GOLDBLUM, Jeff 1952–

PERSONAL

Full name, Jeffery Lynn Goldblum; born October 22, 1952, in Pittsburgh, PA; son of Harold (a physician) and Shirley Goldblum; married Patricia Gaul (an actress), 1980 (divorced, 1986); married Geena Davis (an actress), November 1, 1987 (divorced November 1, 1993); married Catherine Wreford (a dancer), January 2004. Education: Trained for the stage with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse; also attended summer drama program at Carnegie–Mellon University.

Addresses: Agent—Endeavor, 9701 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Manager—Industry Entertainment, 955 S. Carrillo Dr., Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90048. Publicist—Wolf/Kasteler Van Iden PR, 335 N. Maple Dr., Suite 351, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

Career: Actor, director, and producer. Playhouse West, teacher; Three Guys from Italy (jazz band), member, 1996—?; The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra (jazz band), member; appeared in commercials for Apple Computers, 1998, 2000, 2003, Toyota, 2003, and Holsten Pils lager.

Awards, Honors: Genie Award nomination, best performance by a foreign actor, Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, 1983, for Threshold; Saturn Award, best actor, Academy of Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy Films, 1986, for The Fly; CableACE Award nomination, actor in a dramatic series, 1987, for "Town Where No One Got Off," The Ray Bradbury Theatre; CableACE Award nomination, actor in a movie or miniseries, 1989, for Life Story; Catalonian International Film Festival award, best actor, 1990, for Mr. Frost; Independent Spirit Award nomination, best supporting male actor, 1993, for Deep Cover; Academy Award nomination (with Tikki Goldberg), best live short action film, 1996, for Little Surprises; Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination, favorite actor sci–fi, 1998, for The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

CREDITS

Film Appearances:

(Film debut) Freak number one/mugger, Death Wish, Paramount, 1974.

Lloyd Harris, California Split (also known as Jackpot!) Columbia, 1974.

Tricycle man, Nashville, Paramount, 1975.

Clyde Baxter, Next Stop, Greenwich Village, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1976.

Hood number three, St. Ives, Warner Bros., 1976.

Snake, Special Delivery (also known as Dangerous Break), American International, 1976.

Lacey's party guest, Annie Hall, United Artists, 1977.

Jack, The Sentinel, Universal, 1977.

Max Arloff, Between the Lines, Midwest, 1977.

Jack Bellicec, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, United Artists, 1978.

Mr. Nudd, Remember My Name, Columbia, 1978.

Tony DiMarco, Thank God It's Friday, Columbia, 1978.

Dr. Aldo Gehring, Threshold, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1981.

Michael, The Big Chill, Columbia, 1983.

NASA recruiter, The Right Stuff, Warner Bros., 1983.

Sidney "New Jersey" Zwibel, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the Eighth Dimension (also known as The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai), Twentieth Century–Fox, 1984.

Ed Okin, Into the Night, Universal, 1985.

"Slick" Calvin Stanhope, Silverado, Columbia, 1985.

Jack Harrison, Transylvania 6–5000, New World, 1985.

Seth Brundle, The Fly, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1986.

Bruce, Beyond Therapy, New World, 1987.

Nick Deezy, Vibes, Columbia, 1988.

Mac, Earth Girls Are Easy, Vestron, 1989.

Dexter King, The Tall Guy, Working Title Productions, 1989.

Dan Gillis, The Mad Monkey (also known as Twisted Obsession, El sueno del mono loco, El mono loco, and Le reve du singe fou), 1989.

(Uncredited) Seth Brundle (on video), The Fly II, 1989.

Title role, Mr. Frost (also known as Mister Frost), SVS Inc., 1990.

Pianist, The Favour, the Watch, and the Very Big Fish (also known as La montre, la croix et la maniere and Rue Saint–Sulpice), 1991.

Himself, The Player, Fine Line, 1992.

Harold Pigeon, Shooting Elizabeth, LIVE Home Video, 1992.

Max Fish, Fathers & Sons, Pacific Pictures Distribution Co., 1992.

David Jason, Deep Cover, New Line Cinema, 1992.

Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park (also known as JP), Universal, 1993.

Sean Fletcher, Nine Months, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1995.

