March 17th, 2007 - Happy Birthday Kurt Russell!

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Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor.

He's 56!

Russell was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA to Louise Crain and Bing Russell, who was a character actor best known as Deputy Clem Foster on Bonanza.

Russell started his film career at the age of ten in an uncredited part in Elvis Presley's It Happened at the World's Fair. At the age of twelve he landed a big part for a juvenile actor: the lead role as the orphan Jaimie in the TV western The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963–1964). Based on a book by Robert Lewis Taylor, this series also starred Dan O'Herlihy, Charles Bronson, and the young Osmond Brothers.

The young Russell was soon signed to a ten-year contract with the Walt Disney Company. He starred in many Disney films, such as Follow Me, Boys! (1966), The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968) with newcomer Goldie Hawn, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), and The Strongest Man in the World (1975).

Russell also had a baseball career (his father also having been a baseball player). In the early 1970s, Russell played second base for the minor league affiliate of the California Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim). He led his league in hitting with a .563 batting average. During a play, he was hit in the shoulder by another player running to second base. The collision tore the rotator cuff in one of Russell's shoulders. The injury forced his retirement from baseball in 1973, and he returned to acting.

Personal Life:

Russell married actress Season Hubley, whom he had met on the set of Elvis in 1979 and they had a son, Boston. In 1983, in the middle of his divorce from Hubley, Russell re-connected with Goldie Hawn on the set of the film Swing Shift and they have been in a relationship ever since. The couple also filmed the comedy Overboard together in 1987. They had a son, Wyatt, in 1986 and Hawn's daughter with Bill Hudson, Kate Hudson, considers Russell to be her dad.

Russell is a prominent member of the United States Libertarian Party. He claims that he was often an outcast in Hollywood because of his Libertarian views so moved to an area outside Aspen, Colorado, where he has tried his hand at writing (he co-wrote the screenplay for Escape from L.A.). In February 2003, Russell and Hawn moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, so that their son could play hockey.

A Bit of Trivia:

• He is the 4th great-grandson of Jason Russell, a Revolutionary War patriot who was killed by the British at the Battle of Menotomy, April 19, 1775. The site of the battle, the Jason Russell House still stands and is a historic site and museum in Arlington, Massachusetts.
• Classes Rangeley, Maine, as his hometown.
• He is a distant cousin of author John Steinbeck. Both Russell and Steinbeck are descendants of William Russell of Cambridge (Massachusetts), who emigrated from England abt. 1640.
• He appeared in the music video and sang in the choir on the song "Voices That Care."
• He is an FAA licensed Private Pilot holding single/multi-engine and instrument ratings.
• Former Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Franco is his nephew.
• Is a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA)
• He played "Jungleboy" on Gilligan's Island
• Lee Van Cleef's membership in the cast of Escape From New York inspired Russell to give his character, Snake Plissken, a raspy voice similar to that of Clint Eastwood in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
• Is a huge Elvis Presley fan and, in fact, played the voice of Elvis in Forrest Gump.

Other March 17th Birthdays:

Patrick Duffy-Actor -58
Gary Sinise-Actor -52
Arye Gross-Actor/Ellen -47
Rob Lowe-Actor -43