He was born 17 March 1951 in Springfield, Massachusetts. His parents are Louise Crain and Bing Russell. The senior Mr. Russell was a character actor who had a recurring role as a deputy on the long – running Western television series “Bonanza”. He (Bing) had been a professional baseball player but changed his career to acting, which took the family to California.
Kurt grew up in Thousand Oaks, California, not necessarily your typical Hollywood kid. He had a keen interest in baseball and wanted to play professionally as his father had before him. But in 1961, his dad heard about a part in a film called “It Happened at the World’s Fair”. The lead male star in the movie was Elvis Presley. Kurt’s part was that of a young boy who kicked him in the shin. He did not get billing for that part. It wasn’t much more than a glorified extra role. However, this was the beginning of his acting career.
He went on to do some bit parts on television. In 1963, he was cast as the lead in a short – lived television series called “The Travels of Jamie McPheeters”. This was followed by more character parts on numerous other TV shows. This, in turn, led to a contract with Walt Disney. The ten-year contract encompassed such films as “The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes” (1969), “The Barefoot Executive” (1971) and “The Strongest Man in the World” (1975). Once his contract with Disney expired, he went back to appearing in character roles on television. In 1975, he did a made-for-TV movie called “The Deadly Tower”. The story was based on a true event which occurred at the University of Texas in 1966. Then in 1979 he starred in another TV movie titled “Elvis”. He was nominated for an Emmy for his quasi-biographical role in that film.
Although he took time out from his acting career to make a serious attempt to become a pro baseball player with the California Angels, that was cut short by a rotator cuff injury in 1973. So he returned to acting full-time.
In 1981, he teamed up with producer/writer/director John Carpenter for the classic cult film “Escape From New York”. The film became a big hit with fans of the genre and continues to be favored by the same. He reprised his role of “Snake Plissken” in 1996 with the sequel, “Escape From L.A”. He and Mr. Carpenter have collaborated on a total of five movies to date. Mr. Russell co-produced, co-wrote and/or starred in all five.
He met his lifemate, Goldie Hawn, while filming “Swing Shift” in 1984. They also co-starred in the movie “Overboard” in 1987. They have been together since, having one child together, one child from Kurt’s first marriage to Season Hubley and the two children from Ms. Hawn’s marriage to Bill Hudson. Ms. Hawn’s daughter, Kate Hudson, considers Mr. Russell to be her dad. Their extended family seems to work quite well.
Among his film credits is that of a supporting role in the critically acclaimed movie “Silkwood”, which he did in 1983. Meryl Streep and Cher were the co-stars in the film. Mr. Russell was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film and won a Golden Globe Award for his role.
In 1986, he again teamed up with John Carpenter to do “Big Trouble in Little China”. This was a spoof on martial arts movies of the times and reminded Hollywood and his fans, of his ability to do comedic roles.
Other notable movies which he did include:
1988 – Tequila Sunrise, co-starring Mel Gibson 1989 – Tango and Cash, co-starring Sylvester Stallone 1993 – Tombstone, in which he played Wyatt Earp 1994 – Stargate, co-starring James Spader 1996 – Executive Decision, also starring Sylvester Stallone 2001 – 3000 Miles to Graceland, with Kevin Costner 2002 – Dark Blue, he plays a dirty cop 2004 – Miracle, based on the true story of Olympic coach Herb Brooks 2006 – Poseidon, a remake of 1972′s “Poseidon Adventure”
While probably not one of the most acclaimed actors of our times, Kurt Russell has the distinction of being one of the few who successfully segued from being a child actor to continuing an acting career which spans a little over four decades. His credits range from bit parts to doing stunts, directing, producing, writing and starring in a very diverse cross of roles. He’s a versatile person who has contributed to both the film and television industries.
While not receiving screen credit for it, Russell did the voice of Elvis Presley in the 1994 blockbuster, “Forrest Gump”. He’s also been responsible for helping to launch the film industry careers of several budding actors, writers, producers and directors.