Hatch Harrison, Hideaway, TriStar, 1995.

Donald Ripley, Powder, Buena Vista, 1995.

Mitchell Kane, The Great White Hype, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1996.

David Levinson, Independence Day (also known as ID4), Twentieth Century–Fox, 1996.

Mickey Holliday, Mad Dog Time (also known as Trigger Happy), Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer/United Artists, 1996.

(In footage from Independence Day) Himself and David Levinson, Independence Day: The ID4 Invasion, 1996.

Dr. Ian Malcolm, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Universal, 1997.

Himself, The Making of "Lost World," 1997.

Voice of Aaron, The Prince of Egypt (animated), Dream-Works, 1998.

Ricky Hayman, Holy Man, Buena Vista, 1998.

Himself, Welcome to Hollywood, Blump International Films, 1998.

(Uncredited) Himself, Playmate Pajama Party, Uni Distribution, 1999.

Himself, Barenaked in America, The Shooting Gallery, 1999.

Avnet, Chain of Fools, Warner Bros., 2000.

John C. Nolan, Auggie Rose (also known as Beyond Suspicion), New City Releasing, 2000.

Herbert Biberman, One of the Hollywood Ten (also known as Punto de mira), 2000.

Jamie, Perfume, Studio Home Entertainment, 2001.

Professor Brody, Cats & Dogs, Warner Bros., 2001.

(Uncredited) Himself, Festival in Cannes, Paramount Classics, 2001.

Himself, Beyond Jurassic Park, 2001.

D. H. Banes, Igby Goes Down, Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer, 2002.

Himself and actor, Buckaroo Banzai Declassified, Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer/United Artists Home Entertainment, 2002.

Himself, Igby Goes Down: In Search of Igby, Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer Home Entertainment, 2003.

Himself, Realizing "The Right Stuff," Warner Bros., 2003.

Himself, Abby Singer, 2003.

Bob, Dallas 362, 2003.

Supermarket, Illeanarama, 2004.

Hennessey, The Life Aquatic, Buena Vista, 2004.

Himself, Incident at Loch Ness, 2004.

Film Work:

Executive producer, Perfume, 2001.

Television Appearances; Series:

Lionel "Brown Shoe" Whitney, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, ABC, 1980.

Voices of Duke Nukem and Verminous Skumm, The New Adventures of Captain Planet (animated; also known as Captain Planet and the Planeteers), TBS, 1990.

Host, Future Quest, PBS, 1994.

Jeff Sharpe, My 11:30, 2004.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Ichabod Crane, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, NBC, 1980.

Leo Gibbs, Rehearsal for Murder, CBS, 1982.

Title role, Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter, ABC, 1984.

Jim Watson, The Double Helix (also known as The Race for the Double Helix and Life Story), BBC, then Arts and Entertainment, both 1987.

Wiley, Framed (also known as Real Fakes and Precious), HBO, 1990.

Al Gorky, Lush Life, Showtime, 1994.

Himself, The Story of Bean, BBC, 1997.

Ben Dansmore, War Stories, NBC, 2003.

George Gorton, Spinning Boris, Showtime, 2003.

Television Appearances; Specials:

"Popular Neurotics," American Playhouse, PBS, 1984.

Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes All–Star 50th Anniversary, CBS, 1986.

The 61st Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1989.

Big Bird's Birthday; or, Let Me Eat Cake, PBS, 1991.

Independent Spirit: Close Up, Bravo, 1993.

Presenter, The 4th Annual Environmental Media Awards, TBS, 1994.

Independence Day: The ID4 Invasion, Fox, 1996.

Host, The Sci–Fi Channel's Invasion of Independence Day, Sci–Fi Channel, 1996.

Host, The Making of "Independence Day," 1996.

Presenter, The 22nd Annual People's Choice Awards, 1996.

Presenter, The Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, UPN, 1996.

Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond, UPN, 1996.

Presenter, Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, 1997.

Masters of Fantasy: Stan Winston, Sci–Fi Channel, 1997.

Presenter, The 55th Golden Globe Awards, NBC, 1998.

Screen Actors Guild 4th Annual Awards, TNT, 1998.

Presenter, The Walt Disney Company Presents the 8th American Teacher Awards, The Disney Channel, 1998.

