Bruce Boxleitner

Bruce William Boxleitner (born May 12, 1950) is an American actor, and science fiction and suspense writer. He is known for his leading roles in the television series How the West Was Won, Bring 'Em Back Alive, Scarecrow and Mrs. King (with Kate Jackson), and Babylon 5 (as John Sheridan in seasons 2–5, 1994–98). He is also known for his dual role as the characters Alan Bradley and Tron in the 1982 Walt Disney Pictures film Tron, a role which he reprised in the 2003 video game Tron 2.0, the 2006 Square-Enix/Disney crossover game Kingdom Hearts II, the 2010 film sequel, Tron: Legacy[1] and the animated series Tron: Uprising. He co-starred in most of the Gambler films with Kenny Rogers, where his character provided comic relief.

Bruce Boxleitner
Boxleitner in 2008
Born	Bruce William Boxleitner May 12, 1950 Elgin, Illinois, U.S.
Education	Art Institute of Chicago
Occupation	Actor, writer
Years active	1973–present
Known for	Luke Macahan Alan Bradley/Tron Lee Stetson a.k.a. Scarecrow Captain John Sheridan
Spouse(s)	Kathryn Holcomb ​ ​ (m. 1977; div. 1987)​ Melissa Gilbert ​ ​ (m. 1995; div. 2011)​ Verena King-Boxleitner ​ ​ (m. after 2016)​
Children	3

Early life

Boxleitner was born in Elgin, Illinois, the son of a certified public accountant.[2] He attended Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, Illinois, and the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University).

Career

Television

Boxleitner is best known for his leading roles in the television series How the West Was Won, Bring 'Em Back Alive, Scarecrow and Mrs. King (with Kate Jackson and Beverly Garland), and Babylon 5 (as John Sheridan in seasons 2–5, 1994–98).[3]

He also starred in The Gambler (as Billy Montana, alongside Kenny Rogers: 1980, 1983 and 1987) and in such TV movies as Judith Krantz's Till We Meet Again and Danielle Steel's Zoya. In 2005, he co-starred as Captain Martin Duvall in Young Blades. He has also starred in several films within the Babylon 5 universe, including Babylon 5: In the Beginning (TV, 1998), Babylon 5: Thirdspace (TV, 1998), Babylon 5: A Call to Arms (TV, 1999), and the direct-to-DVD Babylon 5: The Lost Tales (2007).

He has appeared in many other TV shows, including an appearance in 1973 as Rick Welsh, a University of Minnesota Track Star, in the season four episode, "I Gave at the Office" in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Other appearances include Gunsmoke, Tales from the Crypt, Touched by an Angel, The Outer Limits and She Spies, and in 1982, he played Chase Marshall in the TV film Bare Essence, with Genie Francis. He was a member of the cast of Heroes for seasons three and four, playing New York Governor Robert Malden in three episodes. He also appears on the television series Chuck as the father of Devon Woodcomb. He was in such made-for-television films as The Secret, Hope Ranch, Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door, Pandemic, Sharpshooter and Aces 'N' Eights.

Boxleitner was a guest-star on NCIS in the fall of 2010. He played Vice Admiral C. Clifford Chase, a high-ranking Navy official.[4] Boxleitner also lends his voice to the animated version of his iconic character Tron in the animated series Tron: Uprising. The series premiered on Disney XD on June 7, 2012. He also reprises the character Alan Bradley/Tron from the films Tron and Tron: Legacy.[5] From 2013 to 2015, he played Bob Beldon, the owner of the local bed and breakfast, in the Hallmark Channel series Cedar Cove.[6][7]

Boxleitner later recurred on Supergirl portraying Baker, the Vice-President of the United States who is later sworn in as the new president after Lynda Carter's character Olivia Marsdin is outed as a Durlan by Mercy Graves and Otis Graves. He gained the role after Brent Spiner stepped down due to a scheduling conflict related to a family matter.[8]

Film

Bruce Boxleitner at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con in July 2010.

He has also appeared in several films, including Tron (in which he played the title role) and The Baltimore Bullet (1980) with James Coburn. He reprised his role in the Tron sequel Tron: Legacy and in the video game Tron: Evolution which was released alongside the film Tron: Legacy, as he did for sequel video game named Tron 2.0, and Disney/Square Enix crossover video game Kingdom Hearts II. Boxleitner also voice as Col. John Konrad in video game Spec Ops: The Line. He also starred as Confederate General James Longstreet in the 2003 film Gods and Generals. He provides the voice of Colin Barrow in the animated science fiction horror film Dead Space: Downfall, based on the video game Dead Space. Other films he has been in include Kuffs, The Babe, Brilliant, Snakehead Terror, Legion of the Dead, King of the Lost World, Shadows in Paradise and Transmorphers: Fall of Man.

