Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955 in Idar-Oberstein, Germany) is an American actor and singer. He came to fame in the late 1980s and has since retained a career as both a Hollywood leading man and a supporting actor, in particular for his role as John McClane in the Die Hard series. Willis was married to actress Demi Moore and they had three daughters before their divorce in 2000 after thirteen years of marriage. He has received multiple awards and honors throughout his career and has publicly shown his support for the United States armed forces. In various interviews, Willis has revealed his political opinions and interest in several conspiracy theories.Motion pictures that feature him as a leading actor or supporting co-star, have grossed a total of $2.55 to $3.04 billion at the North American box office, placing him as the sixth (as strictly lead) or the eighth highest-grossing movie star (counting supporting roles) of all time.
Early lifeWillis was born in Idar-Oberstein, Germany to David Willis, an American soldier, and a Kassel-born German mother, Marlene, who worked in a bank. Willis was the oldest of four children (his siblings are Florence, David, and Robert). After being discharged from the military in 1957, Willis's father took his family back to Penns Grove, New Jersey, where he worked as a welder and factory worker. His parents separated in 1971 while Willis was in his early teens. He was always an outgoing youngster, although he grew up with a stutter. Finding it easy to express himself on stage and losing his stutter in the process, Willis began performing on stage and his high school activities were marked by such things as the drama club and school council president.
Rather than go to college after graduation, Willis became a blue-collar worker, transporting work crews at the DuPont Chambers Works factory in Deepwater, New Jersey. He decided to quit after a colleague was killed on the job, and thereafter became a regular at several bars. Willis also discovered an innate knack for playing harmonica and joined an R&B band called Loose Goose.[6] After a stint as a private investigator (a role he plays in his 1991 film, The Last Boy Scout), Willis returned to his original passion of acting. He enrolled in the drama program at Montclair State University, where he was cast in the class production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Jack Prince as Big Daddy, William Applegate as the doctor, and Kevin J. Lynch as the Rev. Tooker. Willis left school during his junior year and moved to New York City.Willis returned to the bar scene, only this time for a part-time job and as a way to meet New York celebrities. He is rumored to have been 'discovered' while working at the Museum Cafe on New York's Upper West Side. After countless auditions, Willis made his theater debut in the off-Broadway production of Heaven and Earth. He gained more experience and exposure in Fool for Love, a stint on television's Miami Vice, and in a Levi's commercial.
CareerWillis left New York City and headed to California to audition for several television shows. He auditioned for the TV series Moonlighting (1985–89), while competing against 3,000 other actors for the position and was selected to play David Addison Jr. The starring role helped to establish him as a comedic actor, with the show lasting five seasons. During the height of the show's success, beverage maker Seagram hired Willis as the pitchman for their Golden Wine Cooler products. The memorable ad campaign paid the rising star between five and seven million dollars over two years. In spite of that, Willis decided not renew his contract with the company when he decided to stop drinking in 1988. One of his first major film roles was in the 1987 Blake Edwards film "Blind Date" alongside Kim Basinger and John Laroquette.However, it was his then-unexpected turn in the film Die Hard that catapulted him to fame. He performed most of his own stunts in the film,[9] and the film grossed $138,708,852 worldwide. Due to its box office success, the film would eventually tender three sequels, with the most recent entry, Live Free or Die Hard, released in June 2007. He also provided his voice for a talking baby in Look Who's Talking and its sequel.
