I was watching the Academy Awards earlier this month and was looking at Alec Baldwin and thinking about his brothers Daniel, William and Stephen. What a family of actors. It gave me a chance to think about other Hollywood families and after thinking about it and doing a little research came up with a few:
- Brothers and actors Alec Baldwin, William Baldwin, Stephen Baldwin and Daniel Baldwin; Alec was formerly married to actress Kim Basinger, and William is currently married to singer Chynna Phillips.
Penn
- Actress Eileen Ryan and writer-director Leo Penn were the parents of two actors (Sean and Chris Penn) and a musician (Michael Penn). Sean was married first to Madonna and later to Robin Wright Penn. Michael is married to musician Aimee Mann.
- Actress and producer Drew Barrymore is descended from a renowned acting family: Her parents are actress and manager Jaid Barrymore and actor John Drew Barrymore, who was the son of renowned classical actor and playboy John Barrymore. She is also the great-niece of Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore.
Douglas
- Actor Kirk Douglas is the father of actor Michael Douglas and producer Joel Douglas by his first wife, actress Diana Dill; and of producer Peter Douglas and late comic and actor Eric Douglas by his second wife, actress Anne Buydens. Michael is the father of actor Cameron Douglas by his first wife, Diandra Luker, and is currently married to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Bateman
- Actor Jason Bateman is the brother of actress Justine Bateman; their father is producer Kent Bateman. Jason Bateman is married to the daughter of Paul Anka. Televangelist Dr. (Rev.) Miles Bateman is a distant cousin.
Cusack
- Actors John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Ann Cusack (The Jeff Foxworthy Show), Bill Cusack, and Susie Cusack are all siblings; their father Dick Cusack also took to acting late in life.
I must admit I do like a few of these families. I really like Joan and John Cusack and I always liked Stephen Baldwin from his performance in The Usual Suspects. My favorite is hands down the Douglas family. I love Kirk and I also really, really like Michael. Both great actors!
- Who is your favorite Hollywood family today and what about years ago?
- Who do you think is the number one Hollywood family of all-time?
I look forward to reading your comments.
Drew Judge says:
OK “all-time is clearly a no brainer … Joan, Chris-TINA! and christopher
Ed Sugar says:
If we have to stick with just “Hollywood Family”, I would cast my vote for the Coppola Clan. Carmine Coppola was a film composer, son Francis Ford, daughter Talia Shire, grand children Sofia Coppola, Nicholas Cage and Jason Schwartzman.
If we can go outside the “Hollywood” bubble, then it is the Redgrave Clan hands down. Roy Redgrave was a silent film star, son Michael Redgrave star of film and theater. Michael married actress Rachel Kempson. They had three children Vanessa, Lynn and Corin who all had acting careers. Roy’s great-grandchildren Jemma Redgrave, Joely Richardson, Natasha Richardson and Carlo Nero have successfully followed the family tradition into acting. Vanessa married director/producer Tony Richardson and had a long standing relationship with actor Franco Nero. Natasha Richardson was married to actor Liam Neeson.
Steve Gentile says:
I would agree with Ed on the Coppola – Coppola is a strong clan for me. However, I am exceptionally fond of Gwyneth Patrow and her parents Bruce Paltrow and Blythe Danner. Some people you only have to bump into once, spill their coffee and offer to buy them a fresh one to know how “ordinary” such extraordinary people can be — true story. Sometimes it gets you a nice chance to “meet the parents”
Bob Graham says:
My all-time favorite Hollywood Family would be The Carradines. Always loved seeing father John play villains and tragic heroes (Dracula; Bluebeard; Preacher Casey in “Grapes of Wrath”; the Southern Gambler in “Stagecoach). His sons David (”Kung Fu” “Kill Bill”, “Death Race 2000″) Keith (”Nashville”, “Dexter”, “Andre”) and Robert (”Revenge of the Nerds 1, 2 and 3) are always fun to watch.
One of my favorite movies is “The Long Riders” in which 4 sets of brothers play four sets of famous outlaw brothers: James and Stacey Keach are Frank and Jesse James; David, Keith and Robert Carradine are Cole, Jim and Bob Younger; Randy and Dennis Quaid are Clell and Ed Miller and Christopher and Nicholas Guest are Charlie and Bob Ford. It’s a great action-western western (almost as good as “The Wild Bunch”) with a terrific score by Ry Cooder and the brothers thing isn’t a gimmick it works really well. Particularly fascinating to me are the Carradines because each one has a distinctive style of acting that is different from the other.
No discussion of Hollywood families would be complete without acknowledging the Bridges; my second favorite Hollywood family: father Lloyd (”Sea Hunt”, “Airplane”) and sons Jeff (”The Dude”) and Beau.
Bob Graham says:
I have been chastised by Mr Sugar for not providing any credits for Beau Bridges. To correct my oversight I will say “The Fabulous Baker Boys” (also with Jeff) and “Valley of the Giants” (although he and probably everyone else involved, including Ron Howard, would probably like to forget it).
John Castellano says:
Ball Arnez Morton
Lucille Ball
Desi Arnez
Luci Arnez
Desi Arnez Jr.
Gary Morton (petty player second husband to Lucy)
Lucy Haydu says:
John, I’m with you…I was named after Lucille Ball from the “I love Lucy” show, naturally she’s my favorite!