James Brolin

James Brolin
Brolin in 1974
Born	Craig Kenneth Bruderlin (1940-07-18) July 18, 1940 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	James M. Brolin Craig J. Brolin
Education	University High School
Alma mater	Santa Monica City College University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1960–present
Spouses	Jane Cameron Agee ​ ​ (m. 1966; div. 1984)​ Jan Smithers ​ ​ (m. 1986; div. 1995)​ Barbra Streisand ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	3, including Josh
Relatives	Eden Brolin (granddaughter)
Awards	Hollywood Walk of Fame

Craig Kenneth Bruderlin (born July 18, 1940), known professionally as James Brolin, is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globes and an Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 27, 1998. Brolin is the father of actor Josh Brolin and the husband of Barbra Streisand.

Brolin is best known for his TV roles such as Steven Kiley on Marcus Welby, M.D.(1969–1976), Peter McDermott on Hotel (1983–1988), John Short on Life in Pieces (2015–2019), and the Narrator on Sweet Tooth and his film roles such as Sgt. Jerome K. Weber in Skyjacked (1972), John Blane in Westworld (1973), General Ralph Landry in Traffic (2000), Jack Barnes in Catch Me If You Can (2002), and Emperor Zurg in the 2022 Toy Story spin-off film Lightyear.

Early life

Brolin was born Craig Kenneth Bruderlin in Westwood Village, Los Angeles, California. The eldest of two brothers and two sisters, he is the son of Helen Sue (née Mansur) (1916–2014), a housewife, and Henry Hurst Bruderlin (1911–2002), a building contractor. As a young child, Brolin was interested in animals and in model aeroplanes, which he began building and flying when he was 10. As a teenaged filmgoer in the mid-1950s, Brolin was particularly fascinated with actor James Dean, and he began shooting 8 mm films. When his parents invited a director over to his family's house for dinner before auditioning, Brolin met another fellow actor and classmate, Ryan O'Neal, who was about a year younger than Brolin. The two clicked and later enrolled in University High School located in West Los Angeles. However, Brolin's own acting exposed his stifling shyness. His assurance grew when O'Neal invited him to a casting agency. Brolin graduated from high school in 1958, and his family was already encouraging him to become an actor like O'Neal.

Career

Early career

Brolin attended Santa Monica City College and studied drama at the University of California Los Angeles before signing a contract with 20th Century Fox in 1960. At Fox, he started out as a contract player in Sandra Dee movies. Brolin appeared on an episode of Bus Stop in 1961. The part led to parts in other television productions such as Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; Margie; Love, American Style; Twelve O'Clock High; and The Long, Hot Summer. He made three guest appearances on the popular 1960s series Batman, alongside Adam West and Burt Ward, as well as roles in The Virginian, and Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law alongside Arthur Hill and Lee Majors. He also had a recurring role on the short-lived television series The Monroes.

At age 20, Brolin changed his surname from "Bruderlin" to "Brolin" to become James Brolin ("Bruder" is the German word for "brother"). While in school struggling to make it big, he met actor Clint Eastwood. Brolin also had small roles in several films including Take Her, She's Mine (1963), Dear Brigitte (1965), Von Ryan's Express (1965), and Fantastic Voyage (1966). The following year, his first big role was in The Cape Town Affair (1967), but it did not receive any success at the box office. Brolin was ultimately fired by 20th Century Fox. In 1969, he co-starred in the TV series Marcus Welby, M.D., portraying a doctor.

Film

In the 1970s, Brolin was 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and began appearing in leading roles in films, including Skyjacked (1972) and Westworld (1973). By the mid-1970s, he was a regular leading man in films, starring in Gable and Lombard (1976), The Car (1977), Capricorn One (1978, in which he costarred with Elliott Gould, Streisand's ex-husband), The Amityville Horror (1979), Night of the Juggler (1980), and High Risk (1981). When Roger Moore expressed his desire to vacate the role of James Bond, Brolin undertook screen tests to replace him in Octopussy (1983). It has been reported that not only were these successful, but Brolin was about to move to London to begin work on the film when the producers persuaded Moore to continue.

In 1985, Brolin parodied his near-hiring as James Bond in the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure. In a film within the film, Brolin merged the characters of Bond and Pee-wee Herman, the "real" version of whom was played by Paul Reubens. He is referred to as "PW" and the role of Pee-wee's girlfriend "Dottie" is played by Morgan Fairchild.