In the late-1980s, Willis enjoyed moderate success as a recording artist, recording an album of pop-blues entitled The Return of Bruno, which included the hit single "Respect Yourself",[11] promoted by a Spinal Tap-like rockumentary parody featuring scenes of him performing at famous events including Woodstock. Follow-up recordings were not as successful, though Willis has returned to the recording studio several times.In the early 1990s, Willis' career suffered a moderate slump starring in flops such as The Bonfire of the Vanities, Striking Distance and a film he co-wrote entitled Hudson Hawk, among others. However, in 1994 he had a supporting role in Quentin Tarantino's acclaimed Pulp Fiction, which gave a new boost to his career. In 1996, he was the executive producer of the cartoon Bruno the Kid which featured a CGI representation of himself.[12] He went on to play the lead roles in Twelve Monkeys and The Fifth Element. However, by the end of the 1990s, his career had fallen into another slump with critically panned films like The Jackal, Mercury Rising, and Breakfast of Champions, saved only by the success of the Michael Bay-directed Armageddon which was the highest grossing film of 1998 worldwide.[13] The same year his voice and likeness were featured in the PlayStation video game Apocalypse.In 1999, Willis then went on to the starring role in M. Night Shyamalan's film, The Sixth Sense. The film was both a commercial and critical success and helped to increase interest in his acting career. He once had to appear in the hit sitcom Friends without pay, because he lost a bet to Matthew Perry, his co-star in The Whole Nine Yards and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards. He won a 2000 Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on Friends (in which he played the father of Ross Geller's much-younger girlfriend). He was also nominated for a 2001 American Comedy Award (in the Funniest Male Guest Appearance in a TV Series category) for his work on Friends. Willis was originally cast as Terry Benedict in Ocean's Eleven (2001) but dropped out to work on recording an album. In Ocean's Twelve (2003), he makes a cameo appearance as himself. He recently appeared in the Planet Terror half of the double feature Grindhouse as the villain, a mutant soldier. This marks Willis' second collaboration with director Robert Rodriguez, following Sin City.
Willis has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman several times throughout his career. He filled in for an ill David Letterman on his show February 26, 2003, when he was supposed to be a guest.[15] He interviewed Dan Rather in what he would later call "the most serious conversation of my entire life". On many of his appearances on the show, Willis stages elaborate jokes, such as wearing a day-glo orange suit in honor of the Central Park gates, having one side of his face made up with simulated buckshot wounds after the Harry Whittington shooting, or trying to break a record (parody of David Blaine) of staying underwater for only 20 seconds. On April 12, 2007, he appeared again, this time wearing a Sanjaya Malakar wig.[16] His most recent appearance was on June 25, 2007 when he appeared wearing a mini-turbine strapped to his head to accompany a joke about his own fictional documentary entitled An Unappealing Hunch (a wordplay of An Inconvenient Truth).Willis also appeared on Japanese Subaru Legacy television commercials,[18] optimizing the car for sale, with the backing music of Jade from Sweetbox, "Addicted" and "Hate Without Frontiers". Tying in with this, Subaru did a limited run of Legacys, badged "Subaru Legacy Touring Bruce", in honor of Willis.Willis has appeared in four movies with Samuel L. Jackson (National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1, Pulp Fiction, Die Hard with a Vengeance, and Unbreakable) and both actors were slated to work together in Black Water Transit before dropping out. Willis also worked alongside his eldest daughter, Rumer, in the 2005 film Hostage. In 2007, he recently finished the thriller Perfect Stranger, opposite Halle Berry, and marked his return to the role of John McClane in Live Free or Die Hard.
