Richard Dreyfuss (born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He was born as the son of an attorney in Brooklyn, New York. He spent his early childhood in Brooklyn and in Bayside, Queens until he moved to Los Angeles with his family at age nine.

Dreyfuss' acting career began at this age at the Beverly Hills Jewish Center. He debuted in the TV production In Mama's House when he was fifteen. He attended the San Fernando Valley State College for a year and then became a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, and worked in alternate service for two years as a clerk in an Los Angeles hospital. During this time he acted in some small TV roles on shows such as Peyton Place and The Big Valley. During the late 60s and early 70s, he performed also on stage on Broadway, off-Broadway, repertory and improvisational theater.

Dreyfuss' first film part was a very small, uncredited part in The Graduate, in which he only had one line, "Shall I call the cops? I'll call the cops." He made then an impression in Dillinger, and landed a role in the 1973 hit American Graffiti, acting with other future stars, like Harrison Ford.

Dreyfuss' played his first lead role in the Canadian film The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz. He went on to star in the huge box office hits Jaws and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. For his portrayal of a struggling actor in The Goodbye Girl he won an Oscar, becoming the youngest actor to ever win the Best Actor Award.

Between 1978 and 1982, Dreyfuss acted in several films, but none did particularly well at the box office. This led to a growing drug dependency, which ended one night in 1982, when his car hit a tree and he was arrested for possession of cocaine. He cleaned himself up and made a comeback in Hollywood in the film Down And Out In Beverly Hills, proving that he was still one of Hollywood's most accomplished actors. Since then he has continued his career as one of the most reliable and versatile actors, not only in the movies, but also in television and on stage. In April, 2004, he appeared in the revival of Sly Fox on Broadway (opposite Eric Stoltz, René Auberjonois, Bronson Pinchot, Elizabeth Berkeley , et al.).

In November 2004, he was scheduled to appear in The Producers in London, but withdrew from the production a week before the opening night. The reason for his departure was unclear, but newspapers noted that Dreyfuss was still suffering from problems relating to an operation for a herniated disc in January, and that the part of Max Bialystock in the play is a physically demanding one. Nathan Lane was brought in to replace Dreyfuss in the London production.

From 1983 until 1995 Dreyfuss was married to Jeramie Rain, with whom he had three children. Since 1999 he has been married to Janelle Lacey.

Filmography

• Silver City (2004)
• Who Is Cletis Tout? (2001)
• The Old Man Who Read Love Stories (2001)
• Krippendorf's Tribe (1998)
• Night Falls on Manhattan (1997)
• Mad Dog Time (1996)
• Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
• The American President (1995)
• The Last Word (1995)
• Silent Fall (1994)
• Another Stakeout (1993)
• Lost in Yonkers (1993)
• What About Bob? (1991)
• Once Around (1991)
• Postcards from the Edge (1990)
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990)
• Always (1989)
• Let It Ride (1989)
• Moon Over Parador (1988)
• Nuts (1987)
• Stakeout (1987)
• Tin Men (1987)
• Stand by Me (1986)
• Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
• The Buddy System (1984)
• Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981)
• The Competition (1980)
• The Big Fix (1978)
• The Goodbye Girl (1977)
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
• Jaws (1975)
• Inserts (1975)
• The Second Coming of Suzanne (1974)
• The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974)
• Dillinger (1973)
• American Graffiti (1973)
• Hello Down There (1969)
• The Young Runaways (1968)
• The Graduate (1967)

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