Kurt Vogel Russell was born March 17, 1951 in Springfield, Massachusetts to Bing Russell, a baseball player who would later play the deputy on Bonanza for 14 seasons. Kurt's first role was in a movie starring musician/actor Elvis Presley called It Happened at the World's Fair. Russell was the untamable scamp who kicked The King in the shins. Kurt was only 10 years old, but he signed to Disney and made numerous Disney films, including The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. Kurt also starred in the TV series The Travels of Jamie McPheeters.

Kurt would tire of acting and followed his love, America's Pastime. Kurt played for the San Diego Padres and later for the California Angels. While playing for the AA Angels in El Paso, Texas, Kurt Russel tore his rotator cuff while turning a double play. The injury caused Kurt to retire from baseball and pursue his initial career as an actor. Kurt's first performance back was to play as The King in a TV movie for ABC, directed by John Carpenter. Kurt would portray Elvis, or at least his voice, in the Tom Hanks classic Forrest Gump.

Kurt would proceed to keep close ties with John Carpenter and the two would work together on several projects together including Escape from New York, The Thing (no not Ben Grimm]), and the comedy "Used Cars," written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemekis.

In 1984, Kurt met his hetero lifemate Goldy Hawn on the set of Swing Shift which did not perform well in the box office, however their partnership flourished. Not quite married, but not single by any means, Goldie and Kurt have a son named Wyatt and remain together living alongside fellow family members.

Would then go on to make one of the best movies of all time, Big Trouble in Little China. Containing everything from Chewbacca's retarded younger brother to 3 magical bad ass ninja's, one of whom cam make himself blow up like Rosie O'Donnell at an all you can eat buffett. Kurt plays your sterotypical American tough guy and chases after a girl with green eyes before the scary long haired old guy could force her to watch pokeman episodes!. Maybe not exactly right, but still a good cult movie anyway.

In the early 90's Kurt starred in a series of movie that would dominate in the box office. In Backdraft he played fire-fighter Lieutenant Stephen 'Bull' McCaffrey and spent time riding along with Chicago Fire Dept's Squad 5 in preparation of the role. Following this suspenseful thriller was a classic retelling fo a western classic. Although I think Kurt looks a bit silly in that mustache, the movie was excellent, par for director Ron Howard, not to mention the uber excellence of one Doc Holliday. And after the west, came the really far west, the egyptian sci-fi action flick Stargate. A meld of Indiana Jones, science fiction, and a proto-matrix. In Stargate, acheologists find a large ancient gateway/archway type object, then the US Government figures out how to use it and sends Colonel Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neil, as well as Dr. Daniel Jackson to a futuristic Egyptian culture chilling on a nearby planet. Hilarity ensues, alongside a love story and crazy scifi-Egyptian stuff and gunfights.

In between Backdraft and Tombstone Kurt would make the randomness that is Captain Ron. A family, headed by Martin Short get a yacht, which Captain Ron captains. Here, hilarity actually ensues.

Kurt co-produced and co-wrote Escape from L.A. the hipped up quasi-remake of Escape from New York, featuring the return of Snake Plissken the 98 degrees of action stars. In his next movie, Kurt would play a husband who's wife is kidnapped by some nogoodnicks, and sets out to find her. No hilarity, but no tears either. In 1998 Kurt "starred" in Soldier. I put it in quotes because Kurt's dialogue was rather limited. Not only was the dialogue small but so was the earnings at the box office. ouch.

His most recent movie (as of this writing; mid-2002) was the Tom Cruise-driven Vanilla Sky. The movie, an adaptation of the 1997 Spanish film Abre los Ojos, also starred Cameron Diaz. *scwhing*.

sources:

http://www.imdb.com
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0111282
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Russell,+Kurt
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0101393
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0108358
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/6468/page2.html
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0103924
http://search.biography.com/print_record.pl?id=22534

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