Goldblum, Jeff
Born: October 22, 1952, in Whitaker, Pennsylvania
Vocations: Actor, Musician, Acting teacher
Geographical Connection to Pennsylvania: Whitaker, Allegheny County

Keywords: Florida State University; Independence Day; Jurassic Park; The Fly

Abstract: Jeff Goldblum was born in a small town of Whitaker, Pennsylvania. He attended Taylor Allderdice High school until he graduated and then moved to New York City at the age of 17. Since then, Goldblum has been acting in various films and also acting on many Broadway shows. Goldblum’s acting career shot off after acting as an aerospace engineer in the movie Into the Night. Right after, he starred as a scientist in the movie The Fly. He then landed bigger roles in; Jurassic Park, its sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Independence Day. Goldblum has also been playing piano with his jazz band, “The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra,” as a hobby.

Biography:

Jeff Goldblum grew up in a small town of Whitaker, Pennsylvania on the outskirts of Pittsburgh (only three miles away). He earned good grades throughout his high school career (though he pointed out that his high school was not academically challenging). Academics were not his biggest interest during high school; he was more interested in sports, acting, and jazz. Goldblum is least known for his interest in jazz, which he picked up from his brother and learned piano all throughout his childhood. He even started to play at clubs in his young age.

Goldblum moved to New York City when he was 17 to pursue an acting career. After performing in many on- and off-Broadway productions, he finally got a small movie role when he was 22. He was later recognized by Robert Altman during an on-stage performance who gave him a small part in California Split and an even bigger role in Nashville. After these two roles, he steadily won many more minor and major roles.

In 1980, Goldblum made a move into television. He starred in a short-lived comedy show called Tenspeed and Brown Shoe. Goldblum finally got a notable role as a reporter in the movie The Big Chill, which led to greater roles such as an aerospace engineer in the movie Into the Night. Then Goldblum’s first staring appearance in the movie The Fly which was released in 1986. Goldblum’s most notable character role was a lonesome scientist, Seth Brundle, in the movie The Fly. His performance in the movie was captivating to many critics. In the beginning of the film, he plays a lonely eccentric scientist who uses his scientific breakthroughs as a way to pick up chicks. Then in the end, he plays as a sub-human who vomits up enzymes to liquefy his food. His character brought out sadness, tragedy, and intimacy throughout the entire film. Critics say that this was the best Jeff Goldblum movie in his career thus far. After that movie hit, he eventually moved into large roles in Jurassic Park and Independence Day.

Goldblum acted in Steven Spielberg’s movie, Jurassic Park, as a mathematician whose basic premise was to walk around with the group of main-characters while uttering vague philosophical imprecations. Goldblum failed to bring out his character into the film because the character he played as served no purpose to the story. Somehow, Steven Spielberg turned Goldblum’s previous character into a main-character in the sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Goldblum’s character finds himself returning to the island full of dinosaurs. But this time, he takes along an equipment specialist and tries to shoot a video documentary to earn money. His character did offer much potential for the plot, but did stimulate many action-packed sequences throughout the entire movie. Critics believe that Jeff Goldblum’s role in the sequel to Jurassic Park was notably better than the first since his character had more of a reason to be in the story.

Jeff Goldblum meets with fellow actors at his guest house in his hometown of Whitaker, Pennsylvania to do readings (he set up a studio in his guest house). Goldblum is not only an actor, but a musician as well. As a matter of fact, Jeff Goldblum plays jazz piano and sings with his band called “The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra” along with fellow actor Peter Weller in L.A. The only time an audience didn’t show up to the band was when Goldblum was absent for the performance. Goldblum sometimes teaches acting to students at Florida State University just for pure fun (like his jazz band), though, only when he has free time from his acting schedule.

Films:

• California Split. Dir. Robert Altman. Columbia Pictures, 1974
• Nashville. Dir. Robert Altman. Screenplay by Joan Tewkesbury. Paramount Pictures, 1975
• The Big Chill. Dir. Lawrence Kasdan. Columbia Pictures, 1983.
• Into the Night. Dir. John Landis. Universal Pictures, 1985.
• The Fly. Dir. David Cronenberg. Screenplay by Charles Edward Pogue and David Cronenberg. 20th Century Fox, 1986.
• Jurassic Park. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Screenplay by Michael Crinchton and David Koepp. Universal Studios, 1993.
• Independence Day. Dir. Roland Emmerich. 20th Century Fox, 1996.

Sources:

• "Jeff Goldblum." Actors Biographies. All Media Guide, 2006. Answers.com 29 Nov. 2006 <http://www.answers.com/topic/jeff-goldblum>.
• “Bibliography for Jeff Goldblum.” Internet Movie Database Inc. 2006. 28 Nov. 2006. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000156/bio>.
• Leigh, Danny. “All This Stuff is Fun. Yes. Fun.” The Guardian: Guardian Friday Pages. 6 Jun. 2003: 6.
• O’Neill, Phelim. “Work in Progress: Jeff Goldblum.” The Guardian: Guardian Features Pages. 19 Oct. 2000: 17.
• “Jeff Goldblum: A Who2 Profile.” Who2.28 Nov. 2006. <http://www.who2.com/jeffgoldblum.html>.

This biography was prepared by Altan Aydin.