Upcoming filmsWith the third sequel to Die Hard, Live Free or Die Hard having been released in June 2007, Willis' future projects will include three other films that will debut between 2007 and 2010. The Last Full Measure is a drama film based on a true story about a Vietnam War veteran, and 2008's The Sophomore is a comedy where he will be a Catholic school principal and his real-life eldest daughter, Rumer, will star as a student investigating missing SAT scores.[19] The 2009 film will be the drama Morgan's Summit, where he will depict a late night radio host who promotes kindness, but changes his demeanor after a brutal crime causes him to seek revenge.Willis was slated to play U.S. Army general William R. Peers in director Oliver Stone's Pinkville, a drama about the investigation of the 1968 My Lai massacre.[20] However, due to the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, the film was cancelled and Willis instead joined the film, The Surrogates, which is based on the comic books of the same name.[21]
Personal lifeAt the premiere for the film Stakeout, Willis met actress Demi Moore who was dating actor Emilio Estevez at the time. Willis married Moore on November 21, 1987 and had three daughters (Rumer Glenn Willis (born 1988), Scout LaRue Willis (1991) and Tallulah Belle Willis (1994)) before the couple divorced on October 18, 2000. The couple gave no public reason for their breakup. Willis reacting on his divorce stated "I felt I had failed as a father and a husband by not being able to make it work" and credited actor Will Smith for helping him get through the divorce. Willis and Moore currently share custody of the three daughters they had during their thirteen-year union. Since their breakup, rumors persisted that the couple planned to re-marry, but Moore has since married the younger actor Ashton Kutcher. Willis has maintained a close relationship with both Moore and Kutcher. Since his divorce he has dated models Maria Bravo Rosado and Emily Sandberg and also was engaged to Brooke Burns, until they broke up in 2004 after dating for ten months.Recently, he has been spotted dating Playboy Playmates Tamara Witmer and Karen McDougal on different occasions. Willis has expressed interest in getting married again and having more children.
Bruce Willis was, at one point, Lutheran (specifically Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod); but no longer practices, based on a statement he made in the July 1998 issue of George magazine:
“ Organized religions in general, in my opinion, are dying forms", he says. "They were all very important when we didn't know why the sun moved, why weather changed, why hurricanes occurred, or volcanoes happened", he continues. "Modern religion is the end trail of modern mythology. But there are people who interpret the Bible literally. Literally!" he says incredulously. "I choose not to believe that's the way. And that's what makes America cool, you know?[23] ”
In early 2006, Willis, who usually lives in Los Angeles, moved into an apartment located in the Trump Tower in New York City.[24] Willis also has a home in Malibu, California, a ranch in Montana, a beach home on Parrot Cay in the Turks and Caicos, and multiple properties in Sun Valley, Idaho.Willis owns his own motion picture production company called Cheyenne Enterprises which he started with his business parter Arnold Rifkin in 2000.[26] He also owns several small businesses in Hailey, Idaho including The Mint Bar and The Liberty Theater and is a co-founder of Planet Hollywood along with actors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.
Willis, an avid New Jersey Nets fan, made controversial comments on April 29, 2007 during a live broadcast of a Nets home playoff game vs. the Toronto Raptors on TSN by saying a catch phrase from his Die Hard films, "Yipee-ki-yay motherfucker", at the end of the interview. Reacting to the backlash, he later blamed his actions on jet lag, stating: "Sometimes I overestimate my ability to function under duress with less than enough sleep".On May 5, 2007, someone using the screen name "Walter_B" started posting detailed responses onto Ain't it Cool News, where people were discussing the fact that Live Free or Die Hard received a PG-13 rating, instead of an R rating like the earlier three Die hard films.[31] The responses included detailed information on Live Free or Die Hard, which was yet to be released; the theme of the Die Hard film series, direct criticisms of other movie crews and casts, and many movie trivia answers. "Walter_B" was Bruce Willis himself, directly posting his opinions. Many people were skeptical that "Walter_B" was indeed Willis, but on May 9, Willis revealed his identity by using video chat via iChat on Apple Mac OS X.[32]
Political viewsWillis was one of few Hollywood celebrities to publicly support the Iraq War in 2003, but in 2007 declared that he was more supportive of the troops instead of the war itself.[33] He has endorsed every Republican presidential candidate except Bob Dole in 1996, because Dole had criticized Demi Moore for her role in the movie Striptease.[34] Willis was an invited speaker at the 2000 Republican National Convention.[35] Willis has attempted to play down his status as one of Hollywood's most outspoken Republicans, although he continues to vocally support gun ownership and other conservative policies. Generally he considers himself to be moderate (For example he has criticized the religious right and its influence on the Republican party.) In February 2006, Willis appeared in Manhattan to talk about his new movie 16 Blocks with reporters. One reporter attempted to ask Willis about his opinion on current events but was interrupted by Willis in mid-sentence:
“ I'm sick of answering this fucking question. I'm a Republican only as far as I want a smaller government, I want less government intrusion. I want them to stop shitting on my money and your money and tax dollars that we give 50 percent of... every year. I want them to be fiscally responsible and I want these goddamn lobbyists out of Washington. Do that and I'll say I'm a Republican... I hate the government, OK? I'm apolitical. Write that down. I'm not a Republican. ” In several June 2007 interviews, he declared that he still maintains some Republican ideologies but is currently an independent.In 2006, he proposed that the United States should invade Colombia in order to end the drug trafficking.[ In several interviews with USA Weekend magazine, Willis has revealed that he supports large salaries for teachers, and reveals that he is disappointed in the United States' foster care and treatment of Native Americans.Willis also stated that he is a big supporter of gun rights:"Everyone has a right to bear arms. If you take guns away from legal gun owners, then the only people who have guns are the bad guys." Even a pacifist, he insists, would get violent if someone were trying to kill him. "You would fight for your life."
