Early roles Gould began acting on
Broadway in the late 1950s, making his professional debut in a minor role in the musical
Rumple (1957). The musical starred
Eddie Foy Jr.,
Gretchen Wyler, and
Stephen Douglass with music and lyrics by Ernest G. Schweikert and Frank Reardon. He followed this with small parts in successful productions such as the
Betty Comden and
Adolph Green musical
Say, Darling (1958–59) featuring
Robert Morse,
David Wayne, and
Vivian Blaine. He also appeared in the French musical
Irma La Douce (1960–61) with
Elizabeth Seal and
Clive Revill.
1960s In 1962, he had a starring role in the
Broadway production of
I Can Get It for You Wholesale, which ran for 300 performances and where he met future wife
Barbra Streisand. Following that, he landed prominent roles in
Drat! The Cat! (1965) and in
Little Murders (1971). He was also cast in
A Way of Life by
Murray Schisgal but walked out before the play made it to Broadway. Gould made his feature film debut in the
William Dieterle comedy ''
Quick, Let's Get Married'' (1964) starring
Ginger Rogers,
Ray Milland, and
Barbara Eden. The film was an attempt to revitalize Rogers' career, but did not get a full release until 1971. In the film Gould plays a mute character. He received star billing for his performance. Gould's next film appearance was in
William Friedkin's musical comedy film ''
The Night They Raided Minsky's'' (1968) produced by
Norman Lear. The film gives a fictional account of the invention of the
striptease at
Minsky's Burlesque in 1925. The film also starred
Jason Robards,
Denholm Elliott, and
Jack Burns. In January 1969, Gould announced he had formed his own film production company with Jack Brodsky, Brodsky-Gould Productions. The company would make two films:
The Assistant, based on a
novel by
Bernard Malamud, and
Little Murders. but it was never made. That same year, Gould reached a new level of prominence playing one of the four leads in
Paul Mazursky's zeitgeisty social comedy
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice starring alongside
Natalie Wood,
Robert Culp, and
Dyan Cannon. Gould played Ted Henderson. The film was released in September 1969. The film was a critical and financial success. In
Roger Ebert's review in the
Chicago Sun-Times, he wrote that "Gould emerges, not so much a star, more of a 'personality,' like
Severn Darden or
Estelle Parsons. He's very funny." For his performance, Gould earned a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor losing to
Gig Young for ''
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' "I'm the hottest thing in Hollywood right now", he said in October 1969.
1970s In March 1969, Gould signed a non-exclusive, four-picture contract with
20th Century Fox, the first of which was to be
Robert Altman's
M*A*S*H and the second
Move both released in 1970. His first film released after
Bob & Carol was the wartime satire
M*A*S*H (1970), directed by
Robert Altman, where Gould played
Trapper John McIntyre. It was a huge hit at the box office and was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Picture.
The Hollywood Reporter film critic John Mahoney wrote in his review "If Elliott Gould keeps selecting and performing in films the way he has thus far, people may start going to pictures just because he is in them." With significant successes of
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and
M*A*S*H, Gould appeared on the cover of
Time magazine that year, where he was described as a "star for an uptight age". Gould's other films of 1970 included the
Richard Rush directed
comedy-drama film
Getting Straight, where he played a Vietnam veteran who gets involved in student protests.
Candice Bergen also stars as his girlfriend. The film was not as popular as the other two movies, but it was nonetheless still considered a success – the only student protest film to make money – and cemented Gould's place as one of the biggest film stars in the country. Also released that year was
Move (1970), co-starring
Paula Prentiss, which was his first critical and commercial flop. He had also turned down the lead in
Sam Peckinpah's
Straw Dogs (1971). Gould's next efforts would turn mixed results, including his decision to buy the rights for
Little Murders with an eye to producing and reprising his lead role in a film adaptation. Directed by
Alan Arkin, and released in 1971, it was another commercial disappointment, but has since earned a cult following. Gould went to Sweden to play the lead role in
Ingmar Bergman's English-language debut
The Touch (1971). He was the first Hollywood star to appear in a Bergman film.