Television

Brolin as Steven Kiley
in Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969)

While contracted to Fox, Brolin had three small roles on the television series Batman, in the episodes "The Cat and the Fiddle", "The Catwoman Goeth", and "Ring Around the Riddler".

In 1968, Brolin transferred to Universal Studios, where he auditioned for a co-starring role opposite seasoned actor Robert Young in the popular medical drama Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969–1976). The series was one of the top-rated television shows of the day. Brolin became widely known for his portrayal of youthful, skilled assistant physician Dr. Steven Kiley. The chemistry between Young & Brolin clicked, and even came to attract young women for its medical interest throughout the show's run. In its first season in 1970, Brolin won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role and was subsequently nominated thrice more. He was also nominated for Golden Globes three times for Best Supporting Actor and won twice between 1971 and 1973. Brolin also starred in the television films Short Walk to Daylight (1972) and Trapped (1973). He and his first wife Jane also appeared on several episodes of the 1970s game show Tattletales.

In 1983, Brolin returned to television to star in another series and teamed with producer Aaron Spelling's prime-time soap opera, Hotel, for ABC. On Hotel, Brolin played Peter McDermott, a hotel manager.

For Hotel, Brolin was nominated twice for Golden Globes between 1983 and 1984 for Best Performance By an Actor in a TV Series but lost both times. He would also eventually serve as a director on the show. On one episode of Hotel, Brolin invited his future wife Jan Smithers to guest-star on the show as the writers suggested that they develop a storyline for them, as Brolin was going through a difficult divorce at the time. By 1988, after five seasons, Hotel was about to close its doors for good and the show was cancelled. That same year, his co-star, Nathan Cook had died of an allergic reaction to penicillin, and Brolin along with the rest of the cast attended Cook's funeral.

Actress Connie Sellecca said of Brolin's on-screen chemistry with her on Hotel, "I remember instantly feeling comfortable with Jim, and that's the thing that Jim has as to women, most women, they need to feel safe, and Jim gets that." Sellecca also said, "To have him in a different role and have that confidence, it was a wonderful experience." After the show's cancellation, Sellecca continues to be good friends with Brolin. In 1992, her mentor was in attendance at her wedding to John Tesh.

As the new decade approached, Brolin starred in both Angel Falls for CBS and Extreme for ABC, although neither matched the popularity of his earlier series.

In 1997, Brolin's luck changed with the syndicated television series Pensacola: Wings of Gold. He played the role of Lt. Col. Bill "Raven" Kelly, whose job was to teach young Marines in a special unit, before being promoted to work with a group of talented Marine fighter pilots. Brolin served as an executive producer and director on the series. However, the show was cancelled in 2000 after 66 episodes due to low ratings.

In 1997, Brolin also hosted Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, a television series that shows five stories which have to do with the paranormal and supernatural. Jonathan Frakes took his place after the first season of the show. That same year, Brolin guest-starred on Roseanne. In Part 1 ("Lanford's Elite"), Roseanne & Jackie go to a luncheon at the Lanford Country Club, where they meet the son of their old boss Edgar Wellman Jr. (Brolin) of the Wellman Plastics factory. It appears that the factory is in need of financial help and Roseanne's money could save the factory. In Part 2 ("Some Enchanted Merger"), once the Wellman Plastics buyout is completed, Roseanne is at a loss for what to do when a mutual attraction springs between herself and Wellman.

Since 2000

Brolin has had a number of supporting roles in major cinema releases since 2000. These include (amongst others) the role of General Ralph Landry, outgoing director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy in Steven Soderbergh's Oscar-winning Traffic (2000); as Jack Barnes in Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can (2002); a minor role in the 2003 comedy A Guy Thing; as philandering husband Robert Hatch in the 2006 comedy The Alibi (released in the UK as Lies and Alibis); as Jack Jennings in the 2007 film The American Standards; as TV network anchor Frank Harris in Richard Shepard's The Hunting Party (2007); and as Brian in Joel Hopkins' 2008 film Last Chance Harvey with Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman.

In 2002, Brolin played Governor Robert Ritchie of Florida, the Republican opponent of President Jed Bartlet, on the TV series The West Wing.