In 2011, he officially announced that he will reprise his role as Alan Bradley/Tron in Tron 3. July 2015 Boxleitner said that he is done with the franchise, as "it's been too up and down for me. I would rather not just keep going. I don't want to repeat my career anymore."[9]

Modeling

From 1986 to 1989, Boxleitner appeared in advertisements for Estee Lauder's "Lauder For Men".

Novels

Boxleitner is credited as the author of two science fiction novels with a Western setting, Frontier Earth (1999)[10] and Searcher (2001).[11] - although the novels were in fact ghost-written by William H Keith Jr[12].

Audio books

Boxleitner played a major role in the audio dramatization of The Great Secret, part of the Golden Age of Fiction series by L. Ron Hubbard. He also played Captain Gavin Blaire in the unabridged version of World War Z.

Personal life

Boxleitner's first marriage (1977–1987) was to American actress Kathryn Holcomb, who co-starred with him on How The West Was Won as his on-screen sister Laura. They had two sons together: Sam (born 1980) and Lee (born 1985). Holcomb went on to marry English actor Ian Ogilvy.

Boxleitner's second marriage (1995–2011) was to American actress Melissa Gilbert. They had one son together: Michael (born 1995).[13] Gilbert also guest-starred as Boxleitner's on-screen wife, Anna Sheridan, during Season 3 of Babylon 5.[14] On March 1, 2011, Gilbert announced that she and Bruce had separated after 16 years of marriage.[15] On August 25 of the same year the Associated Press reported that, based on court records, Gilbert had filed for divorce.[16]

Other

In 2003, Boxleitner was appointed to the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, a nonprofit, educational space advocacy organization founded by Dr. Wernher von Braun.[17]

He was friends with actress Beverly Garland for nearly 30 years. He met her on an episode of How The West Was Won, and later co-starred alongside her on Scarecrow & Mrs. King, though he had very few scenes with her. Then, in 1986, Boxleitner presented Garland the Golden Boot Award. After the cancellation of Scarecrow, Boxleitner remained close to Garland, contacting her consistently, until her death, on December 5, 2008. He said in an interview, "I used to keep up with Beverly Garland until she passed. There was actually a hotel named after her. She was such a trip. She was a great lady."[18]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	Sixpack Annie	Bobby Joe
1980	The Baltimore Bullet	Billie Joe Robbins
1982	Tron	Alan Bradley / Tron
1990	Breakaway	Joey
1991	Diplomatic Immunity	Cole Hickel
1992	Kuffs	Brad Kuffs
1992	The Babe	Jumpin' Joe Dugan
1999	Free Fall	Mark Ettinger
2000	The Perfect Nanny	Dr. Robert Lewis
2001	Life in the Balance	Eric Johnson
2002	Contagion	President Howard
2002	The Only Witness	Agent Nicholas Preston
2003	Gods and Generals	Lt. General James Longstreet
2004	Brilliant	Dr. Dietrich
2005	Legion of the Dead	Sheriff Jones
2005	King of the Lost World	Lt. Challenger
2007	Babylon 5: The Lost Tales	President John J. Sheridan
2008	Dead Space: Downfall	Colin Barrow (voice)
2009	Transmorphers: Fall of Man	Sheriff Hadley Ryan
2010	Shadows in Paradise	Captain Dyer
2010	AniMen: Triton Force	General Moss (voice)
2010	Tron: Legacy	Alan Bradley / Tron / Rinzler
2011	51	Col. Martin
2011	Tron: The Next Day	Alan Bradley	Short film
2012	AniMen: The Galactic Battle	General Moss (voice)
2013	Silver Bells	Bruce Dalton
2018	The Oath	Vice President Hogan

