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Quick Facts
- NAME: Warren Beatty
- OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Director
- BIRTH DATE: March 30, 1937 (Age: 76)
- EDUCATION: Northwestern University
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Richmond, Virginia
- Originally: Henry Warren Beaty
- ZODIAC SIGN: Aries
Best Known For
Warren Beatty is an Oscar-winning director and actor known for such films as Bonnie and Clyde, Reds and Heaven Can Wait.
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Play NowWarren Beatty. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 11:40, May 21, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/warren-beatty-9203570.
Warren Beatty. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/warren-beatty-9203570 [Accessed 21 May 2013].
"Warren Beatty." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 21 2013, 11:40 http://www.biography.com/people/warren-beatty-9203570.
"Warren Beatty," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/warren-beatty-9203570 [accessed May 21, 2013].
"Warren Beatty," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/warren-beatty-9203570 (accessed May 21, 2013).
Warren Beatty [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 21] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/warren-beatty-9203570.
Warren Beatty, http://www.biography.com/people/warren-beatty-9203570 (last visited May 21, 2013).
Warren Beatty. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/warren-beatty-9203570. Accessed May 21, 2013.
Synopsis
Warren Beatty made his debut as a tortured teenager in Splendor in the Grass (1961). His next big role was in Bonnie and Clyde (1967), which he also produced. The film became a colossal hit and a milestone in cinema history. Beatty was nominated for four Oscars for Heaven Can Wait and won one for directing Reds, in which he also starred. He has written, directed and starred in many films since.
Early Life
One of Hollywood's legendary talents, Warren Beatty has received great acclaim for many of his works, from the 1961 social drama Splendor in the Grass to the 1998 political satire Bulworth. He has also created a lasting legacy for his many dalliances with his leading ladies and others before settling down with actress Annette Bening.
The son of a drama teacher, Beatty seemed to always possess a certain charm and charisma. At Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia, he was a top football player and president of his class. He went on to Northwestern University in 1955, but he dropped out after a year to move to New York City. Focused on becoming an actor, Beatty studied with famed teacher Stella Adler. His older sister, Shirley MacLaine, had already enjoyed some success as a performer.
Career Beginnings
In the 1950s, Beatty landed some television roles, including a recurring part on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He made his Broadway debut in the William Inge drama A Loss of Roses in 1959. Receiving underwhelming reviews, the production folded quickly folded. Beatty, however, managed to give an impressive performance, raising his professional profile. He also won over the playwright who helped the young actor get his first feature film, 1961's Splendor in the Grass. Starring opposite Natalie Wood, Beatty played a wealthy teen who struggles with his love and desire for Wood's character. The film's depiction of teenage sexuality was quite daring for the times.
Beatty's career reached a new level of fame in 1967 with his crime drama Bonnie and Clyde, based on the real-life thieving couple of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. Behind the scenes, Beatty took the reins as the film's producer. He worked closely with director Arthur Penn to create this now classic film. A commercial and critical hit, Bonnie and Clyde earned 10 Academy Award nominations, including several acting nods for Beatty, his co-star Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman and other supporting cast members.
In the 1970s, Beatty seemed to be quite selective in his projects. He won praise for his work in Robert Altman's 1971 western McCabe & Mrs. Miller with Julie Christie. For 1975's Shampoo, he worked hard both in front of and behind the cameras. Beatty wrote, produced and starred in this story about a straight, promiscuous hairstylist and his romantic misadventures. Some believed the film to be autobiographical to some extent, given Beatty's reputation as a ladies' man.
Teaming up with Elaine May, Beatty co-wrote 1978's Heaven Can Wait, which also marked his directorial debut.
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