| Keir Dullea |
| Born |
May 30, 1936 (1936-05-30) (age 72)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation |
Actor |
| Spouse(s) |
Mia Dillon (1999-Present)
Susie Fuller (1972-1998) (her death) 2 Children
Susan Lessons (1969-1970)
Margot Bennett (1960-1968) |
Keir Dullea (IPA: [kɪr duˈleɪ]; born May 30, 1936) is an American actor perhaps best known for the character of astronaut David Bowman he portrayed in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey and in 1984's 2010: The Year We Make Contact as well as in the cult film Bunny Lake is Missing.
Biography
Personal life
Dullea was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Margaret (née Ruttan) and Robert Dullea.[1] Dullea was raised in the Greenwich Village section of New York City where his parents ran a bookstore. He graduated from George School in Pennsylvania. Dullea has been married four times. He has been married to actress Mia Dillon since 1999.
Career
Dullea made his film debut in 1961's Hoodlum Priest, in which he played a juvenile delinquent, though he had an earlier role as the German pilot in a 1960 television adaptation of Mrs. Miniver starring Maureen O'Hara. He played a number of emotionally disturbed youths in films such as David and Lisa (1962), the first screen adaptation of James Jones' The Thin Red Line (1964), and Bunny Lake is Missing (1965), as well as on television in shows such as Naked City. He appeared with John Huston in the movie De Sade (1969), playing the title role (the Marquis de Sade). He also appeared with Anne Heywood and Sandy Dennis in the 1967 film The Fox. On stage, he starred in the 1969 hit Broadway comedy, Butterflies Are Free, in which he introduced the title song written by Stephen Schwartz (later recording the tune on an album for Platypus Records). He also starred in the 1975 Broadway play, P. S. Your Cat Is Dead! In 1983, he founded the Theater Artists Workshop of Westport.
Since the great success of 2001, Dullea has had difficulty reproducing a similar success on film, though he has had a long and successful career on stage in New York City and in regional theaters. He has a role as a US Senator and a "major influence and mentor" to Matt Damon's character, in Robert De Niro's film The Good Shepherd.
Dullea's other notable roles include Devon in the short-lived 1973 science fiction series The Starlost, Clayton Anderson Jr. in Madame X, Paul Renfield in The Fox, and Thomas Grambell in Brave New World. He also appeared in The Audrey Hepburn Story (starring Jennifer Love Hewitt), as Hepburn's father Joseph.
Further reading
- Paul, Louis (2008). "Keir Dullea", Tales From the Cult Film Trenches; Interviews with 36 Actors from Horror, Science Fiction and Exploitation Cinema. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, p.68-74. ISBN 978-0-7864-2994-3.
References
External links
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