Television films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1974	The Chadwick Family	Danny
1975	A Cry for Help	Richie Danko
1976	The Macahans	Luke Macahan
1976	Kiss Me...Kill Me	Douglas Lane
1977	Murder at the World Series	Cisco
1978	Happily Ever After	Jack
1980	Kenny Rogers as The Gambler	Billy Montana
1981	Fly Away Home	Carl Danton
1983	Kenny Rogers as the Gambler: The Adventure Continues	Billy Montana
1983	I Married Wyatt Earp	Wyatt Earp
1986	Passion Flower	Larry Janson
1986	Louis L'Amour's Down the Long Hills	Scott Collins
1987	Angel in Green	Captain William Wicker
1987	Kenny Rogers as the Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues	Billy Montana
1988	Red River	Matthew Garth
1988	The Town Bully	Robert Doniger
1989	From the Dead of Night	Peter Langford
1989	Road Raiders	Charlie Rhodes
1991	Murderous Vision	Detective Kyle Robeshaw
1992	The Secret	Patrick Dunmore
1992	Perfect Family	Allan Bodine
1992	Double Jeopardy	Jack Hart
1993	Flight from Justice	Michael Shafer
1993	House of Secrets	Dr. Frank Ravinel
1994	Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice	Davis Healy
1994	Wyatt Earp: Return to Tombstone	Sam - Sheriff of Cochise County
1994	Gambler V: Playing for Keeps	Billy Montana
1995	Danielle Steel's Zoya	Clayton Andrews
1998	Babylon 5: In the Beginning	Captain John J. Sheridan
1998	Babylon 5: Thirdspace	Captain John J. Sheridan
1999	Babylon 5: A Call to Arms	Captain John J. Sheridan
2002	Perilous	Judd
2002	Hope Ranch	J.T. Hope
2003	Killer Flood: The Day the Dam Broke	Jordan Walker
2004	Snakehead Terror	Sheriff Patrick James
2004	They Are Among Us	Hugh
2004	Saving Emily	Gregory
2005	Detective	Ketledge
2005	A Killer Upstairs	Detective Bruning
2006	Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door	Frank Lucas
2006	Double Cross	James
2006	Mystery Woman: Wild West Mystery	Clint Lawson
2007	Pandemic	Kenneth Friedlander
2007	Sharpshooter	Sheriff Gardner
2008	Bone Eater	Sheriff Steve Evans
2008	Aces 'N' Eights	D.C. Cracker
2010	Lego Atlantis: The Movie	Captain Ace Speedman (voice)
2011	Love's Everlasting Courage	Lloyd Davis
2013	The Thanksgiving House	Parker Mather
2015	So You Said Yes	Nick Blanche
2016	Wedding Bells	Charlie Turner
2016	Double Mommy	Scott Davick
2017	Gourmet Detective: Eat, Drink, and Be Buried	Jim Ross
2018	The Christmas Contract	Tim Guidry
2019	Matchmaker Mysteries: A Killer Engagement	Nick Columba
2019	Holiday Date	Walter Miller
2020	Roux the Day: A Gourmet Detective Mystery	Jim Ross
2020	Matchmaker Mysteries: A Fatal Romance	Nick Columba

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	The Mary Tyler Moore Show	Rick	Episode: "I Gave at the Office"
1974	Hawaii Five-O	Cam Farraday	Episode: "We Hang Our Own"
1975	Gunsmoke	Toby Hogue	Episode: "The Sharecroppers"
1975	Hawaii Five-O	Kevin Caulder	Episode: "And the Horse Jumped Over the Moon"
1975	Police Woman	Ed Krohl	Episode: "Paradise Mall"
1976	Baretta	Tom	Episode: "The Left Hand of the Devil"
1976	Hawaii Five-O	Paul Colburn	Episode: "The Capsule Kidnapping"
1976–79	How the West Was Won	Luke Macahan	25 episodes
1979	The Last Convertible	George Virdon	3 episodes
1980	Wild Times	Vern Tyree	2 episodes
1981	East of Eden	Charles Trask	Episode: "Part One"
1982	Bare Essence	Chase Marshall	2 episodes
1982–83	Bring 'Em Back Alive	Frank Buck	17 episodes
1983–87	Scarecrow and Mrs. King	Lee "Scarecrow" Stetson	89 episodes
1989	Judith Krantz's Till We Meet Again	Jock Hampton	2 episodes
1991	Tales from the Crypt	Winton Robbins	Episode: "Top Billing"
1994	The Maharaja's Daughter	Patrick O'Riley	3 episodes
1994–98	Babylon 5	Captain John J. Sheridan	87 episodes Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television
1996	ABC Afterschool Special	Mr. Mahar	Episode: "Me and My Hormones"
1998	Touched by an Angel	Scott Tanner	Episode: "The Peacemaker"
1999	Dead Man's Gun	Frank Santee	Episode: "Bad Boys"
2000	The Outer Limits	Senator Wyndom Brody	Episode: "Decompression"
2000	Twice in a Lifetime	Ray Patterson / Dr. Goode	Episode: "Fallen Angel"
2003	She Spies	The Chairman	4 episodes
2005	Crossing Jordan	Foster Eldridge	Episode: "Family Affair"
2005	Commander in Chief	Tucker Baynes	Episode: "First Choice"
2005	Young Blades	Captain Martin Duvall	13 episodes
2006	American Dad!	Himself	Episode: "Tears of a Clooney"
2007	Cold Case	Huck Oberland	Episode: "The Good-Bye Room"
2008–09	Chuck	Dr. Woody Woodcomb	2 episodes
2008–09	Heroes	Robert Malden	3 episodes
2010	NCIS	Vice Admiral C. Clifford Chase	Episode: "Broken Arrow"
2011	Chaos	Ray Bishop	Episode: "Glory Days"
2012	GCB	Burl Lourd	4 episodes
2012–13	Tron: Uprising	Tron (voice)	17 episodes
2013–15	Cedar Cove	Bob Beldon	30 episodes
2017	NCIS	Vice Admiral C. Clifford Chase	Episode: "A Bowl of Cherries"
2018–19	Supergirl	President Phillip Baker	10 episodes
2019	When Calls the Heart	Gentlemen Johnny Boone	Episode: "Hope is with the Heart"
2020	Prop Culture	Himself	Episode: "Tron"

