Kurt Russell is an American actor who was born on March 17, 1951, in Springfield, Massachusetts, the son of Louise Julia, a dancer; and Bing Russell, a character actor, best-known for playing Deputy Clem Foster on Bonanza. In the mid-1960s, Russell graduated from Thousand Oaks High School.Kurt began his career in the late 1950s with an appearance as a child in the pilot of the ABC western television series Sugarfoot with Will Hutchins. Subsequent acting roles included a number of television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963–1964). In the 1970s, he signed a ten-year contract with the Walt Disney Company, where he became, according to Robert Osborne, the "studio's top star of the '70s". In 1979, Russell was nominated for an Emmy Award for the made-for-television film Elvis.
In 1983, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for his performance opposite Meryl Streep in the 1984 film, Silkwood. During the 1980s, Kurt was cast in several films by director John Carpenter, including anti-hero roles such as former air force hero-turned robber Snake Plissken in the futuristic action film Escape from New York, Antarctic helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady in the horror film The Thing (1982), and truck driver Jack Burton in the dark kung-fu comedy/action film Big Trouble in Little China (1986), all of which have since become cult films.
In 1994, he had a starring role in the military/science fiction film Stargate. In the mid-2000s, his portrayal of U.S. Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks in Miracle (2004) won the praise of critics. In 2006, he appeared in the disaster-thriller Poseidon, and in 2007 Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof segment from the filmGrindhouse.
Kurt married actress Season Hubley, whom he had met on the set of Elvis in 1979; they had a son, Boston Russell, in 1980. In 1983, in the middle of his divorce from Hubley, Kurt re-connected with Goldie Hawn on the set of the film Swing Shift, and they have been in a relationship ever since. They had a son, Wyatt, in 1986. One year later, in 1987, the couple starred in the film Overboard. Hawn's son and daughter with Bill Hudson, actors Oliver and Kate Hudson, consider Russell to be their father.
In February 2003, Kurt and Goldie moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, so that their son could play hockey. Kurt is an FAA licensed private pilot holding single/multi-engine and instrument ratings and is a Honorary Board Member of the humanitarian aviation organization Wings of Hope. Former Major League Baseball player, Matt Franco, is his nephew.
Please pray for Kurt. God loves them. Pray for sent ones who will minister to them and show them the way to the cross!
--Heidi