Military interestsWillis meeting members of the U.S. Navy on July 25, 2002Throughout his film career, Willis has depicted several military characters in films such as The Siege, Hart's War, Tears of the Sun, and Grindhouse. Growing up in a military family, Willis has been publicly supportive of troops of the United States armed forces. In 2002, Willis's youngest daughter, Tallulah, suggested that Willis purchase Girl Scout cookies to send to troops. Willis purchased 12,000 boxes of cookies, and they were distributed to sailors aboard USS John F. Kennedy and other troops stationed throughout the Middle East at the time.[40] In 2003, Willis visited Iraq as part of the USO tour, singing to the troops with his band, The Accelerators.[41] Some reports from military officials suggest that Willis tried to enlist in the military to help fight the second Iraq war, but he was turned away because of his age.[42][43] It was believed he offered $1 million to any civilian who turns in terrorist leaders Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, or (now the late) Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, however, in the June 2007 issue of Vanity Fair, he clarified that the statement was made hypothetically and not meant to be taken literally. Willis has also bashed the media for its coverage of the war, complaining that the press were more likely to focus on the negative aspects of the war:
“ I went to Iraq because what I saw when I was over there was soldiers — young kids for the most part — helping people in Iraq; helping getting the power turned back on, helping get hospitals open, helping get the water turned back on and you don't hear any of that on the news. You hear, 'X number of people were killed today,' which I think does a huge disservice. It's like spitting on these young men and women who are over there fighting to help this country.” Willis has said that he wants to "make a pro-war film in which American soldiers will be depicted as brave fighters for freedom and democracy." The film will follow members of Deuce Four, the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry, who spent considerable time in Mosul and were decorated heavily for it. The film is to be based on the writings of blogger Michael Yon, a former United States Army Special Forces Green Beret who was embedded with Deuce Four and sent regular dispatches about their heroics. Willis described the plot of the film as "these guys who do what they are asked for very little money to defend and fight for what they consider to be freedom."[46]
Conspiracy theoriesIn an interview for the June 2007 issue of Vanity Fair, Bruce Willis reveals his skepticism that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of JFK, and suggests that some of the same criminals who killed Kennedy are still in power today.
Cultural referencesIn 1996, Roger Director, a writer and producer from Moonlighting wrote a roman à clef on Bruce Willis titled A Place to Fall.[48] Cybill Shepherd wrote in her 2000 autobiography, Cybill Disobedience that Willis expressed his anger toward Roger Director, because the character was written as a "neurotic, petulant actor."
Music giant, T-Series, has bagged the 14th Lions Gold Awards 2007 as ‘India’s Best Music Company Award’ this year.
Once can be termed a fluke. The second makes a point and the third time its validation. Aishwarya Rai, then Shilpa Shetty and now Deepika Padukone, the three damsels from Karnataka have captured the imagination of the Bombay film industry.
