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Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963–1964). In the late 1960s, he signed a ten-year contract with The Walt Disney Company, where he starred as Dexter Riley in films such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), and The Strongest Man in the World (1975). According to Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies, Russell became the studio's top star of the 1970s. Russell was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for his performance in Mike Nichols' Silkwood (1983). In the 1980s, he starred in several films directed by John Carpenter, including anti-hero roles such as army hero-turned-robber Snake Plissken in the futuristic action film Escape from New York (1981), its sequel Escape from L.A. (1996), the horror film The Thing (1982), and the kung-fu comedy action film Big Trouble in Little China (1986). For his portrayal of rock and roll superstar Elvis Presley in Elvis (1979), he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Russell starred in various other films, including Used Cars (1980), The Best of Times (1986), Overboard (1987), Tango & Cash (1989), Backdraft (1991), Tombstone (1993), Stargate (1994), Executive Decision (1996), Breakdown (1997), Vanilla Sky (2001), Miracle (2004), Sky High (2005), Death Proof (2007), The Hateful Eight (2015) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). He also appeared in the Fast & Furious franchise as Mr. Nobody, having starred in Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), and F9 (2021), portrayed Ego in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) installments Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and What If...? (2021), and subsequently portrayed Santa Claus in The Christmas Chronicles (2018) and The Christmas Chronicles 2 (2020). Early life Kurt Vogel Russell was born on March 17, 1951, at Wesson Maternity Hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts. His father, Bing Russell, was also an actor. His mother, Louise Julia (née Crone) Russell, is a dancer. Russell is of English, Irish, German, and Scottish ancestry. He has three sisters, Jill Franco, Jamie and Jody. His family relocated to California when he was a child, and Russell grew up in Thousand Oaks. Russell played little league baseball throughout his grade school years and also on his high school baseball team as a second baseman. He graduated from Thousand Oaks High School in California in 1969. His father played professional baseball. His sister, Jill, is the mother of baseball player Matt Franco. From 1969 to 1975, Russell served in the California Air National Guard and belonged to the 146th Tactical Airlift Wing, then based in Van Nuys. Career Child actor Russell made his film debut with an uncredited part for It Happened at the World's Fair, playing a boy who kicked a pilot (Elvis Presley) in the leg. On April 24, 1963, Russell guest-starred in the ABC series Our Man Higgins, starring Stanley Holloway as an English butler in an American family. Later, he played the title role in the ABC western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963–64). The show was based on Robert Lewis Taylor's eponymous novel, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1959. In 1964, Russell guest-starred in "Nemesis", an episode of the ABC series The Fugitive in which, as the son of police Lt. Phillip Gerard, he is unintentionally kidnapped by his father's quarry, Doctor Richard Kimble. In NBC's The Virginian, he played the mistaken orphan whose father, played by Rory Calhoun, was an outlaw who was still alive and recently released from prison looking for his son. Russell played a similar role as a kid named Packy Kerlin in the 1964 episode "Blue Heaven" for the western series Gunsmoke. At age 13, Russell played the role of Jungle Boy on an episode of CBS's Gilligan's Island, which aired on February 6, 1965. Disney star In 1966, Russell was signed to a ten-year contract with Walt Disney Productions, where he became, according to Robert Osborne, the "studio's top star of the '70s". Russell's first film for Disney was Follow Me, Boys! (1966). Walt Disney described Russell as "a 15-year-old boy for whom I predict a great acting future", in what would prove to be Disney's last filmed appearance before his death in December 1966. One of the last things Disney ever wrote was the name "Kurt Russell" on a piece of paper. In January 1967, Russell played Private Willie Prentiss in the episode "Willie and the Yank: The Mosby Raiders" in Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, released theatrically in some markets as Mosby's Marauders (1967). During this time, Russell continued to guest star on non-Disney TV shows. He, Jay C. Flippen and Tom Tryon appeared in the episode "Charade of Justice" of the NBC western series The Road West starring Barry Sullivan. In a March 1966 episode of CBS's Lost in Space entitled "The Challenge", he played Quano, the son of a planetary ruler. While filming the Sherman Brothers musical The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968), Russell met his future partner Goldie Hawn. For Disney, he made The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1969) and Guns in the Heather (1969). Stardom Disney promoted Russell to star roles with The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) which was a big hit. He followed it with The Barefoot Executive (1971), another success. In 1971, he co-starred as a young robber released from jail, alongside James Stewart in Fools' Parade. Later, he guest-starred in an episode of Room 222 as an idealistic high school student who assumed the costumed identity of Paul Revere to warn of the dangers of pollution. However, the bulk of his film work was for Disney in films such as Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1971), Charley and the Angel (1973), and Superdad (1973). Baseball career Russell, like his father, had a baseball career. In the early 1970s, Russell was a switch-hitting second baseman for the California Angels minor league affiliates, the Bend Rainbows (1971) and Walla Walla Islanders (1972) in the short season Class A-Short Season Northwest League, then moved up to Class AA in 1973 with the El Paso Sun Kings of the Texas League. While Russell was in the field turning the pivot of a double play early in the season, the incoming runner at second base collided with him and tore the rotator cuff in Russell's right (throwing) shoulder. He did not return to El Paso, but was a designated hitter for the independent Portland Mavericks in the Northwest League late in their short season. The team was owned by his father, and he had been doing promotional work for them in the interim. The injury forced his retirement from baseball in 1973 and led to his return to acting. TV star In the autumn of 1974, he appeared in the ABC series The New Land, inspired by the 1972 Swedish film o.... Discover the Philip Russel popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Philip Russel books.