Warren Beatty

Henry Warren Beaty was born on March 30, 1937, in Richmond, Virginia. His mother, Kathlyn Corinne (née MacLean), was a teacher from Nova Scotia. His father, Ira Owens Beaty, studied for a PhD in educational psychology and was a teacher and school administrator, in addition to working in real estate. His grandparents were also teachers. The family was Baptist. During Warren's childhood, Ira Beaty moved his family from Richmond to Norfolk and then to Arlington and Waverly, then back to Arlington, eventually taking a position at Arlington's Thomas Jefferson Junior High School in 1945. During the 1950s the family resided in the Dominion Hills section of Arlington. Beatty's older sister is actress, dancer and writer Shirley MacLaine (who altered the phonetic spelling of her mother's maiden surname). His uncle by marriage was Canadian politician A.A. MacLeod. Beatty became interested in movies as a child, often accompanying his sister to theaters. One film that had an important early influence on him was The Philadelphia Story (1940), which he saw when it was re-released in the 1950s. He noticed a strong resemblance between its star, Katharine Hepburn, and his mother, in both appearance and personality, saying that they symbolized "perpetual integrity". MacLaine noted — on what made her brother want to become a filmmaker, sometimes writing, producing, directing and starring in his films: "That's why he's more comfortable behind the camera ... He's in the total-control aspect. He has to have control over everything." Beatty played football at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington. Encouraged to act by the success of his sister, who established herself as a Hollywood star, he decided to work as a stagehand at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. during the summer before his senior year. After graduation, he was reportedly offered ten college football scholarships, but turned them down to study liberal arts at Northwestern University (1954–55), where he joined the Sigma Chi fraternity. Beatty left college after his first year and moved to New York City to study acting under Stella Adler at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. He often subsisted on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and worked odd jobs, including dishwasher, piano player, bricklayer's assistant, construction worker, and, relatively briefly, a sandhog. ==Career==

