Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947 in
film|1947 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an United
States|American actor.

Kline graduated from the Saint Louis Priory School
in 1965, and attended Indiana University
Bloomington|Indiana University where he began as
an aspiring classical pianist.  He joined the
on-campus theater group the "Vest Pocket Players"
and fell in love with the theater as an
undergraduate.  

In 1970 he was awarded a scholarship to the
newly-formed  Juilliard Drama School in New York.
In 1972, he joined with fellow Juilliard
graduates, including Patti Lupone and David Ogden
Stiers, and formed the City Center Acting Company,
under the aegis of famed British actor John
Houseman.  The troupe, which later shortened its
name to The Acting Company, traveled across the
U.S. performing William Shakespeare|Shakespeare
and other classical plays.  

In 1976, Kline left the Acting Company and settled
in New York City, doing a brief stint as the
character Woody Reed in soap-opera perennial
"Search for Tomorrow." This was followed in 1978
by a small role as Bruce Granit, a matinee' idol
caricature, in Hal Prince's "On The Twentieth
Century," for which Kline won his first Tony
award.

In 1981, Kline paired up with rock diva Linda
Ronstadt in the New York Shakespeare Festival's
Central Park production of the The Pirates of
Penzance, garnering a Tony Award for Best Leading
Actor in a Musical, for his comically dashing
portrayal of the Pirate King. He later played the
role in a film version of the musical, also with
Ronstadt. 

In ensuing years, Kline appeared many times in New
York Shakespeare Festival productions of
Shakespeare, including title roles in "Richard
III," "Much Ado About Nothing," "Henry V," and two
productions of "Hamlet," one of which he also
directed.  Dubbed "the American Olivier" by New
York Times theater critic Frank Rich for his stage
acting, Kline finally ventured into film in 1982,
winning the coveted role of Nathan opposite Meryl
Streep in Alan Pakula's "Sophie's Choice." (Streep
won an Academy Award for her performance in the
film.)

During the 80s and early 90s, Kline made several
films with director Lawrence Kasdan, including
"The Big Chill," "Silverado," "Grand Canyon," "I
Love You To Death," and "French Kiss."

In 1987, Kline won an Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actor for his role in the film, A Fish
Called Wanda, in which he played a caricature of a
painfully stupid American ex-CIA thug opposite
John Cleese's genteel British barrister. In 2000,
the American Film Institute AFI named the film as
#21 in its list of the top 100 funniest movies
ever made. 

Though he has been offered many roles that could
have boosted him to box-office superstardom, Kline
has kept a wary distance from the Hollywood
star-making machine and developed a reputation for
picking parts with discrimination, leading to the
industry moniker "Kevin Decline."  

Other awards have included New York Drama Desk
awards, Golden Globe awards, a Gotham Actor Award,
a Hasty Pudding Theatricals Man of the Year Award,
and a St. Louis International Film Festival
Lifetime Achievement Award.

Personal Life:
Romantically linked to a succession of female
performers during his years as a stage actor,
including Patti Lupone, Gilda Radner, Mary Beth
Hurt and Linda Ronstadt, Kline married actress and
former model Phoebe Cates, in 1989.  The  couple
make their home in New York City and have two
children, Owen, who will appear in the upcoming
"The Squid and the Whale," and Greta.  

Since his son's diagnosis with juvenile diabetes,
Kline has been active with the Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation. In November 2004, he was
presented with the JDRF's Humanitarian of the Year
award by Meryl Streep for his volunteer efforts on
behalf of the organization. 

== Filmography ==

*Picasso at the Lapin Agile  .... Sagot
*The Emperor's Club .... William Hundert 
*Life as a House  .... George Monroe 
*The Anniversary Party .... Cal Gold 
*Speak Truth to Power .... Various 
*The Road to El Dorado .... Tulio
*Wild Wild West (movie)|Wild Wild West .... U.S.
Marshal Artemus 'Artie' Gordon
*A Midsummer Night's Dream .... Nick Bottom
*In & Out  .... Howard Brackett 
*The Ice Storm .... Ben Hood 
*Fierce Creatures  .... Vince McCain/Rod McCain 
*The Hunchback of Notre Dame .... Captain Phoebus 
*French Kiss  .... Luc Teyssier
*Princess Caraboo  .... Frixos 
*The Nutcracker  .... Narrator
*Dave (movie)|Dave  .... Dave Kovic/President
William Harrison 'Bill' Mitchell 
*Chaplin  .... Douglas Fairbanks
*Consenting Adults  .... Richard Parker 
*Grand Canyon  .... Mack 
*Soapdish  .... Jeffery Anderson/Dr. Rod Randall 
*Hamlet .... Hamlet 
*I Love You to Death .... Joey Boca
*January Man  .... Nick Starkey
*A Fish Called Wanda .... Otto West 
*Cry Freedom  .... Donald Woods 
*Violets Are Blue...  .... Henry Squires 
*Silverado  .... Paden 
*The Big Chill (movie)|The Big Chill .... Harold 
*The Pirates of Penzance .... The Pirate King

==External link==
*imdb name | id=0000177 | name=Kevin Kline
*http://dramafan.tripod.com/kevinkline/ Kevin
Kline - as in the Actor - Online
*http://www.westlord.com/kevin-kline/ Kevin Kline
Website - at WestLord