Kurt Russell
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Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951 in Springfield, Massachusetts) is an American actor. He is the son of Bing Russell, also an actor.
Russell started his film career at the age of 10 in an uncredited part in the movie It Happened at the World's Fair. At age 12, he landed a big part for a juvenile actor: the lead role as the orphan Jaimie in the TV western The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963–64). Based on the book by Robert Lewis Taylor, this series also starred Dan O'Herlihy, Charles Bronson and the very young Osmond Brothers.
The young Russell was soon signed to a ten-year contract with the Walt Disney Company, reportedly by Walt Disney himself. He starred in many Disney films such as Follow Me, Boys! (1966), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), and The Strongest Man in the World (1975).
Russell also had a baseball career (Russell's father had also been a baseball player for a while). In the early 1970s, Russell played second base for the minor league franchise of the California Angels (now the Anaheim Angels). He led his league in hitting with a .563 batting average. During a play, he was hit in the shoulder by another player running to second base. The collision tore the rotator cuff in one of Russell's shoulders. The injury forced his retirement from baseball in 1973 and he returned to acting.
Russell was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special (1979) for the made for television movie Elvis. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (1984) for the film Silkwood.
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Russell married actress Season Hubley, whom he had met on the set of Elvis in 1979 and they had a son, Boston. In 1983, during the middle of his divorce from Hubley, Russell met his longtime companion, Goldie Hawn, on the set of the film Swing Shift. The couple have never married but have a son, Wyatt.
Russell is a prominent member of the United States Libertarian Party. He claims that he was often an outcast in Hollywood because of his Libertarian beliefs and so moved to an area outside Aspen, Colorado, to live and try writing (he co-wrote Escape from L.A.). In February 2003, Russell and Hawn moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, so their son, Wyatt, could play hockey.
Selected Filmography
- Miracle (2004), Herb Brooks
- Dark Blue (2002), Eldon Perry
- Vanilla Sky (2001), Dr. Curtis McCabe
- Soldier (1998), Sgt. Todd 3465
- Escape from L.A. (1996), Snake Plissken
- Breakdown (film) (1997)
- Executive Decision (1996), Dr. David Grant
- Stargate (1994), Colonel Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neil
- Tombstone (1993), Wyatt Earp
- Captain Ron (1992), Captain Ron
- Backdraft (1991), Lieutenant Stephen 'Bull' McCaffrey & Dennis McCaffrey
- Tango & Cash (1989), Gabriel 'Gabe' Cash
- Overboard (1987), Dean Proffitt
- Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Jack Burton
- Swing Shift (1984) Lucky/Mike
- Silkwood (1983) Drew Stephens
- The Thing (1982), R.J. MacReady
- Escape from New York (1981), Snake Plissken
- Used Cars (1980), Rudy Russo
- The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), Dexter Riley
- Follow Me, Boys! (1966), Whitey