as Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers), Columbia, 1993
• Jack Rainer, Silent Fall, Warner Bros., 1994
• Larry, The Last Word (also known as Cosa Nostra: The Last Word), Trimark Pictures, 1995
• Glenn Holland, Mr. Holland's Opus, Buena Vista, 1995
• Himself, Scenes from Everyday Life, 1995
• Senator Bob Rumson, The American President, Universal/Columbia, 1995
• Himself, The Making of Steven Spielberg's "Jaws," 1995
• Voice of Centipede, James and the Giant Peach, Buena Vista, 1996
• Vic, Mad Dog Time (also known as Trigger Happy), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1996
• Sam Vigoda, Night Falls on Manhattan, Paramount, 1997
• James Krippendorf, Krippendorf's Tribe, Buena Vista, 1998
• A Fine and Private Place, 1998
• Himself, The Making of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," 1998
• Bobby Bartellemeo, The Crew, Buena Vista, 2000
• Antonio Bolivar, The Old Man Who Read Love Stories (also known asLe vieux qui lisait des romans d'amour), 2000
• Voice, In Search of Peace, Seventh Art Releasing, 2000
• Who Is Cletis Tout?, 2001
• Voice of Scoop the Snowman (narrator), Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeerand the Island of Misfit Toys, Golden Books Family Entertainment, 2001
• Narrator, Manassas: End of Innocence, 2002
• Film Work
• Producer, The Big Fix, Universal, 1979
• Executive producer, Quiz Show, Buena Vista, 1994
• Television Appearances
• Series
• David Rowe III, 90 Bristol Court, NBC, 1964-1965
• David Rowe III, Karen, NBC, 1965
• Narrator, American Chronicles (also known as Real Life), Fox, 1990
• Title role, The Education of Max Bickford, CBS, 2001-2002
• Miniseries
• Voice of General William Tecumseh Sherman, Lincoln, ABC, 1992
• Movies
• Greg, Untold Damage, 1971
• Colonel Yonatan "Yonni" Netanyahu, Victory at Entebbe, ABC, 1976
• Valley of the Dolls (also known as Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls), 1981
• Lieutenant Colonel Picquart, Prisoner of Honor, HBO, 1991
• Voice of Buck, Call of the Wild (also known as Jack London's The Call of the Wild and The Call of the Wild: Dog of the Yukon), The Family Channel, 1996
• Fagin, "Oliver Twist," The Wonderful World of Disney, ABC, 1997
• Meyer Lansky, Lansky, HBO, 1999
• President, Fail Safe, CBS, 2000
• Alexander Haig, The Day Reagan Was Shot, 2001
• Pilots
• Morris Gap, Two for the Money, ABC, 1972
• John Yossarian, Catch-22, ABC, 1973
• Specials
• Romp, ABC, 1968
• Lily, ABC, 1975
• Himself, The Making of "The Goodbye Girl," 1977
• Himself, The Making of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," 1977
• The Screen Actors Guild 50th Anniversary Celebration, 1984
• Himself, "Oscar W. Underwood," An American Portrait, PBS, 1985
• Night of 100 Stars II (also known as Night of One Hundred Stars), ABC, 1985
• An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., NBC, 1986
• Comic Relief, HBO, 1986
• Untold Damage, Arts and Entertainment, 1987
• Host, Funny, You Don't Look 200! (also known as Funny, You Don't Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville), ABC, 1987
• Himself, "James Stewart: A Wonderful Life," Great Performances, PBS, 1987
• Freedomfest: Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Celebration, Fox, 1988
• Superstars and Their Moms, ABC, 1988
• Face to Face with Connie Chung, CBS, 1991
• Host, Class of the 20th Century, Arts and Entertainment, 1992
• Fifty-eight Days (also known as Decision '92), NBC, 1992
• Popular Culture: Rage, Rights and Responsibility, PBS, 1992
• An American Reunion: The 52nd Presidential Inaugural Gala, CBS, 1993
• D-Day Remembered--A Musical Tribute from the QE2, PBS, 1994
• Narrator, "Kaddish," The Papal Concert to Commemorate the Holocaust, PBS, 1994
• The True Story of Frankenstein, 1994
• Inside the Academy Awards, TNT, 1995
• The American Film Institute Salute to Steven Spielberg (also knownas AFI Salute to Steven Spielberg), NBC, 1995
