Ringside Report Puts the Spotlight on Richard Dreyfuss

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By Geoffrey Huchel

Most know actor Richard Dreyfuss for his portrayal as Hooper in the horror classic JAWS (1975). Others may know him for his Academy Award winning performance as Elliot Garfield, a struggling off-Broadway actor in THE GOODBYE GIRL (1977). Or perhaps some are familiar with Dreyfuss from his dozens of other film and television projects. The Golden Globe winning actor has definitely earned the respect of his fans and audiences alike with his natural ability to portray any character in any genre.

Richard Stephen Dreyfuss was born on October 29, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York, however, his family lived in Europe and when Dreyfuss was nine they moved to Los Angeles. Dreyfuss attended Beverly Hills High School, as well as California State University, Northridge. He was also a conscientious objector in the Vietnam War, working in alternate service for two years, as a clerk in a Los Angeles hospital.

Dreyfuss began his career in television, making appearances in PEYTON PLACE (1964), BEN CASEY (1961), GIDGET (1965), BEWITCHED (1964), PLEASE DON’T EAT THE DAISIES (1965), THE BIG VALLEY (1965), THAT GIRL (1966), and HEY, LANDLORD (1966). Dreyfuss’s film debut was in an uncredited role in THE GRADUATE (1967), starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, followed by a minor role in VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1967). His television appearances continued throughout the late 1960s into the 1970s in series such as THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (1968), ROOM 222 (1969), THE YOUNG LAWYERS (1969), THE SHADOW OF A GUNMAN (1972), MOD SQUAD (1968), GUNSMOKE (1955), and THE NEW DICK VAN DYKE SHOW (1971).

Dreyfuss’s film career began to take off in the early to mid-1970s when he was cast as Curt in George Lucas’s iconic AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973). Dreyfuss costarred opposite Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark and Charles Martin Smith in the 5 time Academy Award nominated film. He followed up with appearances in THE APPRENTICESHIP OF DUDDY KRAVITZ (1974) and THE SECOND COMING OF SUZANNE (1974), leading up to some of his most well-known films, JAWS (1975), starring Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977), with Teri Garr, and THE GOODBYE GIRL (1977), starring opposite Marsha Mason.

Dreyfuss starred opposite Amy Irving in the drama THE COMPETITION (1980) and Nick Nolte and Bette Midler in the comedy DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS (1986). Another iconic film Dreyfuss appeared in was STAND BY ME (1986) as The Writer. STAND BY ME, based on the Stephen King novel The Body, is about a writer who recounts his journey with his childhood friends to find the body of a missing boy. It starred Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell, with Dreyfuss being the adult version of Wheaton’s character. His next film was TIN MEN (1987), with Danny DeVito and Barbara Hershey, followed by STAKEOUT (1987), with Emilio Estevez, NUTS (1987), starring Barbra Streisand and ALWAYS (1989), with Holly Hunter, and John Goodman.

Throughout the 1990s Dreyfuss appeared in several films including POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE (1990), with Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine, WHAT ABOUT BOB (1991), with Bill Murray, LOST IN YONKERS (1993), with Mercedes Ruehl, ANOTHER STAKEOUT (1993), with Emilio Estevez, THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT (1995), starring Michael Douglas, Annette Bening and Martin Sheen, MR. HOLLAND’S OPUS (1995), with Glenne Headly, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH (1996), and NIGHT FALLS ON MANHATTAN (1996), with Andy Garcia.

From the 2000s into the 2010s, Dreyfuss continued his work in films, such as POSEIDON (2006), with Kurt Russell and Josh Lucas, W. (2008), portraying Dick Cheney and starring opposite Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks, MY LIFE IN RUINS (2009), THE LIGHTKEEPERS (2009), PIRANHA 3D (2010), starring Elisabeth Shue and Christopher Lloyd, RED (2010), starring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich, MADOFF (2016), portraying Bernie Madoff and starring opposite Blythe Danner, ASHER (2018), with Ron Perlman and BOOK CLUB (2018), with Dianne Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen. During this time he returned to television making appearances in TIN MAN (2007), FAMILY GUY (1999), WEEDS (2005), PARENTHOOD (2010), and COMA (2012).

Dreyfuss is also known for stage work. On Broadway he appeared in productions of Total Abandon in 1983, Death and the Maiden in 1992 and Sly Fox in 2004. And in 2004, he starred in The Producers in New York’s West End.

Essential Dreyfuss:

AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)

JAWS (1975)

THE GOODBYE GIRL (1977)

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)

ALWAYS (1991)

MR. HOLLAND’S OPUS (1995)

RED (2010)

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