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 Willis at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Born | Walter Bruce Willis March 19, 1955 |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1978–2022 |
| Works | |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5, including Rumer |
| Awards | Full list |
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series Moonlighting (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero after his portrayal of John McClane in the Die Hard franchise (1988–2013) and other roles.[1][2]
Willis's other credits include The Last Boy Scout (1991), Death Becomes Her (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), 12 Monkeys (1995), The Fifth Element (1997), Armageddon (1998), The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), Sin City (2005), Red (2010), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), Looper (2012) and Red 2 (2013). In the later years of his career, Willis starred in many low-budget direct-to-video films, which were poorly received. In March 2022, Willis's family announced that he was retiring after being diagnosed with aphasia, which affects language cognition. In February 2023, the family announced he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
As a singer, Willis released his debut album, The Return of Bruno, in 1987, followed by two more albums in 1989 and 2001. He made his Broadway debut in the stage adaptation of Misery in 2015. Willis has received various accolades throughout his career, including a Golden Globe Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two People's Choice Awards. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. Films featuring Willis have grossed between US$2.64 billion and US$3.05 billion at North American box offices, making him in 2010 the eighth-highest-grossing leading actor.
Early life
Walter Bruce Willis[3] was born in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany, on March 19, 1955.[4][5] His mother, Marlene,[6] was German, from Kassel.[4] His father, David Willis, was an American soldier. Willis has a younger sister, Florence, and two younger brothers, Robert (deceased) and David.[7] After being discharged from the military in 1957, his father relocated the family to his hometown of Carneys Point, New Jersey.[8] Willis has described his background as a "long line of blue-collar people".[8] His mother worked in a bank and his father was a welder, master mechanic, and factory worker.[3]
Willis, who spoke with a stutter,[8] attended Penns Grove High School, where his schoolmates nicknamed him "Buck-Buck".[3][9][10] He joined the drama club, found that acting on stage reduced his stutter, and was eventually elected student council president.[3]
After graduating from high school in 1973, Willis worked as a security guard at the Salem Nuclear Power Plant[11][12] and transported crew members at the DuPont Chambers Works factory in Deepwater, New Jersey.[12] After working as a private investigator (a role he would later play in the comedy-drama series Moonlighting and the action-comedy film The Last Boy Scout), he turned to acting. He enrolled in the Drama Program at Montclair State University,[13] where he was cast in a production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He left school in 1977 and moved to New York City, where he supported himself in the early 1980s as a bartender at the Manhattan art bar Kamikaze[14][15] while living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood.[16]
1980s: Die Hard and rise to fame
Willis was cast as David Addison Jr. in the television series Moonlighting (1985–1989), competing against 3,000 other actors for the position.[17] His starring role in Moonlighting, opposite Cybill Shepherd, helped to establish him as a comedic actor. During the show's five seasons, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy.[8] During the height of the show's success, beverage maker Seagram hired Willis as the pitchman for their Golden Wine Cooler products.[18] The advertising campaign paid Willis US$5–7 million over two years. Willis chose not to renew his contract when he decided to stop drinking alcohol in 1988.[19]
Willis had his first lead role in a feature film in the 1987 Blake Edwards film Blind Date, with Kim Basinger and John Larroquette.[8] Edwards cast him again to play the real-life cowboy actor Tom Mix in Sunset (1988). However, it was his unexpected turn in the film Die Hard (1988) as John McClane that catapulted him to movie star and action hero status.[8] He performed most of his own stunts in the film,[20] and the film grossed $138,708,852 worldwide.[21] Following his success with Die Hard, Willis had a leading role in the drama In Country as Vietnam veteran Emmett Smith and also provided the voice for a talking baby in Look Who's Talking (1989) and the sequel Look Who's Talking Too (1990).[citation needed]
In the late 1980s, Willis enjoyed moderate success as a recording artist, recording an album of pop-blues, The Return of Bruno, which included the hit single "Respect Yourself" featuring the Pointer Sisters.[22] The LP was promoted by a Spinal Tap–like rockumentary parody featuring scenes of Willis performing at famous events including Woodstock. He released a version of the Drifters song "Under the Boardwalk" as a second single; it reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, but was less successful in the US. Willis returned to the recording studio several times.[23]
An unidentified friend accompanied Welch on the visit, and they held hands outside the salon.
The Post reached out to the beauty lounge for comment Thursday.
Welch’s rep confirmed her death Wednesday in a statement to the Post, saying, “Raquel Welch, the legendary bombshell actress of film, television and stage, passed away peacefully early this morning after a brief illness.”
“The 82-year-old actress burst into Hollywood in her initial roles in [‘One Million Years B.C.’] and ‘Fantastic Voyage.’ Her career spanned over 50 years starring in over 30 films and 50 television series and appearances. The Golden Globe winner, in more recent years, was involved in a very successful line of wigs. Raquel leaves behind her two children, son Damon Welch and her daughter, Tahnee Welch.”
A cause of death has not been announced.
Welch appeared in “Bedazzled,” “Myra Breckinridge” and a memorable episode of “Seinfeld” — but it was her turn in “Fantastic Voyage” that launched her career.
The Chicago native won a Golden Globe for her role in the 1973 film “The Three Musketeers” — and she acted in several TV shows, including the ’90s sitcom “Spin City.”
She told The Post in 2013 that one of her favorite gigs was playing Abby Lassiter in the Michael J. Fox comedy.
“I was Richard Kind’s mother,” Welch recalled. “That was the joke. Like, This is your mother? What happened?’ Richard is a genius comedian. All I had to be was straight-forward. But I did get to wear this gorgeous Oscar de la Renta outfit.”
Welch credited her work ethic for her success.
“I just have a lot of energy, and I knew I had to use it,” she noted to The Post. “I wanted to be in the performing arts. I didn’t think that reality was all that interesting.”
Welch added: “The real world was fraught with disappointment. I thought it would be so much more fun if you could be dancing and singing. The way that I thought of the movies was a completely different bag of beans than it is today. It was really kind of an art form removed from reality.”
Her final onscreen credits came in 2017. In later years, she launched a successful wig line.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and legendary beauty, Raquel Welch. She worked with us at HairUWear for 25 years and has been more than just a business partner,” Michael Napolitano, president and CEO of HairUWear, told The Post in a statement Thursday.
“She was and still is an inspiration. We are honored to keep her memory, passion and timeless beauty alive through her legacy of Raquel Welch Wigs.”
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