American actor, comedian, writer, and director, who received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 1987’s Broadcast News. He was widely praised for his performance in the 2011 film Drive. His voice acting credits include Marlin in Finding Nemo (2003) and Finding Dory (2016), and recurring guest voices for The Simpsons, including Russ Cargill in The Simpsons Movie (2007) and Hank Scorpio.
The son of comedian Harry Einstein (known as “Parkyakarkus”), he made his comedy debut with a satiric parody LP, A Star is Bought, playing most of the roles himself. As a director, his films strike an effective balance between humour and social criticism, giving him the reputation of being one of the wittiest, most incisive film makers and performers today. Brooks’ work includes Lost in America (1985) and Defending Your Life (1991).
Of his two older brothers, one is Super Dave Osborne, a TV comedian, and the other, Clifford, is an L.A. Ad executive.
By the time he was 16, Brooks’ comic gifts were evident. He studied drama at Carnegie-Mellon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but dropped-out after two years to take his show on the road. He became a regular on The Tonight Show and put out two acclaimed albums.
Brooks lived with Linda Ronstadt for two years in the ’70s, but remained unmarried until he was 49. He and Kimberly Shlain, creative director of a multimedia company, married on 15 March 1997 in San Francisco, California. Their first child, Jacob Eli, was born on 1 October 1997 in Los Angeles. He and Kimberly welcomed their second child, Claire Elizabeth, on 27 March 2000 in Los Angeles.
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