Beau Bridges

Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III was born on December 9, 1941, in Los Angeles, California, to actors Lloyd Bridges and Dorothy Bridges. He and his siblings — younger brother Jeff, younger sister Lucinda, and another brother, Garrett, who died of sudden infant death syndrome in 1948 — were raised in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles. His parents gave him the nickname Beau after Ashley Wilkes' son in Gone with the Wind. During childhood, Bridges served as a surrogate father figure to Jeff when their father was occupied with work. In 1959, Bridges enlisted in the United States Coast Guard Reserve, where he served for eight years. He also pursued basketball at the collegiate level, playing his freshman year at UCLA under coach John Wooden before transferring to the University of Houston, where he played under coach Guy V. Lewis.

Bridges made his first screen appearances as a child, with an uncredited juvenile role in the 1948 film Force of Evil and a role as Bertram in No Minor Vices that same year, followed by a part in The Red Pony in 1949. His Broadway career spans from 1966 to 2011 and includes appearances in the plays Where's Daddy? and Who's Who in Hell, as well as the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He also appeared on television during the early 1960s alongside his brother Jeff on their father's CBS anthology series The Lloyd Bridges Show, and guest-starred on programs including The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and Twelve O'Clock High.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Bridges maintained a steady presence in both film and television. His feature film credits from that period include The Landlord (1970), The Other Side of the Mountain (1975), Greased Lightning (1977), Norma Rae (1979), The Fifth Musketeer (1979), Heart Like a Wheel (1983), and The Hotel New Hampshire (1984). In 1989, he starred opposite his brother Jeff in The Fabulous Baker Boys. He reunited with his father in the 1993–94 CBS series Harts of the West, and again in 1995 for "The Sandkings," the two-part pilot of the Showtime series The Outer Limits, which also featured his son Dylan.

Bridges continued to take on prominent television roles into the 2000s. He played Senator Tom Gage, newly appointed Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, in more than 30 episodes of the drama series The Agency from 2002 to 2003. Beginning in January 2005, he portrayed Major General Hank Landry, commander of Stargate Command, in Stargate SG-1, reprising the character in five episodes of Stargate Atlantis and in the direct-to-DVD films Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum. He received Emmy Award nominations for his recurring guest role as Carl Hickey on My Name Is Earl and for his appearance as Eli Scruggs in the 100th episode of Desperate Housewives in 2009. In 2013, he joined the CBS comedy The Millers as Tom, the father of characters played by Will Arnett and Jayma Mays. In 2024, he took on the role of Howard "Senior" Markeson in the CBS series Matlock.

On January 3, 2012, Bridges stepped into the role of J.B. Biggley in the Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, succeeding John Larroquette. He was contracted through July 1, 2012, though the production closed on May 20, 2012.

Bridges has accumulated 14 Emmy Award nominations and three wins, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special for Without Warning: The James Brady Story (1992) and two wins for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special, for The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993) and The Second Civil War (1997). He is one of only two actors to have won the latter category more than once, alongside Michael Moriarty. He has also received two Golden Globe Awards, one Grammy Award — shared with Cynthia Nixon and Blair Underwood for the spoken word recording of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth in 2009 — and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. He holds a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to television. In 2011, Bridges, his brother Jeff, and their late father Lloyd were among six veterans honored with the Lone Sailor Award by the United States Navy Memorial, which recognizes Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard veterans who have distinguished themselves in civilian careers.

Bridges married Julie Landfield in 1964; they divorced in 1974 and have two sons, including Jordan Bridges, born in 1973. He married Wendy Treece on April 10, 1984, and they have three children together. Bridges has been a vegan since 2004 and has stated that he asks directors to modify lines requiring his character to take God's name in vain.