- Date of Birth: October 29, 1947
- Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York, USA
Richard Dreyfuss Biography
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Richard Dreyfuss mini-bio: American leading man who has played his fair share of irritating pests and brash, ambitious hustlers, Dreyfuss worked his way up through bit parts (The Graduate (1967), for one) and TV before gaining attention with his portrayal of Baby Face Nelson in John Milius' Dillinger (1973). He gained prominence as a college-bound young man in American Graffiti (1973) and as a nervy Jewish kid with high hopes in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974). By the latter part of the 1970s, Dreyfuss was established as a major star, playing leads (and alter-egos) for 'Steven Spielberg' in two of the top-grossing films of the that decade: Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). He won a Best Actor Oscar in his first romantic lead as an out-of-work actor in The Goodbye Girl (1977). Dreyfuss also produced and starred in the entertaining private eye movie The Big Fix (1978). After a brief lull in the early 1980s, a well-publicized drug problem and a succession of commercial disappointments (The Competition (1980), Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981), The Buddy System (1984)), a clean and sober Dreyfuss re-established himself in the mid-'as one of Hollywood's more engaging leads. He co-starred with Bette Midler and Nick Nolte in Paul Mazursky's popular Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986). That same year Dreyfuss provided the narration and appeared in the opening and closing "bookends" of Rob Reiner's nostalgic Stand by Me (1986). He quickly followed up with Nuts (1987) opposite Barbra Streisand, Barry Levinson's Tin Men (1987) with Danny DeVito and Stakeout (1987) with Emilio Estevez. Dreyfuss continued working steadily through the end of the 1980s and into the 1990s, most notably in Mazursky's Moon Over Parador (1988), Spielberg's Always (1989), Postcards from the Edge (1990) and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990). He appeared as a member of an ensemble that included Holly Hunter, Gena Rowlands and Danny Aiello in the romantic comedy _Once Around_ (1991)- and opposite Bill Murray in the successful comedy What About Bob? (1991). Dreyfuss has also remained active in the theater (Death And The Maiden 1992) and on TV. He returned to features in the adaptation of Neil Simon's play Lost in Yonkers (1993) and followed with a supporting turn as the querulous political opponent in The American President (1995). Dreyfuss received some of the best notices of his career as a determined, inspiring music teacher coping with a deaf son and the demands of his career in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995).
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Comments
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AussieJenniposted 578 days ago -
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Dreyfuss was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Norman, an attorney and restaurateur, and Geraldine, a peace activist.[1] Dreyfuss is Jewish[2][3] and his surname is of Yiddish origin, a variant spelling meaning tripod (literally 'three feet').[4] He commented that he "grew up thinking that Dreyfus and I are of the same family."[5] Dreyfuss spent his early childhood in Brooklyn and in Bayside, Queens, until he moved to Los Angeles with his family at the age of nine. In 1965, he graduated from Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California.
posted 597 days ago -
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I fell in love with him about 30 years ago! Initially, i was looking at Quinn Cummings(brilliant as she was)because i was her age....but fell in love with the whole story..i know Rich was just acting..but have loved him since i saw the movie...btw...im 39 and still think he is the best thing since sliced bread!
posted 673 days ago -
RD first came to my attention in" Jaws".But then he hit me sideways when he played Aaron Levinky, Barbra Streisand's lawyer in the movie "Nuts".I have been collecting his movies ever since.A brilliant actor.
posted 737 days ago -
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Does anyone else out there think he was great as Matt Hooper in 'Jaws'?
posted 794 days ago -