1957–1966: Early roles and breakthrough Beatty started his career making appearances on television shows such as Studio One (1957), Kraft Television Theatre (1957), and Playhouse 90 (1959). He was a semi-regular on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis during its first season (1959–1960). His performance in William Inge's A Loss of Roses on Broadway garnered him a 1960 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a 1960 Theatre World Award. It was his sole appearance on Broadway. In February 1960, Beatty enlisted as an airman third class in the California Air National Guard at Van Nuys to fulfill his military service obligation. He was discharged the following year due to a physical disability and remained on inactive duty after that time.'' (1961)Beatty made his film debut in Elia Kazan's Splendor in the Grass (1961) opposite Natalie Wood. The film was a major critical and box office success; Beatty was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and received the award for New Star of the Year – Actor. The film was also nominated for two Oscars, winning one. Author Peter Biskind points out that Kazan "was the first in a string of major directors Beatty sought out, mentors or father figures from whom he wanted to learn." In 1965, he formed a production company, Tatira, which he named for Kathlyn (whose nickname was "Tat") and Ira. 1967–1979: Stardom and acclaim At age 30, Beatty produced and acted in Bonnie and Clyde, released in 1967. He assembled a team that included the writers Robert Benton and David Newman, and the director Arthur Penn. Beatty selected most of the cast, including Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Gene Wilder and Michael J. Pollard. Beatty also oversaw the script and spearheaded the delivery of the film. Beatty chose Gene Hackman because he had acted with him in Lilith in 1964 and felt he was a "great" actor. Upon completion of the film, he credited Hackman with giving the "most authentic performance in the movie, so textured and so moving", recalls Dunaway. After Bonnie and Clyde, Beatty acted with Elizabeth Taylor in The Only Game in Town (1970), directed by George Stevens; McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), directed by Robert Altman; and Dollars (1971), directed by Richard Brooks. In 1972, Beatty produced a series of benefit concerts to help with publicity and fundraising in the George McGovern 1972 presidential campaign. Beatty first put together Four for McGovern at The Forum in the Los Angeles area, convincing Barbra Streisand, Carole King and James Taylor to perform. Streisand brought Quincy Jones and his Orchestra, and recorded the album Live Concert at the Forum. Two weeks later, Beatty mounted another concert at the Cleveland Arena, in which Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon joined James Taylor. In June 1972, Beatty produced Together for McGovern at Madison Square Garden, reuniting Simon and Garfunkel, Nichols and May, and Peter, Paul and Mary, and featuring Dionne Warwick. With these productions, campaign manager Gary Hart said that Beatty had "invented the political concert". The film received seven Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture, Director, Actor and Screenplay. Beatty won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director. and First Lady Nancy Reagan at a White House screening of Reds|leftFollowing Reds, Beatty did not appear in a film for five years until 1987's Ishtar, written and directed by Elaine May. Following severe criticism in press reviews by the new British studio chief David Puttnam just prior to its release, the film received mixed reviews and was unimpressive commercially. Puttnam attacked several other over-budget American films greenlighted by his predecessor and was fired shortly thereafter. Under his second production company, Mulholland Productions, Beatty produced, directed and played the title role of comic strip-based detective Dick Tracy in the 1990 film of the same name. The film received positive reviews and was one of the highest-grossing films of the year. It received seven Academy Award nominations, winning three for Best Art Direction, Best Makeup, and Best Original Song. It also received four Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture. In 1991, he produced and starred as the real-life gangster Bugsy Siegel in the critically acclaimed and commercially successful film Bugsy, directed by Barry Levinson, which was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor; it later won two of the awards for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. The film also received eight Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture and Best Actor, winning for Best Motion Picture. Beatty's next film, Love Affair (1994), directed by Glenn Gordon Caron, received mixed reviews and was a commercial failure. In 1998, he wrote, produced, directed and starred in the political satire Bulworth, which was critically acclaimed and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film also received three Golden Globe Award nominations, for Best Motion Picture, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay. Beatty has appeared briefly in numerous documentaries, including Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991) and One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern (2005). Following the poor box office performance of Town & Country (2001), in which Beatty starred, he did not appear in or direct another film for 15 years. Since 2002: Output decline (1990)|337x337px In May 2005, Beatty sued Tribune Media, claiming he still maintained the rights to Dick Tracy. On March 25, 2011, U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson ruled in Beatty's favor. In 2010, Beatty directed and reprised his role as Dick Tracy in the 30-minute television special Dick Tracy Special, which premiered on TCM. The metafictional special features an interview with Tracy and film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, the latter of whom discusses the history and creation of Tracy. Tracy talks about how he admired Ralph Byrd and Morgan Conway who portrayed him in several films, but says he didn't care much for Beatty's portrayal of him or his film. The production of the special allowed Beatty to retain the rights to the character. At CinemaCon In April 2016, Beatty reiterated that he intends to make a Dick Tracy sequel. In 2023, Beatty reprised the role of Tracy and played the character opposite himself in Dick Tracy Special: Tracy Zooms In, a follow-up to the Dick Tracy Special that also aired on TCM. The 30-minute special, which mostly consists of a Zoom interview with Ben Mankiewicz and a returning Maltin in which Tracy criticizes aspects of the 1990 film adaptation to Beatty's face and suggests that a younger actor should take over the role of Tracy, concludes with Beatty and Tracy meeting in person and suggesting that Dick Tracy will return in the future. In the mid-1970s, Beatty signed a contract with Warner Bros. to star in, produce, write, and possibly direct a film about Howard Hughes. The project was put on hold when Beatty began Heaven Can Wait. Initially, Beatty planned to film the life story of John Reed and Hughes back-to-back, but as he was getting deeper into the project, he eventually focused primarily on the Reed film Reds. In June 2011, it was reported that Beatty would produce, write, direct and star in a film about Hughes, focusing on an affair he had with a younger woman in the final years of his life. During this period, Beatty interviewed actors to star in his ensemble cast. He met with Andrew Garfield, Alec Baldwin, Owen Wilson, Justin Timberlake, Shia LaBeouf, Jack Nicholson, Evan Rachel Wood, Rooney Mara, and Felicity Jones. The film would eventually be released under the title ''Rules Don't Apply'', a fictionalized true-life romantic comedy set in 1958 Hollywood and Las Vegas. Beatty wrote, co-produced, directed, and starred alongside Alden Ehrenreich and Lily Collins, with supporting cast including Baldwin, Annette Bening, Matthew Broderick, Candice Bergen, Ed Harris, and Martin Sheen. It was released on November 23, 2016, and was Beatty's first film in 15 years. Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critics" gave the film a 55% "Rotten" rating. The film was also a commercial disappointment. In 2017, Beatty reunited with his Bonnie and Clyde co-star Faye Dunaway at the 89th Academy Awards, in celebration of the film's 50th anniversary. After being introduced by Jimmy Kimmel, they walked out onto the stage to present the Best Picture Award. They had been given the wrong envelope, leading Dunaway to incorrectly announce La La Land as Best Picture, instead of the actual winner, Moonlight. This became a social media sensation, trending all over the world. In 2018, Beatty and Dunaway returned to present Best Picture at the 90th Academy Awards, earning a standing ovation upon their entrance, making jokes about the previous year's flub. Without incident, Beatty announced The Shape of Water as the winner. ==Personal life==

in 2013 Beatty has been married to actress Annette Bening since 1992. They have four children, including actress Ella Beatty. Prior to marrying Bening, Beatty was notorious for his large number of romantic relationships that received generous media coverage, having been linked to over 100 female celebrities. Early in his career, Beatty was engaged to Joan Collins; he later referred to the engagement as "an exaggeration." Leslie Caron said "Warren always had girlfriends who resembled his sister [Shirley MacLaine]". Caron thought he was too self-centered, and refused his marriage proposals. Carly Simon revealed in 2015 that the second verse of her 1972 song "You're So Vain" was about a previous romantic relationship with Beatty. Activism Beatty was a founding board member of the Center for National Policy, a founding member of the Progressive Majority, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, has served as the Campaign Chair for the Permanent Charities Committee, and has participated in the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland. He served on the Board of Trustees at the Scripps Research Institute, and the Board of Directors of the Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation. He was named Honorary Chairman of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in 2004. Director and collaborator Arthur Penn described Beatty as "the perfect producer", adding, "He makes everyone demand the best of themselves. Warren stays with a picture through editing, mixing, and scoring. He plain works harder than anyone else I have ever seen." Political views Beatty is a longtime supporter of the Democratic Party. In 1972, he was part of the "inner circle" of Senator George McGovern's presidential campaign. He traveled extensively and was instrumental in organizing fundraising. Despite differences in politics, Beatty was also a friend of Republican Senator John McCain, with whom he agreed on the need for campaign finance reform. He was chosen by McCain to be one of the pallbearers at the senator's funeral in 2018. ==Filmography==

Film Acting roles Television Acting roles Theatre == Awards and nominations ==

in 1990 Beatty received the following honorary awards: • 2000 - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award • 2001 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts' BAFTA Fellowship • 2006 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award == Notes ==