| Bruce Willis  AKA Walter Bruce Willis
Born: 19-Mar-1955
Birthplace: Idar-Oberstein, Germany
Gender: Male
Religion: Protestant
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Party Affiliation: See Note [1] Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Die Hard Bruce Willis was born on a U.S. military base in West Germany. He came to America at the age of two, when his father was discharged from service and his family settled in New Jersey. As a boy, Willis was a stutterer, a speech impediment he overcame through acting -- with study and rehearsal, the stuttering disappeared, and eventually it faded away off-stage as well. After high school, he worked as a truck driver and did other odd jobs, before deciding to go to college and make something of himself. He briefly studied drama at Montclair State College, but dropped out when it bored him. Willis took a slummy apartment in New York, where he worked odd jobs. He shared an apartment with another struggling actor, Linda Fiorentino, and made his film debut as an extra in The First Deadly Sin, with Frank Sinatra in his last leading role.
He replaced Ed Harris in Sam Shepard's off-Broadway play Fool For Love in 1984, then flew to Los Angeles when he thought had an inside track on a part in Madonna's Desperately Seeking Susan. He didn't get the role, but ended up co-starred in Moonlighting, opposite Cybill Shepherd. His sparring with Shepherd made the series a big hit, and when the show ended after four years, Willis was the big star, Shepherd the afterthought. He has gone on to star in blockbusters like Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, Armageddon, and The Sixth Sense. He has also starred in some of Hollywood's biggest bombs in recent decades, including The Bonfire of the Vanities, Hudson Hawk, The Last Boy Scout, North, and Billy Bathgate.
Willis was fired as celebrity spokesman for Seagram's when he was arrested for drunken driving. In 1987, he was arrested for disturbing the peace and assaulting a police officer when a party at his home got out of hand. Charges were dropped after Willis apologized to police and his neighbors.
He is a co-founder of Planet Hollywood, and loudly supports Republican candidates. He was one of Hollywood's most outspoken supporters of the 2003 war with Iraq, and visited the troops there, offering a $1 million bounty for the soldier who captured Saddam Hussein. When Hussein was captured, it turned out that military rules prevent troops from collecting such a reward.
After a long, high-profile marriage to movie star Demi Moore, the couple divorced in 2000 but remain friends and are frequently seen together. Like most of Hollywood's "it" boys, Willis has a band (The Accelerators) and considers himself a rock'n'roller. His 1987 cover of "Respect Yourself" made the top ten.
[1] "I'm always being accused of being a Hollywood Republican -- but I'm not! I have just as many Democratic ideas as Republican ones." New York Daily News (Sep-2006)
Father: David Willis (mechanic)
Mother: Marlene
Brother: Robert Willis (b. 1959, d. 2001 pancreatic cancer)
Brother: David Willis (producer)
Sister: Flo Willis
Girlfriend: Linda Fiorentino (actress, cohabited late 70s to early 80s)
Wife: Demi Moore (actress, m. 21-Nov-1987, div. 18-Oct-2000, three daughters)
Daughter: Rumer Willis (actress, b. 16-Aug-1988)
Daughter: Scout Larue Willis (b. 20-Jul-1991)
Daughter: Tallulah Belle Willis (actress, b. 3-Feb-1994)
Girlfriend: Maria Bravo Rosado (model, dated 1998-2000)
Girlfriend: Rachel Hunter (model, dated 2001)
Girlfriend: Alisha Klass (pornstar, dated 2001)
Girlfriend: Eva Jasanovska (model, dated 2002)
Girlfriend: Emily Sandberg (model, dated early '00s)
Girlfriend: Nadia Bjorlin (actress, dated early '00s)
Girlfriend: Brooke Burns (actress, dated 2003-04)
High School: Penns Grove High School, Penns Grove, NJ (1973)
University: Montclair State College (dropped out)
Planet Hollywood roughly 2% ownership
Endorsement of Seagram & Sons 1986-88
Endorsement of Visa 2001
Emmy Moonlighting, 1987
Hollywood Walk of Fame (16-Oct-2006)
Driving While Intoxicated
Assault talked back to a cop, May-1997
Wedding: Eddie Murphy and Nicole Mitchell (1993)
Risk Factors: Stuttering
TELEVISION
Moonlighting David Addison, Jr. (1985-89)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Live Free or Die Hard (26-May-2007)
Perfect Stranger (10-Apr-2007)
Grindhouse (6-Apr-2007)
Fast Food Nation (19-May-2006)
Over the Hedge (29-Apr-2006) [VOICE]
16 Blocks (1-Mar-2006)
Lucky Number Slevin (24-Feb-2006)
Alpha Dog (27-Jan-2006)
Sin City (1-Apr-2005)
Hostage (11-Mar-2005)
The Whole Ten Yards (7-Apr-2004)
Rugrats Go Wild! (01-Jun-2003) [VOICE]
Tears of the Sun (3-Mar-2003)
Grand Champion (Mar-2002)
Hart's War (15-Feb-2002)
Bandits (12-Oct-2001)
Unbreakable (14-Nov-2000)
The Kid (25-Jun-2000)
The Whole Nine Yards (17-Feb-2000)
The Story of Us (13-Oct-1999)
The Sixth Sense (2-Aug-1999)
Breakfast of Champions (15-May-1999)
The Siege (6-Nov-1998)
Armageddon (1-Jul-1998)
Mercury Rising (1-Apr-1998)
The Jackal (14-Nov-1997)
The Fifth Element (9-May-1997)
Beavis and Butthead Do America (20-Dec-1996) [VOICE]
Last Man Standing (20-Sep-1996)
Twelve Monkeys (27-Dec-1995)
Die Hard: With a Vengeance (19-May-1995)
Nobody's Fool (23-Dec-1994)
Pulp Fiction (14-Oct-1994)
Color of Night (19-Aug-1994)
North (22-Jul-1994) Narrator
Striking Distance (17-Sep-1993)
Death Becomes Her (31-Jul-1992)
The Player (3-Apr-1992) Himself
The Last Boy Scout (13-Dec-1991)
Billy Bathgate (1-Nov-1991)
Hudson Hawk (24-May-1991)
Mortal Thoughts (19-Apr-1991)
The Bonfire of the Vanities (21-Dec-1990)
Look Who's Talking Too (14-Dec-1990) [VOICE]
Die Hard 2 (4-Jul-1990)
Look Who's Talking (13-Oct-1989) [VOICE]
In Country (7-Sep-1989)
Die Hard (15-Jul-1988)
Sunset (29-Apr-1988)
Blind Date (27-Mar-1987)
Official Website:
http://www.brucewillis.com/
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