Presenter, The 14th Independent Spirit Awards, Independent Film Channel and Bravo, 1999.

The 5th Annual Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, Fox, 1999.

The AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Stars, CBS, 1999.

Narrator, When Dinosaurs Ruled (documentary), The Learning Channel, 1999.

Himself, From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic (documentary), Fox, 1999.

Narrator/himself, Altman on His Own Terms, 2000.

Himself and various characters, Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell, 2002.

(Uncredited) Himself, Inside the Playboy Mansion (documentary), Arts and Entertainment, 2002.

Voice of White Rabbit, Legend of the Lost Tribe (also known as Robbie the Reindeer in Legend of the Lost Tribe), CBS, 2002.

Presenter, The 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards, NBC, 2003.

Television Appearances; Pilots:

Lionel "Brown Shoe" Whitney, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, ABC, 1980.

Jeff Sharpe, My 11:30, NBC, 2002.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Daggett, "Upward Mobility," Blue Knight, CBS, 1976.

Harry Markham, "Murder on Stage 17," Starsky and Hutch, ABC, 1977.

"Watch the Fur Fly," Laverne and Shirley, ABC, 1982.

Bucke Wolf, "The Three Little Pigs," Faerie Tale Theatre, Showtime, 1982.

"The Absolute Monarch of Ward C," The Devlin Connection, NBC, 1982.

Cogswell, "The Town Where No One Got Off" (also known as "The Town Where No One Stopped"), The Ray Bradbury Theatre, HBO, 1986.

Himself, "Go Go Goldblum," It's Garry Shandling's Show, 1988.

Narrator, "The Real Jurassic Park," Nova, PBS, 1993.

Host, Saturday Night Live, NBC, 1993, 1997.

Himself, "Nothing Personal," The Larry Sanders Show, HBO, 1995.

Voice MacArthur Parker, "A Fish Called Selma," The Simpsons (animated), Fox, 1995.

Late Show with David Letterman, 1997, 1998, 2004.

Himself, "Just the Perfect Blendship," The Larry Sanders Show, HBO, 1998.

"Like Chickens ... Delicious Chickens," Mr. Show with Bob & David (also known as Mr. Show), 1998.

Voice of Jeff, "Sissy Boy," Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist (animated), Comedy Central, 1999.

Himself, Dinner for Five, Independent Film Channel, 2001.

Voice of con artist, "The Substitute Spanish Prisoner," King of the Hill (animated), Fox, 2001.

Himself, Primetime Glick, Comedy Central, 2002.

Himself, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, The WB, 2002.

Leonard Hayes, "The One with the Mugging," Friends, NBC, 2003.

Himself, Richard and Judy, Channel 4, 2003.

Voice of Professor Fermstein, Crank Yankers (animated), Comedy Central, 2003.

Himself, "Run Ronnie Run! The Ronnie Dobbs Story: A Mr. Show Movie," Mr. Show with Bob and David, 2003.

Himself, Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC, 2004.

The View, 2004.

Also appeared in The Howie Mandel Show; Columbo, NBC; Police Woman, NBC.

Television Work; Specials:

Director and (with Tikki Goldberg) producer, Little Surprises (short film), 1995.

Stage Appearances:

(Broadway debut) Citizen of Verona and Milan, Cupid, Whore's page, citizen, soldier, servant, and understudy for the role of Eglamour, Two Gentlemen of Verona, New York Shakespeare Festival, Delacorte Theatre, then St. James Theatre, 1971.

Miguel, El Grande de Coca–Cola, Plaza 9 Theatre, New York City, 1973.

Leonard Brazil, City Sugar, Phoenix Theatre Company, Marymount Manhattan Theatre, New York City, 1978.

Jeff, Mr. Shapiro, Rocco the Shoeshine Boy, talking pictures star, Louis Da Rosa, French crooner, street trumpeter, Fat German, member of big band vocal group, U.S.O. entertainer, Marvin, Israeli dancer, Russian singer, Lee Pyong–Do, and Liverpool pop group drummer, The Moony Shapiro Songbook, Morosco Theatre, New York City, 1981.

Malvolio, Twelfth Night; or, What You Will, New York Shakespeare Festival, Delacorte Theatre/Central Park, 1989.

