Bruce Boxleitner

About Bruce Boxleitner

Boxleitner is best known as the star of the TV series "How the West Was Won" (ABC, 1978-79) in which he played James Arness's nephew, a fugitive from the law in the Old West. He went on to headline the short-lived period action show "Bring 'Em Back Alive" (CBS, 1982-83), and was a secret agent opposite Kate Jackson in the tongue-in-cheek espionage series "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" (CBS, 1983-87). In 1994, he joined the syndicated series "Babylon 5" as the space station commander. Since his feature debut in the mid-70s, Boxleitner has specialized in playing likable good guys and adventure heroes; he portrayed Jumpin' Joe Dugan, teammate and best friend to the legendary ballplayer in "The Babe" (1992).

Partners

Wife

Melissa Gilbert. Married Jan. 1, 1995; separated in March 2011; Gilbert filed for divorce in August 2011, citing irreconcilable differences

Wife

Kathryn Holcomb. Met co-starring in "The Macahans" (1976); married 1977; divorced 1987

Education

Prospect High School, Mt. Prospect , Illinois

The Goodman School of Drama, Chicago , Illinois

Career Milestones

1971

Made his professional acting debut in a Chicago production of "Status Quo Vadis"

1971

Reprised role for one performance of "Status Quo Vadis" on Broadway

1973

Made early TV appearance on the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" (CBS)

1974

First of several appearances on "Hawaii Five-O" (CBS)

1975

Made his film debut in "Six Pack Annie"

1976

First major role in a TV-movie, playing James Arness's nephew in "The Macahans" (ABC)

1979

Co-starred in the NBC miniseries, "The Last Convertible"

1979

Debuted as a series regular in "How the West Was Won" (ABC)

1980

First appearance as Billy Montana in "The Gambler" (CBS); reprised role in three of the four sequels

1981

Played Charles Trask in the ABC miniseries, "John Steinbeck's East of Eden"

1982

Co-starred with Jeff Bridges in the Disney film, "Tron"

1982

Played Frank Buck in the CBS series, "Bring 'Em Back Alive"

1983

Co-starred with Kate Jackson in the CBS series, "Scarecrow and Mrs. King"

1988

Starred with James Arness in the CBS movie, "Red River"

1989

Hosted the Disney Channel series, "Backstage at the Zoo"

1992

Executive produced and starred in the Showtime movie, "Double Jeopardy"

1992

Played Christian Slater's older brother in the comedy, "Kuffs"

1993

First starred opposite Melissa Gilbert in NBC's "House of Secrets"

1994

Cast as John Sheridan in the second season of "Babylon 5" (PTEN, 1994-97; TNT, 1997-98)

1995

Co-starred with Melissa Gilbert in "Danielle Steele's Zoya" (NBC)

1998

Reprised role for the TV movies, "Babylon 5: In the Beginning" and "Babylon 5: Thirdspace"

1999

Again reprised role for "Babylon 5: A Call to Arms"

1999

Wrote debut science fiction novel, Frontier Earth

2001

Wrote second novel, Searcher

2003

Starred as Confederate General James Longstreet in "Gods and Generals"

2007

Once again reprised role for the direct-to-DVD "Babylon 5: The Lost Tales"

2008

Had a recurring role as New York Governor Robert Malden in NBC's "Heroes"

2010

Reprised role for the "Tron" sequel, "Tron Legacy"