In late 2003, Brolin portrayed Ronald Reagan in the television film The Reagans. The film was originally meant to air on CBS, but after creative differences, scripts controversies, and rising costs, CBS passed on the film, and it aired on cable channel Showtime, also owned by Viacom. The role earned Brolin his fifth Emmy Award nomination, as well as his fifth Golden Globe nomination.

In 2005, Brolin guest starred on the TV series Monk as casino owner Daniel Thorn. In 2006, Brolin appeared in the A&E Network film Wedding Wars, playing an anti-gay marriage governor. In 2008, Brolin guest starred on Law & Order: SVU as astronaut Col. Dick Finley. The same year, Brolin also starred in the lead role in the Sci-Fi Channel film Lost City Raiders.

Brolin appeared in the 2009 comedy film The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard. He also appeared in a 2009 episode of Psych, titled "High Noon-ish", where Brolin played the sheriff of a tourist-attracting "Wild West" town. The episode was in part a parody of the 1973 film Westworld, in which he had starred.

Brolin has played Richard Castle's mysterious father in two episodes of ABC's Castle, in 2013 and 2014. He appeared in the NBC sitcom Community as William Winger, Jeff Winger's estranged father.

From 2015 until 2019, Brolin played the role of John, the family patriarch, in the CBS comedy Life in Pieces.

In his first role in an animated film, Brolin portrayed Emperor Zurg in the 2022 Toy Story spin-off film Lightyear.

Personal life

Brolin with Barbra Streisand (2013)

Brolin has been married three times and has three children.

In 1966, Brolin married Jane Cameron Agee, a wildlife activist and aspiring actress at Twentieth Century Fox, 12 days after they first met. The couple had their first child, Josh, in 1968, and a second child in 1972. They were divorced in 1984. Jane died in a car accident on February 13, 1995, a day after Josh's 27th birthday. Josh said on the October 14, 2008, episode of the Late Show with David Letterman that his parents met on the TV series Batman, where his mother was assistant casting director.

In the late 1970s, Brolin started a brief but relatively successful career in sports car racing. After success in several celebrity auto races, he entered the 1979 24 Hours Nürburgring as part of the AMC Spirit team. Brolin's two-car team, which included accomplished racer Lyn St. James, finished both first and second in class.

In 1985, Brolin met actress Jan Smithers on the set of Hotel, and they married in 1986. The couple had a daughter in 1987. Smithers filed for divorce from Brolin in 1995.

In 1996, Brolin met Barbra Streisand through a friend, and they got married on July 1, 1998. The couple resides in Malibu, California. Brolin is the stepfather of Streisand's only child, Jason Gould. Streisand revealed in her 2023 memoir My Name Is Barbra that a comment made by Brolin just after their marriage inspired Diane Warren to write the song I Don't Want to Miss a Thing for the 1998 science fiction disaster film Armageddon.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	Take Her, She's Mine	Mel	Uncredited
1965	Dear Brigitte	Student
	Von Ryan's Express	Private Ames
1966	Our Man Flint	GALAXY technician	Uncredited
	Fantastic Voyage	Technician
1967	The Cape Town Affair	Skip McCoy
1968	The Boston Strangler	Detective Sgt. Phil Lisi
1972	Skyjacked	Sgt. Jerome K. Weber
1973	Westworld	John Blane
1976	Gable and Lombard	Clark Gable
1977	The Car	Captain Wade Parent
	Capricorn One	Colonel Charles Brubaker
1979	The Amityville Horror	George Lutz
1980	Night of the Juggler	Sean Boyd
1981	High Risk	Stone
1985	Pee-wee's Big Adventure	P.W. Herman	Cameo appearance
1987	Deep Dark Secrets	Michael Wakefield
1989	Voice of the Heart	Victor Mason
1990	Bad Jim	B. D. Sweetman
1991	Ted & Venus	Max Waters
1992	Gas Food Lodging	John Evans
1993	Paper Hearts	Henry
1994	The Visual Bible: Acts	Simon Peter
1997	My Brother's War	John Hall	Also director
1998	A Marriage of Convenience	Manson
2000	Traffic	General Ralph Landry
2002	Catch Me If You Can	Jack Barnes
	The Master of Disguise	Fabbrizio Disguisey
2003	A Guy Thing	Ken Cooper
2006	The Alibi	Robert Hatch
2007	The American Standards	Jack Jennings
	The Hunting Party	Franklin Harris
	Bad Girl Island	Terry Bamba
2008	Last Chance Harvey	Brian
2009	The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard	Ben Selleck
	Bitter/Sweet	Calvert Jenkins
2010	Burlesque	Mr. Anderson
	Standing Ovation		Also producer
2011	Last Will	Det. Sloan
	A Fonder Heart	Craig
	Love, Wedding, Marriage	Bradley
2014	Elsa & Fred	Max Hayes
2015	Accidental Love	Senator Bramen
	The Steps	Ed
	The 33	Jeff Hart
	Sisters	Bucky Ellis
2019	Being Rose	Max
2022	Lightyear	Zurg / Old Buzz Lightyear	Voice

