Is Bruce Dern Really Dead or Did I Just Imagine It?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the status of actor Bruce Dern, with participants questioning whether he is alive or deceased. The conversation includes references to his filmography, family connections, and personal recollections, as well as speculation about how misinformation may have arisen.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express confusion over Bruce Dern's status, recalling past conversations or media that led them to believe he had died.
  • Others suggest the possibility of misidentification, questioning whether the person thought to be dead could be a relative or someone with a similar name.
  • Several participants confirm that Bruce Dern is alive, sharing personal anecdotes and memories of his work, particularly in "Silent Running."
  • There are references to Laura Dern, Bruce's daughter, and her career, with some participants noting their familiarity with her roles.
  • Discussion includes a mention of Bruce Dern's background and family connections, highlighting his notable relatives and their influence.
  • Some participants reflect on the cultural impact of "Silent Running" and its themes, including a question about cinematic techniques used in the film.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that Bruce Dern is alive, but there remains uncertainty about how the misconception of his death originated. Multiple viewpoints on his filmography and family connections are presented without consensus on the source of confusion.

Contextual Notes

Some statements reflect personal memories and interpretations that may not be universally shared, leading to varying degrees of certainty about Bruce Dern's status and contributions to film.

Who May Find This Useful

Fans of Bruce Dern, those interested in film history, and individuals curious about celebrity culture may find this discussion relevant.

Ivan Seeking
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until Tsu saw that he was in a recently made movie! :bugeye: At first I assumed that he didn't have any lines and that this might explain it...

Really though this is just too weird. Did he get cancer, or have an accident, and almost die? I could swear that I heard Laura Dern talking about this a few years ago, and I was certain that she said that he had died. Having been a Bruce Dern fan since Silent Running, I was sad to hear about this, so it's hard to understand how I got this wrong - it was not something that I would only catch in part with limited interest.
 
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:rolleyes: I've never heard of him before, so can't be of much help (don't worry, I don't keep track of actors in general, so unless they're hitting headlines pretty frequently, I don't know most of their names, so that doesn't mean much in general), but are you sure this is the same person you thought was dead, or could it be a son (i.e., Jr) or someone else using the same stage name hoping to draw on someone else's prior fame?
 
My first thought was that it was one of the children in the movie - perhaps a son of Laura Dern, who is Bruce Dern's daughter and also an actress - but nope, it's him.

I was so sure that when Tsu was reading from his Bio, which gave no date of death, I still refused to believe it. This is very unusual. It is one thing for me to get some detail wrong, but I was so sure about this that I can hardly imagine what it was that I heard. Still, it's good to see that Bruce is still alive and kicking!

I see that Laura Dern had a sibling who died as a child, but Laura never knew her, so... dunno.
 
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Bruce is not dead and neither is is daughter Laura.
 
turbo-1 said:
Bruce is not dead and neither is is daughter Laura.

I've had a crush on Laura since I was a kid [well, young adult]. :biggrin: No, she was the one telling the story that I thought involved Bruce.
 
What's next? Elvis is not dead either?

:)

Zz.
 
I will always remember Bruce Dern for the movie "Silent Running". Movie theme sung by Joan Baez.

Huey, Dewie and Louie. :cry:
 
Cool! You can watch Silent Running piecewise on YouTube.
 
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Ivan Seeking said:
Cool! You can watch Silent Running piecewise on YouTube.


Oh, this is why I've never heard of him or this movie...I was all of a year old (if that) when that movie came out. :-p :smile:
 
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  • #10
Bruce Dern is a cast member in HBO's 'Big Love'.
 
  • #11
Moonbear said:
Oh, this is why I've never heard of him or this movie...I was all of a year old (if that) when that movie came out. :-p :smile:
Moonie, you're a baby!
 
  • #12
Moonbear said:
Oh, this is why I've never heard of him or this movie...I was all of a year old (if that) when that movie came out. :-p :smile:

You would know Laura Dern as the scientist [female lead] in Jurassic Park.

I thought she was very good in the movie "Fat Man and Little Boy", which you may have seen.
 
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  • #13
Ivan Seeking said:
You would know Laura Dern as the scientist [female lead] in Jurassic Park.

Okay, now we're firmly into my generation here. I never knew her name before (told you I don't pay any attention to those things).
 
  • #14
Moonbear said:
:rolleyes: I've never heard of him before, so can't be of much help (don't worry, I don't keep track of actors in general, so unless they're hitting headlines pretty frequently, I don't know most of their names, so that doesn't mean much in general), but are you sure this is the same person you thought was dead, or could it be a son (i.e., Jr) or someone else using the same stage name hoping to draw on someone else's prior fame?

b65.jpg


Bruce Dern is a character actor who specializes in playing strange, high strung characters. Sometimes he's the villain, sometimes the victim, sometimes the protagonist.

His daughter, Laura most often plays well adjusted, straight forward, normal, characters, but she also played a wicked wild chick extremely well.

http://www.almapress.unibo.it/fl/numeri/numero3/images3/cuoreselvaggio01.jpg
 

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  • #15
turbo-1 said:
Moonie, you're a baby!
I was thinking the same thing.

Dern played bad guys in Westerns like Hang 'Em High back in the 60's.

He's still around. He did an interview a few months ago on the regional NPR station. He has an interesting background. The following war brought up during the interview.
His paternal grandfather was George Dern, a former Utah governor and Secretary of War and his uncle was poet Archibald MacLeish. His godfather was well-known politician Adlai Stevenson and his godmother was Eleanor Roosevelt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Dern
 
  • #16
Evo said:
I will always remember Bruce Dern for the movie "Silent Running". Movie theme sung by Joan Baez.

Huey, Dewie and Louie. :cry:

I've often wondered, did that movie feature Hollywood's first silent space explosion?
 
  • #17
Chi Meson said:
I've often wondered, did that movie feature Hollywood's first silent space explosion?

Well, there was the scene in "2001" when Bowman re-enters the ship after HAL locked him out. IIRC, he blew the explosive bolts on the hatch of the space pod.
 
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  • #18
Trivia: First robot?
 

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