The Touch received mixed reviews and was not one of Bergman's more successful films commercially. Gould and his producing partner helped make
Woody Allen's
satirical slapstick comedy
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), later selling it to
United Artists. He was reportedly offered the lead role in
Pocket Money (1972), but turned it down because he did not want to work with director
Stuart Rosenberg again after his experience making
Move. Gould continued developing projects in a behind-the-scenes capacity, including a failed adaptation of the novel
A Glimpse of Tiger. Filming was abandoned after four days of shooting, following rumours that Gould was addicted to drugs, something the actor has strenuously denied. Gould reemerged with one of his most iconic roles in 1973's
The Long Goodbye, Robert Altman's adaptation of
Raymond Chandler's
novel. Gould starred as
detective Philip Marlowe, a role which had previously been played by
Humphrey Bogart and
Dick Powell. By comparison, Gould's performance was more naturalistic, with the screenplay by
Leigh Brackett (who had previously adapted
The Big Sleep for
Howard Hawks and Bogart) updating the setting to contemporary Los Angeles. Although not a major hit, the film was later regarded as one of Gould's best. Alan R. Howard of
The Hollywood Reporter wrote "The eccentric casting of Elliott Gould is altogether successful and allows the filmmakers to embrace the detective genre affectionately, transforming it into a dreamlike excursion through modern Los Angeles." The following year, Gould reunited with Robert Altman for the film,
California Split (1974), an acclaimed gambling dramedy that co-starred
George Segal. Additionally, Gould made a brief cameo appearance as himself in the Altman film
Nashville (1975). He soon made two more "buddy" movies:
Busting (1974), a cop movie with
Robert Blake, directed by
Peter Hyams; and
S*P*Y*S (1975), a spy spoof which reunited him with Sutherland. Neither was particularly popular. Returning to comedy, he played the lead in two films for
Brut Productions, both comedies:
Whiffs (1975) and then opposite
Diane Keaton in
I Will, I Will... for Now (1976). He and Keaton also starred in
Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) with
James Caan and
Michael Caine. All flopped at the box office. He joined the ensemble cast of
Richard Attenborough's World War II drama film
A Bridge Too Far (1977). Gould played Col. Robert Stout, a role based on
Robert Sink. The ensemble cast included
Robert Redford,
James Caan,
Michael Caine,
Sean Connery,
Anthony Hopkins,
Gene Hackman,
Liv Ullmann, and
Laurence Olivier. The film was a financial and critical success. The following year Gould returned to mainstream success with
Capricorn One (1978), directed by
Peter Hyams and starring
James Brolin,
Sam Waterston, and
O. J. Simpson. The film was financed by producer
Lew Grade, who later arranged Gould's guest appearances in
The Muppets and its movie spin-offs. After making
Capricorn One Gould was announced to direct
A New Life from a novel by
Bernard Malamud with
Robert Altman producing but the film was not made. Gould went to Canada to star in the highly regarded thriller
The Silent Partner (1978) starring
Christopher Plummer before working again with Grade on
Escape to Athena (1979). He starred in the much-maligned remake of
The Lady Vanishes (1979). Also in 1979, Gould appeared as Cher's dance partner at the end of the music video for her Top 10 disco hit "Take Me Home". During this period Gould hosted
Saturday Night Live six times, his final time being the first episode of the disastrous
Jean Doumanian season (season 6) in November 1980, where he was shocked to find that the original cast and producer
Lorne Michaels were gone and had been replaced. Although he never hosted SNL again, he did appear in a season 16 (1990–1991) episode hosted by
Tom Hanks where Hanks is welcomed into the Five-Timers club, a society for celebrities who have hosted the show five times. He returned in season 47 (2021–2022) in a similar skit welcoming
John Mulaney into the club. It has been argued "Gould possibly had the most fascinating filmography of any ‘70s stars."