• The Barbara Walters Special, ABC, 1996
• The Kennedy Center 25th Anniversary Celebration (also known as The Kennedy Center Presents), PBS, 1996
• Host, The Universal Story, Encore and Starz!, 1996
• Beverly Hills High, E! Entertainment Television, 1997
• In the Wild: The Galapagos Islands with Richard Dreyfuss, PBS, 1997
• Himself, Frank Capra's American Dream (documentary), 1997
• Narrator, National Memorial Day Concert (1998), PBS, 1998
• To Life! America Celebrates Israel's 50th (also known as America Celebrates Israel's 50th), CBS, 1998
• Himself, AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Stars, CBS, 1999
• Himself, Hollywood, D.C., 2000
• Himself, Artoo-Detoo: Beneath the Dome, 2001
• Host, Mr. Dreyfuss Goes to Washington, 2001
• Awards Presentations
• The 49th Annual Academy Awards Presentation, 1977
• Presenter, The 58th Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1986
• Presenter, The 59th Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1987
• Presenter, The 60th Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1988
• Presenter, The 61st Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1989
• Presenter, The 46th Annual Tony Awards, CBS, 1992
• Presenter, The 66th Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1994
• Presenter, The 52nd Annual Golden Globe Awards, 1995
• Presenter, The Walt Disney Company and McDonald's Present the AmericanTeacher Awards, 1995
• The 38th Annual Grammy Awards, 1996
• Presenter, The 68th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1996
• Presenter, The 4th Annual VH1 Honors, VH1, 1997
• The 70th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1998
• Episodic
• "Francini, Who Is Francini?," Ben Casey, CBS, 1965
• Durf the Drag, "Ego a Go-Go," Gidget, ABC, 1966
• Rodney, "Man's Best Friend," Bewitched, ABC, 1966
• Love on a Rooftop, ABC, 1966
• "Fair Play for Gypsies," Occasional Wife, NBC, 1967
• Warren, "Big Brother Is Watching You," Hey Landlord, NBC, 1967
• Lud Akley, "Boy into Man," The Big Valley, ABC, 1967
• Harold, "Testing, One, Two," Hey Landlord, NBC, 1967
• "My Son, the Actor," Please Don't Eat the Daisies, NBC, 1967
• Ben, Jr., The Second Hundred Years, ABC, 1967
• Larry Corning, "Weep the Hunter Home," Judd, for the Defense, ABC,1968
• Herbie Aroon, "The Last Man in the World," Felony Squad, ABC, 1969
• Mark Finlay (a newspaper editor), "Buried on Page One," The Ghost andMrs. Muir, NBC, 1969
• Owen Rudd, "Panic in the Sands," The New People, ABC, 1969
• Dr. Tolliver, "No Harm to the Patient," The Bold Ones: The Doctors, NBC, 1970
• Curtis Bell, "Mother of Sorrow," The Mod Squad, ABC, 1970
• Stan Sibert, "The Valedictorian," Room 222, ABC, 1970
• Evening at Pops, PBS, 1970
• Mike Chester, "Down at the House of Truth, Visiting," The Young Lawyers, ABC, 1971
• "The Mystery of Amelia Earhart," You Are There, CBS, 1971
• "Shadow of a Gunman," Hollywood Television Theatre, PBS, 1972
• Caleb Dunne, "The Night Holds Terror," The Mod Squad, ABC, 1973
• Gearshon Gorofsky, "This Golden Land," Gunsmoke, CBS, 1973
• Donald, "The Accident," A Touch of Grace, ABC, 1973
• "Me," Hollywood Television Theatre, PBS, 1973
• Tony Injijikan, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, CBS, 1973
• Host, Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC's Saturday Night, Saturday Night, and SNL), NBC, 1978
• Narrator, "Moe, the Dog in Tropical Paradise," Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories, Showtime, 1992
• Voice of Ulysses S. Grant, Smithsonian's Great Battles of the Civil War, The Learning Channel, 1994
• "Audrey Hepburn: The Fairest Lady," Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 1997
• "Henry Fonda: Hollywood's Quiet Hero," Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 1997
• Also appeared as himself in an episode of Willemsens Woche.