The Exonerated, 45 Bleecker, New York City, 2002–2004.

Mystery guest, The Play What I Wrote, Lyceum Theatre, New York City, 2003.

Also appeared in Our Last Night, La Mama West, Los Angeles.

RECORDINGS

Video Games:

Goosebumps: Escape from Horrorland, 1996.

Voice, Independence Day, 1997.

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

American Film, September, 1990, p. 56.

Entertainment Weekly, May 10, 1996, p. S10.

People Weekly, May 11, 1992, p. 129; June 23, 1997, p. 130; August 5, 1996, p. 120.

GOLDBLUM, Jeff

Nationality: American. Born: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 22 October 1952. Education: Courses in drama at Carnegie Mellon University; student of Sanford Meisner; teacher of acting at Playhouse West in Hollywood, California. Family: Married 1) Patricia Gaul, 1980 (divorced 1985); 2) Geena Davis, 1987 (divorced 1990). Career: Began acting career in theatre appearing with the New York Shakespeare Festival and Phoenix Theatre Co.; career highlights include voice-over/narration for commercials, documentaries, and animation; jazz pianist. Awards: National Association of Theater Owners, Star of Tomorrow Award,1983; Saturn Award, Best Actor, for The Fly, 1987. Address: 8033 Sunset Boulevard, #367, Los Angeles, CA 90046, U.S.A.

Films as Actor:

1974

Death Wish (Winner) (as Attacker #1); California Split (Altman) (as Lloyd Harris)

1975

Nashville (Altman) (as Tricycle Man)

1976

Next Stop, Greenwhich Village (Mazorsky) (as Clyde Baxter); Special Delivery (Wendkos) (as Snake); St. Ives (Thompson) (as Hood #3)

1977

Annie Hall (Allen) (Party Guest); Between the Lines (Silver) (as Max Arloft); The Sentinel (Winner) (as Jack)

1978

Thank God It's Friday (Klane) (Tony Di Marco); Remember My Name (Rudolph) (as Mr. Nudd); Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Kaufman) (as Jack Bellicec)

1980

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Schellerup—for TV) (as Ichabod Crane)

1981

Threshold (Pearce) (as Aldo Gehring)

1983

The Big Chill (Kasdan) (as Michael); The Right Stuff (Kaufman) (as Recruiter)

1984

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension (Richter) (as New Jersey); Into the Night (Landis) (Ed Okin); Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (Johnson—for TV) (as Ernie Kovacs)

1985

Transylvania 6–5000 (DeLuca) (as Jack Harrison); Silverado (Kasdan) (as Slick)

1986

The Fly (Cronenberg) (as Seth Bundle)

1987

Beyond Therapy (Altman) (as Bruce); Race for the Double Helix (Jackson—for TV) (as Jim Watson)

1988

Vibes (Kwapis) (as Nick Deezy)

1989

Earth Girls Are Easy (Temple) (as Mac); The Tall Guy (Smith) (as Dexter King)

1990

Mr. Frost (Setbon) (as Mr. Frost); El Sueño del mono Ioco (Twisted Obsession) (Trueba) (as Dan Gillis); Framed (Parisot—for TV) (as Wiley)

1992

The Favor, The Watch and The Very Big Fish (Lewn) (as Pianist); Shooting Elizabeth (Taylor) (as Howard Pidgeon); The Player (Altman) (as himself); Father and Sons (Mones) (as Max); Deep Cover (Duke) (as David Jason)

1993

Jurassic Park (Spielberg) (as Ian Malcolm); Lush Life (Elias) (as Al Gorky)

1995

Nine Months (Columbus) (Sean Fletcher); Powder (Saluka) (as Donald Ripley); Hideaway (Leonard) (as Hatch Harrison)

1996

Mad Dog Time (Bishop) (as Mickey Holliday); Independence Day (Emmerich) (as David Levinson); The Great White Hype (Hudin) (as Mitchell Kane)

1997

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Spielberg) (as Ian Malcolm)

1998

Holy Man (Herek) (Ricky Hayman); The Prince of Egypt (Chapman/Wells/Hickner) (as voice of Aaron)

2000

One of the Hollywood Ten (Francis—for TV) (as Herbert Biberman); Chain of Fools (Taktor) (as Avnet); Auggie Rose (Tabak) (as John C. Nolan); Perfume (Rymer); Like Cats & Dogs (Guterman) (as Brody)

Films as Director:

1996

Little Surprises

Publications

On GOLDBLUM: books—

Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, 1946—Present, New York, 1985.

