Bruce Dern Movies and Career Information

Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters. Dern appeared in more than 80 feature films and made for TV movies. Dern was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Jean (née MacLeish) and John Dern. His paternal grandfather was George Henry Dern, a former Utah governor and Secretary of War, and his uncle was poet Archibald MacLeish. His godfather was well-known politician Adlai Stevenson and his godmother was Eleanor Roosevelt. Dern attended The Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) and the University of Pennsylvania. Dern is the father of actress Laura Dern (1967), whom he had with his ex-wife Diane Ladd; married 1960-1969. He married his current wife, Andrea Beckett, in 1969. Early in his career he acted in the Philadelphia premier of Waiting for Godot opposite Lyle Kessler and first appeared on screen, for an uncredited role, in the 1960 film Wild River (film). He then appeared, as a guest star, in several popular 1960s television shows, including Route 66, Naked City, Sea Hunt, Surfside 6, 77 Sunset