1980s In 1980, Gould starred in the romantic comedy film
Falling in Love Again (1980), alongside
Susannah York. Gould also made two films for
Disney, ''
The Last Flight of Noah's Ark (1980) and The Devil and Max Devlin (1981). Gould chose to return to Broadway with The Guys in the Truck'' in 1983 but left the production after the first week of previews, replaced by Harris Laskawy. The play closed on opening night. Gould transitioned to television acting. From 1984 to 1985 Gould appeared on the
CBS medical sitcom
E/R playing the role of Dr. Howard Sheinfeld for 23 episodes. He appeared in 1986
The Twilight Zone episode: "
The Misfortune Cookie". He also starred in the
HBO television film
Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8 (1987) playing criminal defense lawyer
Leonard Weinglass. The film was directed and written by
Jeremy Kagan and starred
Carl Lumbly,
Peter Boyle,
Robert Loggia,
Martin Sheen, and
Billy Zane. He also continued acting in guest star roles on shows such as
Murder, She Wrote. He continued to act in film, though his roles tended to be less impactful than those from preceding decades: he had leading roles in films such as
Inside Out (1986) and
Dangerous Love (1988) and he played a supporting role to
Whoopi Goldberg in
The Telephone (1988).
1990s Over time, Gould began to act more frequently in supporting roles. He received critical praise for his performance as an aging mobster in
Warren Beatty's 1991 film
Bugsy and once again performed a cameo as "himself" in Robert Altman's
The Player (1992). During the 1990s, Gould continued starring in guest roles in shows such as
L.A. Law,
Moon Over Miami,
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and
Diagnosis: Murder. He co-starred with
Michael McKean in
Billy Crystal's 1991 six-part HBO comedy miniseries
Sessions. He also became known to a new generation of viewers thanks to a recurring role as Jack Geller, the father of
Courteney Cox's and
David Schwimmer's characters Monica and Ross, on the
NBC sitcom Friends, first appearing in 1994 and in twenty total episodes over the course of the show's run. Around the same time he took a more dramatic role, as the boyfriend of the protagonist's mother, in the controversial drama
American History X (1998) starring
Edward Norton. While first reading the script, he believed the movie was a comedy similar to
The Great Dictator, until he read the part where Norton's character
curb stomps a black man.
2000s '' in June 2009 In 2001, Gould co-starred in
Steven Soderbergh's
heist film ''
Ocean's Eleven, a 2001 remake of the classic Rat Pack caper film. The film starred George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Andy García, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, and Carl Reiner. The film earned positive reviews and was an immense financial success. Gould played their wealthy friend, a former casino owner Reuben Tishkoff. He reprised the role for its sequels, Ocean's Twelve in 2004 and Ocean's Thirteen'' in 2007. In 2005 he guest starred in a feature-length episode of the UK TV series
Poirot, subsequently appearing in similar one-off or small roles in television series including
Law & Order and
CSI, and a more significant role in Showtime's
Ray Donovan from 2013 to 2016. He has loaned his voice to several animated series, including the role of Mr. Stoppable,
Ron Stoppable's dad in the
Disney Channel Animated series
Kim Possible (2003–2007). He also lent his voice for
Hey Arnold!,
The Simpsons and
American Dad.
2010s and 2020s In 2011, Gould appeared in a supporting role in Soderbergh's ensemble thriller
Contagion (2011) about virus outbreak leading to a worldwide pandemic. The cast included Matt Damon,
Kate Winslet,
Jude Law,
Marion Cotillard,
Laurence Fishburne, and
Jennifer Ehle. The film received critical acclaim and was a box office success. The following year he appeared in
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' romantic comedy-drama film
Ruby Sparks (2012) starring
Paul Dano,
Zoe Kazan. More recently, he co-starred with
Jemaine Clement in the human comedy
Humor Me (2017). In 2018, Gould reprised his role of Reuben in ''
Ocean's 8''. He appeared in 2020's
Dangerous Lies. Gould appeared in guest starring roles in detective shows such as
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2010) and
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2012). He also appeared in a recurring role as Ezra Goldman in the
Showtime crime series
Ray Donovan (2013–2016) starring
Liev Schreiber and
Jon Voight. Gould also played
John Mulaney's neighbor in the sitcom
Mulaney (2014–2015). He also appeared in guest roles in
Maron (2015),
The Kominsky Method (2018), and
Grace and Frankie (2020). He also briefly appeared in
Friends: The Reunion along with
Christina Pickles and the rest of the
Friends cast. He played a recurring role as retired lawyer David "Legal" Siegel from the second season of
The Lincoln Lawyer (2023).. == Personal life ==