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role	Notes
2003	Tron 2.0	Alan Bradley
2006	Kingdom Hearts II	Tron
2010	Tron: Evolution	Tron
2012	Spec Ops: The Line	Colonel John Konrad

References

1. "Tron Legacy Star Bruce Boxleitner on the Rivalry Between Star Trek and Babylon 5". Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
2. "Bruce Boxleitner Biography". filmreference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
3. "BRUCE BOXLEITNER as Captain John Sheridan - Babylon 5 GENUINE AUTOGRAPH". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
4. "Exclusive: NCIS Enlists Scarecrow and Mrs. King's Bruce Boxleitner". TVGuide.com. Retrieved October 13, 2010. He reprised this role in the spring of 2017.
5. Ernie Estrella (June 9, 2015). "9 reasons more TRON Uprising is the answer to Disney's TRON sequel problem". blastr. Retrieved March 14, 2016. ...the Grid's security program, Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) is slowly dying from a virus.
6. "Bruce Boxleitner Added to Cast as Series Regular in Hallmark Channel's "Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove"". The Futon Critic. May 20, 2013.
7. "Barbara Niven Added to Cast As Series Regular in Hallmark Channel's "Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove"". The Futon Critic. May 29, 2013.
8. "'Supergirl's' Brent Spiner Exits as Season 4 Role Recast With Bruce Boxleitner". The Hollywood Reporter. August 21, 2018.
9. Topel, Fred (July 30, 2015). "Exclusive: Bruce Boxleitner on 'Tron 3′ – "I'm Done With It. I've Moved On"". Slashfilm. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
10. Boxleitner, Bruce (1999). Frontier Earth: HC. Ace Hardcover. ISBN 978-0-441-00589-5.
11. Boxleitner, Bruce (2001). Frontier Earth: Searcher. New York: Ace Books. ISBN 978-0-441-00799-8.
12. William H. Keith Jr. bibliography#With Babylon 5 celebrities
13. "Cover Story: Our Tiny Miracle – Vol. 45 No. 8". February 26, 1996.
14. "The-Complete-Babylon-5-Double-Autograph-DA1-Bruce-Boxleitner-and-Melissa-Gilbert The-Complete-Babylon-5-Double-Autograph-DA1-Bruce-Boxleitner-and-Melissa-Gilbert Have one to sell? Sell now The Complete Babylon 5 Double Autograph DA1 Bruce Boxleitner and Melissa Gilbert". ebay.com. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
15. Eng, Joyce. "Melissa Gilbert and Bruce Boxleitner Split". TVGuide.
16. "Actress Melissa Gilbert Files for Divorce in LA". New York Times. August 25, 2011.
17. "NEWS RELEASE: ACTOR BRUCE BOXLEITNER APPOINTED TO NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY BOARD OF GOVERNORS". nss.org. June 2, 1998. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
18. "Bruce Boxleitner interview". lanterncitytv.com. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2016.

External links

• Bruce Boxleitner on Twitter
• Bruce Boxleitner at IMDb
• Bruce Boxleitner at AllMovie
• Bruce Boxleitner at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database