Richard Dreyfuss
say all the time." "Fame" (magazine) February 1990, "The Three Phases of Richard" by Jeremy Gerard
After he got his personal life together his professional life also began to rise again. He was the narrator of Stand By Me, which was a big hit, but his real comeback was the lead in the comedy Down and Out in Beverly Hills. He followed with more success in Tin Men, Stakeout and a second Oscar nomination for Mr. Holland's Opus.
He has also continued to work in the theater including a run of Death and the Maiden with Glenn Close and Gene Hackman, directed by Mike Nichols.
Besides theater Dreyfuss has long been a history buff. When his career was at the bottom he thought of giving up acting and teaching history. He produced and starred in an HBO movie called "Prisoner of Honor" about a Jewish man (ironically named Dreyfus) falsely accused by the French army of espionage and sent to Devil's Island. Dreyfuss was offered the part of the accused but chose instead to play the anti-Semitic officer who is assigned the case to prosecute, but discovers the charges are false and defends Dreyfus to the ruin of his own career. He also created, produced, wrote and hosted a one-hour TV special to commemorate the bicentennial of the American Constitution.
His personal life has also had it's ups and downs. He had two more children, Ben and Harry. Ben was born with a rare a birth defect in his eye and had to have many surgeries. He and his wife Jeremy are now divorced.
TRIVIA: The first time he saw himself onscreen in American Graffiti he was so self-conscience that he asked George Lucas to edit him out of the movie.
TRIVIA: He was originally cast as the lead in All That Jazz but walked out because he didn't like the director Bob Fosse. "I've made the mistake in my life of thinking that the actual process of making a film should be as pleasant as possible, and I've made a lot of decisions based upon that. Putting aside the fact that if you just hold your nose for three months you can end up making a great movie." Premiere Magazine February 1996, Peter Biskind
LINKS:
The Richard Dreyfuss Internet Fan Page
The Richard Dreyfuss Home Page
The Unofficial Richard Dreyfuss Web Site
Brendan's Richard Dreyfuss Homepage
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