BRUCE DERN BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Bruce Dern was born on June 4th, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois with the birth name Bruce MacLeish Dern to parents Jean and John Dern.  He completed his education at The Choate School and the University of Pennsylvania. 
 
His career as an actor began as a stage actor performing in, "Waiting for Godot".  By 1960 he was getting cast in films with his first role un-credited in, "Wild River".  A number of other film roles followed such as, "Marine" (1964), "Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (1964), "The Wild Angels" (1966), "The War Wagon (1967), The Trip" (1967), "Psych-Out" (1968), Will Penny" (1968) and "Hang 'Em High" (1968). 
 
As his career progressed along with continuing to work as a stage actor and a film actor, he made a number of television appearances in such series as, "Route 66", "Naked City", "Sea Hunt", "Surfside 6", "77 Sunset Strip", "The Outer Limits", "The Virginian", "12 O'Clock High", "The Fugitive", "The Big Valley", "Gunsmoke" and "Bonanza".
 
In 1978, Dern was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his role in, "Coming Home".  Following his nomination he only appeared in a couple films over the next eleven years.  He was becoming pickier over which roles he would take on as he was trying to avoid being type cast as a supporting player only.
 
Sadly, the next two films he did really did nothing to help his career, "Middle Age Crazy" (1980) and "Tattoo" (1981) were both a disappointment.  He did make a slight comeback with his role on the television movie, "Toughlove" (1985), but for the most part his career was slowly dwindling.

He does continue today to take on the occasional role, but he never really reached the level of stardom he hoped for.  Due to him trying to break away from his typecast could be the major cause for his career never reaching the level of success he hoped for.
 
He has two new roles in production, "The Gift Horse" and "Love Orchard" both scheduled to be out in 2011.  He is currently married to his third wife, Andrea Beckett whom he wed in 1969.  He was married twice before, first to Marie Dean but a very short lived marriage.  His second wife was Diane Ladd from 1960 through 1966 and they had two daughters together.  Sadly, he lost his first daughter, at the age of eighteen months in a drowning accident.

Bruce Dern was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was also honored with a Legend Award at the inaugural Gold Coast International Film Festival on June 1, 2011.
 
 
Filmography
 
2011   The Gift Horse
2011   Love Orchard
2012   Hitting the Cycle
2012   TBK: The Toolbox Murders 2
2011   Twixt
2011   The Big Valley
2011   Inside Out
2006-2011  Big Love
2011   Choose
2010   Trim
2009   The Lightkeepers
2009   The Hole 
2009   American Cowslip 
2008   Swamp Devil 
2008   The Golden Boys
2007   CSI: NY
2007   The Cake Eaters
2006   The Hard Easy
2006   The Astronaut Farmer
2006   Walker Payne
2006   Believe in Me
2005   Down in the Valley
2003   Monster
2003   Hard Ground
2003   King of the Hill
2003   Milwaukee, Minnesota 
2003   Masked and Anonymous 
2001   The Glass House
2001   Madison 
2000   All the Pretty Horses
1999   If... Dog... Rabbit...
1999   The Haunting
1999   Hard Time: The Premonition 
1998   Perfect Prey
1998   Small Soldiers
1997   Comfort, Texas
1996   Last Man Standing
1996   Down Periscope 
1996   Lost Drive-In
1996   Mulholland Falls
1995   Wild Bill
1995   Mrs. Munck 
1995   A Mother's Prayer
1994   Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight
1994   Dead Man's Revenge
1993   It's Nothing Personal
1992   Diggstown
1991   Carolina Skeletons
1991   Into the Badlands
1990   The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson
1990   After Dark, My Sweet
1989   Trenchcoat in Paradise
1989   The 'burbs
1988   1969
1988   World Gone Wild 
1987   The Big Town
1987   Uncle Tom's Cabin
1987   Roses Are for the Rich
1986   On the Edge 
1985   Toughlove
1985   Space
1982   Harry Tracy, Desperado
1982   That Championship Season
1981   Tattoo
1980   Middle Age Crazy
1978   The Driver
1978   Coming Home
1977   Black Sunday
1976   The Twist
1976   Family Plot
1975   Smile
1975   Posse
1974   The Great Gatsby
1973   The Laughing Policeman
1973   Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
1972   Thumb Tripping 
1972   The King of Marvin Gardens
1972   Silent Running 
1972   The Cowboys 
1971   Drive, He Said
1971   The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant
1971   Sam Hill: Who Killed Mr. Foster?
1970   The Immortal
1970   The High Chaparral
1970   The Rebel Rousers
1970   Land of the Giants 
1969   They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
1968-1969  Lancer
1969   Then Came Bronson
1969   The Cycle Savages
1969   Number One
1969   Castle Keep
1969   Support Your Local Sheriff!
1965-1969  Gunsmoke
1966-1968 The Big Valley
1968   Hang 'Em High
1968   Psych-Out
1968   Will Penny
1966-1967  Run for Your Life 
1967   Waterhole #3
1967   The Trip
1967   The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
1967   The War Wagon
1963-1966  The Fugitive
1966   Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color 
1966   The Wild Angels
1966   The Loner
1966   Branded
1964-1965  12 O'Clock High
1965   A Man Called Shenandoah
1965   Laredo
1965   Rawhide
1964   Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte 
1964   The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1964   Marnie
1964   The Greatest Show on Earth
1964   77 Sunset Strip
1963   The Outer Limits
1963   Kraft Suspense Theatre
1962-1963  Stoney Burke
1962-1963  The Dick Powell Theatre
1961-1962  Cain's Hundred
1962   Ripcord
1961   The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor
1961   Ben Casey
1961   Thriller
1961   Surfside 6
1961   Sea Hunt
1961   Naked City 
1960   Route 66
1960   Wild River