The career of this prolific performer has come in several waves, each punctuated by a "retirement" from the screen. As a child actor under contract to MGM from 1945, Dean Stockwell charmed in "Anchors Aweigh" (1945), then specialized in "sensitive child" roles, such as Gregory Peck's son in "Gentleman's Agreement" (1947), who suffers the slings of anti-Semitism when his father decides to pose as a Jew to do a magazine article, and in the title character of Joseph Losey's "The Boy with Green Hair" (1948), which delved into a similar milieu of how people treat a stranger. After five years spent traveling around the USA and working at odd jobs, he matured into a strikingly attractive, introverted young adult lead, winning acclaim as the character based on Nathan Leopold in "Compulsion" first on stage (1957) and later the feature (1959). Stockwell also won acclaim for two characters that functioned as authorial stand-ins, Paul Morrel in Jack Cardiff filming of D.H. Lawrence's "Sons and Lovers" (1960) and Edmund Tyrone in Sidney Lumet's version of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into Night" (1962).
In the early 60s, Stockwell dropped out of showbiz and embraced a hippie lifestyle and retreated again in the mid-70s to pursue a career as a real-estate broker. He revitalized his screen career in the mid-80s, specializing in spooky and eccentric characterizations, such as the suavely perverse Ben in David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" (1986), the Mafia don Tony 'The Tiger' Russo in Jonathan Demme's "Married to the Mob" (1988), for which he earned an Oscar nomination, and a particularly eerie cameo as Howard Hughes in Francis Ford Coppola's "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" (1988). He has remained active in supporting roles in features like Robert Altman's "The Player" (1992), the uneven comedies "Mr. Wrong" (1996) and "McHale's Navy" (1997) and "Air Force One" (1997).
Stockwell turned more and more to TV in the late 80s and early 90s. He had made his TV-movie debut in 1971 with "Paper Man" (CBS), but did not appear regularly on a series until "Quantum Leap" (NBC, 1989-1993), playing "boss" to the time-traveling Scott Bakula and earning several Emmy nominations for his work. Stockwell played the singer's father in "Madonna: Innocence Lost" (Fox, 1994), and co-starred in the ABC miniseries adaptation of "Stephen King's 'The Langoliers'" (1995). In 1990, he did the voice of Duke Nukem, an unsavory character on the TBS animated series "The New Adventures of Captain Planet" and later hosted "Popular Science" (The Learning Channel, 1997), based on the magazine.
He is the son of actor Harry Stockwell (who provided the voice of Prince Charming in Disney's 1937 "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"), brother of actor Guy Stockwell and was formerly married to actress Millie Perkins.
Family
FATHER: Harry Stockwell. Actor. Provided voice of Prince Charming in Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"; replaced Alfred Drake as Curly in "Oklahoma!" on Broadway; divorced when Stockwell was six; died in 1984.
MOTHER: Betty Veronica Stockwell. Actor, dancer. Stockwell lived with mother and brother after parents divorced.
BROTHER: Guy Stockwell. Actor. Born in 1938; died on February 6, 2002.
SON: Austin Stockwell. Mother, Joy Stockwell.
DAUGHTER: Sophia Stockwell. Mother, Joy Stockwell.
Companion
WIFE: Millie Perkins. Actor. Divorced.
WIFE: Joy Stockwell.
Milestone
1943: Broadway debut in "The Innocent Voyage" (with brother Guy Stockwell)
Featured on radio programs, "Death Valley Days" and "Dr. Christian", in the mid-1940s
1945: Signed to an exclusive contact by MGM; film acting debut, "Valley of Decision"
Had appeared in almost 20 films by age of 15
Left Hollywood at age 16 and spent five years traveling across country, working as a railroad-spike driver and a prune inspector
1956: Returned to acting on live TV (e.g., "Climax", "Playhouse 90" and "Matinee Theatre")
1957: Co-starred with Roddy McDowall in the Broadway production of "Compulsion"
1959: Recreated his stage role in film version of "Compulsion"
1962: Played Edmund Tyrone in Sidney Lumet's film version of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into Night"
Dropped out of acting to live a hippie lifestyle in the early 1960s
Directed first short film, "Crazy Horse" (about Bruce Conner's filming of "Breakaway") in early 1970s
1971: Made TV-movie debut, "Paper Man" (CBS)
1976: Retired from acting and worked as a licensed real estate broker; moved to Santa Fe, NM
1982: Debut as feature director and writer, "Human Highway"
1986: Received career boost in David Lynch's "Blue Velvet"
1988: Received Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for "Married to the Mob"
Co-starred in the series "Quantum Leap"
1990: Provided voice for animated "The New Adventures of Captain Planet"
1995: Starred in ABC miniseries "Stephen King's 'The Langoliers'"
1997: Hosted "Popular Science" on The Learning Channel
1997: Co-starred in feature version of "McHale's Navy"
1997: Returned to series TV as co-star of "The Tony Danza Show" (NBC); played Danza's father
1999: Cast as Senator Campbell in the "The Venice Project"
2001: Appeared opposite Joaquin Phoenix and Ed Harris in "Buffalo Soldiers"
2004: Appeared in the remake of the 1962 thriller "The Manchurian Candidate"
Education
Martin Milmore School - Boston, Massachusetts
University of California at Los Angeles - Los Angeles, California - enrolled as George Stockwell; dropped out after one year
Alexander Hamilton High School - Los Angeles, California - graduated
He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1992)
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