Elliott Gould Biography
Born: August 29, 1938
ELLIOT GOULD
Date of Birth: August 29, 1938
Born to a textiles buyer and a seller of artificial flowers, Elliot Gould was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. With immigrant grandparents from the Ukraine, Poland and Russia, Gould identifies himself as having a very deep Jewish identity. The actor graduated from the Professional Children's School, a college preparatory institution.
Gould began acting in the early 1960s, when he landed his first role in the small film The Confession. This was followed by another job playing the Jester in the made-for-television adaptation of The Princess and the Pea, Once Upon a Mattress. By the end of the decade, he had landed a larger role in William Friedkin's The Night They Raided Minsky's and was soon starring as the titular Ted in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. In spite of this being only his fourth performance, Gould was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role, as well as a BAFTA for Best Actor and a Golden Laurel for Male New Face that same year.
By the time the 1970s hit, Gould was a bona fide star. Coming off of the high of his Oscar nomination in 1969, Gould chose to follow up his character of Ted with another award-worthy role: Trapper John McIntyre in Robert Altman's MASH film. Only a year after his first round of award nominations, Gould was now nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy for his role in Altman's film, and even won a Golden Laurel for Best Comedy Performance, Male.
Throughout the rest of the decade, Gould appeared in many films and television shows, including notable roles in productions such as A Bridge Too Far, the remake of The Lady Vanishes and multiple hosting appearances in the first few seasons of Saturday Night Live. Though his career began to slow towards the end of the '70s following a string of critical and commercial disappointments, Gould has always maintained a very steady and healthy career, even to this day. He has appeared in films and television shows as diverse as Friends, Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven series, American History X and the Disney channel, animated series Kim Possible, even lending his voice to the 2006 video game, Scarface: The World is Yours.
Most recently, he played Leonard, an elderly man who hires a caretaker played by Riverdale's Camila Mendes in the Netflix thriller Dangerous Lies (2020).
Gould has been seen in the occasional theatrical performance, including a brief stint on I Can Get it For You Wholesale, where he met his one-time wife, Barbara Streisand. He is also a prominent member of the Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors, and has remained on the board for the last six years.