Jeff Goldbum is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his roles in the “Jurassic Park” and “Independence Day” sequels.
Jeff Goldblum was born in 1952 to Jewish parents in West Homestead, Pennsylvania. His family originates from Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His roots are from Starobin, Belarus, and Zolochiv, Ukraine. Goldblum moved to New York City at age 17 to pursue acting.
To learn more about Jeff Goldblum’s childhood, and extremely successful acting and music careers, keep reading.
Jeff Goldblum’s Upbringing
Jeff Goldblum was born in 1952 to a radio broadcaster mother and a father who was a medical doctor and a major in the U.S. Army. He had three siblings, however, his older brother Rick, died at 23 while traveling in Morocco.
Jeff Goldblum credits his late brother Rick for installing an interest in jazz music in Jeff. At 14, Jeff was already taking piano lessons for several years, but decided to pursue acting at age 17 when he decided to move to New York.
In New York, Jeff studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse, and had his Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning musical “Two Gentlemen of Verona”. In 1974, Jeff made his film debut in the film “Death Wish”.
In 1986, Jeff played in “The Fly”, an science-fiction horror movie. He was nominated for two awards and won the “Saturn Award for Best Actor” for the role in that movie.
In 1993, Goldblum played the role of Dr. Ian Malcolm in the first part of the sequel “Jurassic Park”. In 1997, he played in the fifth movie of the same franchise.
In 1996 and 2016, Jeff Goldblum played in the first and the second part of the sequel “Independence Day”. The sequels “Jurassic Park” and “Independence Day” are among some of the highest-grossing movies of all time.
Jeff Goldblum’s Jazz Career
As mentioned earlier, Jeff Goldblum credits his late brother, Rick, for introducing him to jazz music. Goldblum is actually a world class jazz pianist today and has already released a studio album in 2018.
Goldblum has his own jazz ensemble called the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. The name of the group was inspired by the name of Goldblum’s family friend.
With them, he released a studio album in 2018 called “The Capitol Studios Sessions”. The album was a hit and made it to the top of the US Jazz Album charts.
Goldblum revealed that, hadn’t he become an actor, he definitely would have pursued a career as a professional musician. In the mid 1990s, he decided to set up a residency at a Los Angeles club.
Goldblum started playing in a duo, with his friend, actor Peter Weller, who quickly dropped out, and Goldblum continued playing by himself. He later started performing with the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra at the Rockwell club in Los Angeles.
Jeff revealed that, if he isn’t out of town for work, he is at the Rockwell every week performing from 8 in the evening to 11:30. He discovers that, while he usually plays shows of 45 minutes when he performs in Paris, Berlin or London, performing at Rockwell every week is a rather different experience for him.
Over time, Jeff established an atmosphere and an interactive experience with the audience. He enjoys using the break somewhere mid-show to meet the audience, take photos with them, and talk to them.
Jeff even plays games with the audience prior to the show, such as “Would You Rather?”. He enjoys finding out where the people from the audience are from, and does not shy away from autographs or selfies with the fans.
Jeff Goldblum’s New Show
The actor started his new show in 2019 on channel Disney+ called “The World According to Jeff Goldblum”. It is a documentary web television series showing Jeff Goldblum showing everyday things such as ice cream, sneakers, etc, and finding out interesting facts about them.
The show has been very well received among the audience and has been renewed for a second season in 2020.
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