On GOLDBLUM: articles—

Pond, Steve, "Dateline Hollywood: Fear of 'Fly' Horror; Too-Graphic Scenes Cut before Film's Opening," in Washington Post, 21 August 1986.

Mathews, Jack, "Goldblum's 'Fly' May Land in Oscar Circle," in Los Angeles Times, 27 August 1986.

"Stuart Cornfield: The Producer of The Elephant Man and The Fly Walks a Fine Line between Classic and Camp," in American Film (Hollywood), April 1987.

Seidenberg, Robert, "The Tall Guy: Jeff Goldblum Plays the Fool," in American Film (Hollywood), September 1990.

Blair, Iain, "Roland Emmerich: The Visionary Director Takes on Effects, Budgets and Alien Invasions for Fox's Independence Day," in Film and Video (Los Angeles), July 1996.

Guthman, Edward, "Independence Day Helps Free Goldblum Image, Playing Misfits Locked Him out of Wider Frame," in San Francisco Chronicle, 5 July 1996.

Smith, Steven, "An Engaging Enigma; Jeff Goldblum, Who's Back for Another Bout with Dinosaurs in The Lost World: Jurassic Park Talks about Life and Love," in Los Angeles Times, 22 May 1997.

Lee, Luaine, "Dances with Dinosaurs—Lost World Star Jeff Goldblum Sinks His Teeth into Sci-Fi Roles," in Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service (Universal City), 23 May 1997.

Svetkey, Ben, "The Lizard King; Jeff Goldblum Has Already Headlined in the Two Top-Grossing Films of All Time. If This Summer's The Lost World Turns out to Be Another Prehistoric Powerhouse, The Actor May Evolve into a Bona Fide Brontosize Star," in Entertainment Weekly, 23 May 1997.

Charles, Nick, "Jeff Goldblum's Extinct Advantage Jurassic Dominance Puts Him on Top in Franchise-Film Era," in Daily News (New York), 25 May 1997.

Brownstein, Bill, "L.A.'s Billion-Dollar Baby: Jeff Goldblum Is Bankable; You Can Bank on That," in The Gazette (Montreal), 9 June 1997.

Rowe, Douglas J., "Star Watch: Jeff Goldblum Is Having a Monstrously Good Time," in Associated Press, 13 June 1997.

Hoban, Phoebe, "The Outsider as Hollywood Favorite," in New York Times, 15 June 1997.

Riviere, Francesca, "Blinded with Science: With Two Starring Roles in Two of the Most Successful Films Ever Made, Jeff Goldblum Has Every Right to Be Happy," in Smoke, Summer, 1997.

Leydon, Joe, "Trio of Thesps on Board Co-Prod Hollywood Ten," in Daily Variety, 4 February 2000.

To contend that American actor Jeff Goldblum is possibly the hardest working performer in Hollywood might raise an eyebrow or two. However, a quick perusal of his biography reveals a remarkably long and respectable career in stage, television, and motion pictures, and a list of film credits reminiscent of the old-time movie stars of Hollywood's golden age.

Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Goldblum confirms in Entertainment Weekly that both his parents "toyed with show business." He was smitten with acting fever in the 1960s when as a starry-eyed young boy, he spent many hours at the neighborhood picture show. These were the days when movie houses were motion picture palaces with balconies were filled with the noise of unescorted kids; the time of Cinema-Scope epics Godzilla and endof-the-world disaster tales very much like the ones in which Goldblum would eventually earn featured roles. The experience affected him profoundly, he confessed: "All I know is that early on, it was this wild, feverish kind of call for me, I was like, 'I've got to do this."'