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1961	Follow the Sun	Teenager	Episode: "The Highest Wall"
	Bus Stop	Unknown	Episode: "The Resurrection of Annie Ahearn"
1962	Margie	Freddie Coates	Episode: "Madame President"
1964–1965	Valentine's Day	Harry / Charles "Charlie" Falwell Jr.	Episodes: "The Seasick Sailor" and "Two Weeks with Pay"
1965	Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea	Spencer	Episode: "The Saboteur"
	The Patty Duke Show	Hank	Episode: "Patty Meets the Great Outdoors"
	Daniel Boone	Member of the Lost Colony, Mark	Episode: "The Lost Colony"
1966–1967	The Monroes	Dalton Wales	4 episodes
	Batman	Various	3 episodes
1969	The Virginian	Ned Trumbull	Episode: "Crime Wave in Buffalo Springs"
1969–1976	Marcus Welby, M.D.	Steven Kiley	172 episodes
1972	Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law	Zack Jamison	Episode: "Shine a Light on Me"
1973	Trapped	Chuck Brenner	Television movie
1974	Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law	Steven Kiley	Episode: "I've Promised You a Father, Part 2"
1978	Steel Cowboy	Clayton Ray Dennis	Television movie
1982	The Ambush Murders	Paul Marshall
	Mae West	Jim Timony
1983	White Water Rebels	Mike McKay
	Cowboy	Ward McNally
1983–1988	Hotel	Peter McDermott	115 episodes
1986 -1987	Hold the Dream	Ross Nelson	TV mini series
1989	Finish Line	Martin Shrevelow	Television movie
1990	Nightmare on the 13th Floor	Alan Lanier
	The Earth Day Special	Doctor	Television special
1991	And the Sea Will Tell	Mac Graham	Television movie
1992	City Boy	Tom McLean
1993	Gunsmoke: The Long Ride	John Parsley
	Visions of Murder	Hal
1994	A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor	Governor Ryan Allison
	Parallel Lives	Nick Dimas
1995	Extreme	Reese Wheeler	7 episodes
1996	Hart to Hart: Harts in High Season	Elliot	Television movie
1997	Roseanne	Edgar Wellman, Jr.	2 episodes
	Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction	Host	6 episodes
1997–2000	Pensacola: Wings of Gold	Lt. Colonel Bill Kelly	66 episodes
1998	A Marriage of Convenience	Mason Whitney	Television movie
2002	The West Wing	Governor Robert Ritchie	2 episodes
2003	The Reagans	Ronald Reagan	Television movie
2005	Monk	Daniel Thorn	Episode: "Mr. Monk Goes to Vegas"
	Widow on the Hill	Hank Cavanaugh	Television movie
2008	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Colonel Richard Finley	Episode: "Lunacy"
	Lost City Raiders	John Kubiak	Television movie
2009	Psych	Sheriff Hank Mendel	Episode: "High Noon-ish"
2010	Blackout	Terrance Danfield	3 episodes
2013–2016	Castle	Jackson Hunt	2 episodes
2013	Community	William Winger	Episode: "Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations"
	Christmas with Tucker	Bo McCray	Television movie
2014	When Calls the Heart	Circuit Judge Jedidiah Black	Episode: "Prelude to a Kiss"
2015–2019	Life in Pieces	John Short	79 episodes
2016	I'll Be Home For Christmas	Jack Foster	Television movie (also executive producer & director)
2017	Royal Hearts	Hank Pavlik	Television movie (also director)
2021–2024	Sweet Tooth	Narrator (Older Gus)	Voice; Netflix TV series

External links

• James Brolin at IMDb 
• James Brolin at the TCM Movie Database
• James Brolin at AllMovie