• Television Work
• Series
• Producer, The Education of Max Bickford, 2001-2002
• Movies
• Executive producer, Prisoner of Honor, HBO, 1991
• Coproducer, "Oliver Twist," The Wonderful World of Disney, ABC, 1997
• Specials
• Coproducer, Funny, You Don't Look 200! (also known as Funny, You Don't Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville), ABC, 1987
• Producer, Mr. Dreyfuss Goes to Washington, 2001
• Episodic
• Director, "Present Tense, Past Perfect" (also known as "Anything for Love"), Directed By, Showtime, 1996
• Other
• Directed Our Love Is Here to Stay, Showtime.
• Stage Appearances
• (Stage debut) In Mama's House, Gallery Theatre, Los Angeles, c. 1964
• The Session, San Francisco, CA, 1966
• (Broadway debut) Stanley, But Seriously ... , Henry Miller's Theatre, New York City, 1969
• Stephen, Line, Theatre de Lys, New York City, 1971
• And Whose Little Boy Are You?, McAlpin Rooftop Theatre, 1971
• Adolphus Cusins, Major Barbara, Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles Music Center, Los Angeles, 1972
• Jean, Miss Julie, Chicago, IL, 1976
• Napoleon Bonaparte, A Man of Destiny, Chicago, 1976
• The Tenth Man, Solarie Ensemble, Los Angeles, 1977
• Cassius, Julius Caesar, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City,1978
• Iago, Othello, New York Shakespeare Festival, Delacorte Theatre, New York City, then Alliance Theatre Company, Atlanta, GA, both 1979
• Ken Harrison, Whose Life Is It, Anyway?, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown, MA, 1980
• Joe, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven,CT, 1981
• Lenny Keller, Total Abandon, Booth Theatre, New York City, 1983
• Requiem for a Heavyweight, Long Wharf Theatre, 1983
• Howard Bellman, The Hands of the Enemy, Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles Music Center, 1984
• Night of 100 Stars II (also known as Night of One Hundred Stars), Radio City Music Hall, New York City, 1985
• Gerardo Escobar, Death and the Maiden, Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York City, 1992
• Kenneth, Three Hotels, Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles, 1994-1995
• Mel Edison, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Haymarket Theatre, London, 1999
• Also appeared in Journey to the Day, People Need People, Incident at Vichy, and Enemy, Enemy, all Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles Music Center; appeared as Harry in The Time of Your Life, and appeared in Aesop in Central Park, both Los Angeles; also appeared in The Normal Heart.
• Stage Work
• Director, Othello, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham, England, 1994
• WRITINGS
• Television Specials
• (With others) Funny, You Don't Look 200! (also known as Funny,You Don't Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville), ABC, 1987
• Television Episodic
• Story, "Present Tense, Past Perfect" (also known as "Anything for Love"),Directed By, Showtime, 1996
• Novels
• (With Harry Turtledove) The Two Georges, St. Martin's (New York City), 1996

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

• International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 3: Actors and Actresses, St. James Press, 1996
• Newsmakers, 1996 Cumulation, Gale, 1997

Periodicals

• NEA Today, November, 1996, p. 42
• Vital Speeches, November 1, 1993, pp. 49-51