He received training in acting, studying with the legendary Sanford Meisner at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse. He honed his skills in live theatre appearing with the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Phoenix Theatre Company, and others. In 1974, he made his first film appearance as a crazed rapist in the New York vigilante tale Death Wish. This role presents quite a contrast for a man who in real life is seen by many and described by Svetky in Entertainment Weekly as a charming, "smart, likeable oddball." Indeed, Goldblum has earned a reputation as being an outsider of sorts, a eccentric who prefers to wear black and is known for his scattered speech—quirks that show up in one way or another in many of his film characters, rendering even decidedly small roles more memorable.

Throughout the 1970s Goldblum made creditable appearances in such films as Robert Altman's well-received Nashville (1975), Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977), Thank Good It's Friday (1978), and the remake of the 1950s horror classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978).

In 1980, Goldblum co-starred in the short-lived television drama, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe. The detective drama, as described by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, featured entertainer Ben Vereen as Lionel "E. L. Turner" (Tenspeed), a "charming hustler of disguise" and Goldblum as "Lionel Whitney" (Brown Shoe) as Turner's tonied and "somewhat naive foil." The two men ran a detective agency in the swank Sunset Boulevard section of Los Angeles. The program garnered praise but not enough ratings points and was cancelled after only a few episodes. Among other film productions of that decade, Goldblum appeared in the made-for-television movie, Rehearsal for Murder (1982), The Right Stuff (1983) The Big Chill (1983), and the 1984 cult classic, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension. He earned the leading role as pioneer television comic Ernie Kovacs in the television movie, Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (1984).

Goldblum attracted public attention with his portrayal of the "slightly crazed scientist" in the 1986 remake of the 1950s horror film, The Fly. He endured five-hour make-up sessions to coordinate his metamorphosis into an insect. ..".Goldblum has created one of the most sympathetic man-monsters ever seen on screen," wrote Jack Matthews of the Los Angeles Times, "and the best work under this much latex since John Hurt's Oscar-nominated performance in The Elephant Man."

Goldblum played another scientist to much acclaim in 1996 when he was cast as Dr. Ian Malcolm in the Steven Spielberg directed blockbuster hit of the year, Jurassic Park. Though Goldblum had portrayed scientists many times, he suffused this role with personal touches. Instead of wearing a white lab coat and khaki trousers, Goldblum donned gold chains, biker boots, wrap-around shades, and a black, leather jacket. Goldblum oozed suavity and coolness as the consummate "anti-hero," noted Francesca Rievere in Smoke. The role catapulted him into true stardom.

Goldblum followed this success with another blockbuster hit in 1997. Goldblum, alongside popular actor and rap singer Will Smith, battles aliens who seek control of the Earth in Independence Day. The film is replete with a magnificent display of computer-generated special effects but manages to tell an interesting and compelling story. Like Jurassic Park, Independence Day surpassed box office records to become one of the highest earning films of all time. Therefore, in the annals of American film history, notes Svetsky, Jeff Goldblum holds the distinction of having starred in two of top-grossing motion pictures of the twentieth century.

As the pages of the calendar open to the second century in the history of filmmaking, one can only surmise what the legacy will be for Goldblum who is young and presumably has many decades of filmmaking ahead. His recent projects include production of a film about the Hollywood Ten, the true story of McCarthy-era blacklisted director, Herbert Biberman. And, there are hints of a third sequel to Jurassic Park, a fitting undertaking for a well-established and popular actor seen as perhaps as one of Hollywood's more unique personalities.

—Pamala S. Deane

GOLDBLUM, JEFF

GOLDBLUM, JEFF (1952– ), U.S. film actor. Goldblum started on the New York stage, but soon went to Hollywood. Goldblum played small roles in such films as California Split, Nashville, Next Stop Greenwich Village, and Annie Hall, before landing his first leading role in a remake of the classic sci-fi adventure Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). Goldblum was soon recognized for the off-beat authenticity he gave his characters in such films as The Big Chill (1983), The Right Stuff (1983), Into the Night (1985), Silverado (1985), The Fly (1986), Beyond Therapy (1987), Vibes (1988), The Tall Guy (1989), Earth Girls Are Easy (1989), Mister Frost (1990), The Player (1992), Deep Cover (1992), and Fathers and Sons (1992). He appeared in Jurassic Park (1993) and Independence Day (1996), two of the most financially successful movies ever made. Later films include Igby Goes Down (2002) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004).

[Jonathan Licht]