ACTOR · BORN 1947
Richard Dreyfuss
- Born
- 29 October 1947, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
- Known for
- Jaws (1975), RED (2010), Stand by Me (1986), Family Guy (1999)
66 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
30 Interesting Facts About Richard Dreyfuss
- #001
Richard Dreyfuss credits much of his ability to end his drug addiction to a life-changing vision he experienced in the hospital after a bad car accident. Dreyfuss, who was under the influence of drugs while driving, knew the crash was his own fault. Although he was the only person injured, the image of a beautiful little girl in white clothes affected him during his recovery. He said she served to remind him of an innocent life of the kind he could destroy, and that this forced him to confront his drug demons and save his own life.
- #002
Richard Dreyfuss had a serious drug problem in the late 1970s and early 1980s. One side effect was damage to his memory, so much so that he still has no recollection of making the film Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981).
- #003
In Stakeout (1987), the characters played by Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez quoted famous movie lines. Estevez said that "This was no boating accident!" referred to Dreyfuss's character in Jaws (1975).
- #007
Richard Dreyfuss recently created an organization called the Dreyfuss Civics Initiative. The organization's goal is to bring civics classes back into classrooms, as they have been absent from the curriculum of nearly all schools in the United States since 1970.
- #008
Richard Dreyfuss is a Civil War reenactor.
- #011
Richard Dreyfuss co-wrote the 1995 novel "The Two Georges" with Hugo Award-winning science fiction author Harry Turtledove. The novel is an alternate history based on the premise that the American Revolution did not succeed and that America is still part of the British Empire.
- #014
Richard Dreyfuss was one of Carrie Fisher's best friends.
- #015
Richard Dreyfuss is one of five actors who have appeared in films directed by both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (the others being Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, Christopher Lee and Samuel L. Jackson). Dreyfuss is the only one whose films are not part of the "Star Wars" or "Indiana Jones" series.
- #016
Two of Richard Dreyfuss's biggest films, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and The Goodbye Girl (1977), were released in November 1977 just weeks apart.
- #020
Richard Dreyfuss became a father for the first time at age 36 when his first wife, Jeramie Rain, gave birth to their daughter Emily Dreyfuss in November 1983.
- #023
Richard Dreyfuss was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War.
- #024
Around 1978, Richard Dreyfuss began using cocaine frequently; his addiction peaked four years later, in 1982, when he was arrested for drug possession after passing out while driving and crashing his Mercedes-Benz 450 SL into a tree. He entered rehabilitation and returned to Hollywood the following year with Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) and Stakeout (1987).
- #025
Richard Dreyfuss attended the same high school as Angelina Jolie, Michael Klesic, Nicolas Cage, David Schwimmer, Lenny Kravitz, Corbin Bernsen and Gina Gershon.
- #028
Richard Dreyfuss became a father for the second time at age 38 when his first wife, Jeramie Rain, gave birth to their son Ben Dreyfuss in June 1986.
- #030
Richard Dreyfuss became a father for the third time at age 42 when his first wife, Jeramie Rain, gave birth to their son Harry Dreyfuss in August 1990.
- #031
The role played by Jane Fonda in The China Syndrome (1979) was originally written with Dreyfuss in mind. After he withdrew from the project over salary concerns, the role was rewritten as a woman and was ultimately played by Jane Fonda.
- #033
Richard Dreyfuss was an advisor to Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.
- #034
On November 20, 2009, Richard Dreyfuss was the opening speaker at the Dedication Day ceremonies at Gettysburg National Cemetery.
- #038
In early 2009, Richard Dreyfuss appeared in Joe Sutton's play Complicit at the Old Vic theatre in London. The production was directed by the theatre's artistic director, Kevin Spacey. Dreyfuss's performance drew some controversy because he reportedly used an earpiece on stage after failing to learn his lines in time.
- #041
In November 2004, Richard Dreyfuss was scheduled to appear in The Producers in London but withdrew from the production a week before opening night. The media noted that Dreyfuss was still suffering problems related to a back surgery performed in January and that the role of Max Bialystock in the play was physically demanding. Both he and his assistant on the production stated that injuries had accumulated during rehearsals, requiring Dreyfuss to wear physical therapy supports. Dreyfuss was ultimately fired from the production. He made his West End debut in 2009 at The Old Vic.
- #042
Richard Dreyfuss has a strong antipathy toward rock music.
- #043
On June 10, 2011, at the Scottish Rite building in Washington, DC, Richard Dreyfuss was made a Master Mason "at sight" and a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason by the Grand Master of Masons of the District of Columbia. That evening, at a banquet celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, he spoke about the Dreyfuss Initiative, a civic and enlightenment-values research society to be established in Charleston, West Virginia.
- #044
Richard Dreyfuss ranked 81st on Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.
- #047
Richard Dreyfuss's novel The Two Georges (1995), a steampunk detective thriller he co-wrote with Harry Turtledove, was reportedly optioned for a miniseries by Granada Television in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s, but nothing came of it.
- #048
Richard Dreyfuss is a distant relative of actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
- #050
Richard Dreyfuss was offered the role of American Vice Consul Dreighton in The Wind and the Lion (1975).
- #056
In 1987, while filming Moon Over Parador (1988) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Richard Dreyfuss stayed at the world-famous Copacabana Palace Hotel.
- #059
Richard Dreyfuss turned down the guest role in James Woods's Death Is Not a Passing Grade (1974).
- #064
Richard Dreyfuss grew up at 69-59 218th Street in Bayside (now Oakland Gardens), Queens, New York, before moving to Beverly Hills, California, at age ten.
- #065
In June 2011, Richard Dreyfuss was made a Mason "at sight" by the Grand Master of Masons of the District of Columbia. He is also a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work