Bruce Abbott

Bruce Paul Abbott (born July 28, 1954) is an American film, stage, and television actor. Originally beginning his career in theater, Abbott later gained notoriety for his role as Dr. Dan Cain in the cult sci-fi horror films Re-Animator (1985)[1] and Bride of Re-Animator (1990).[2]

Bruce Abbott
Abbott in 1988
Born	Bruce Paul Abbott (1954-07-28) July 28, 1954 Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Alma mater	Portland State University American Conservatory Theater
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1982–present
Spouse(s)	Linda Hamilton ​ ( m. 1982; div. 1989) Kathleen Quinlan ​ ( m. 1994)
Children	2

He has also had roles in the horror films Bad Dreams (1988) and The Prophecy II (1996), as well as the sci-fi film Out of Time. From 1992 to 1993, he portrayed Judge Nicholas Marshall on the television series Dark Justice.

Early life

Abbott was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, where he graduated from David Douglas High School in 1972.[3] His career began as a dancer and actor in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, where he spent three seasons from 1975 to 1978, appearing in productions of A Winter's Tale, All's Well That Ends Well, Henry VI Part 2, The Tempest, and The Tragedy of King Richard III.[4]

He attended Portland State University, and later the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California.[5]

Career

In 1980, Abbott relocated from Portland to Hollywood ("in the middle of the actors' strike, and I didn't know anyone," he recalled). Shortly afterwards, he was cast as the villain in the movie Tag: The Assassination Game. He met his future (first) wife Linda Hamilton on the set. In 1985, he starred as Dr. Dan Cain in Stuart Gordon's sci-fi horror film Re-Animator (1985), a role he reprised in the sequel Bride of Re-Animator (1990).[6] He later starred in Summer Heat (1987), a period drama, with Lori Singer and Kathy Bates. He also starred in the horror film Bad Dreams (1988) directed by Andrew Fleming, and the comedy Casual Sex? (1989). Abbot had a lead role in the futuristic television film Out of Time (1988), with Bill Maher.

In 1991, he appeared as Harry Pierpont in the television film Dillinger, with Sherilyn Fenn and Patricia Arquette. From 1992 to 1993, he appeared in a recurring role as Judge Nicholas Marshall in the series Dark Justice.[7]

Throughout his career, Abbott has been a guest star on many TV series Murder, She Wrote, Family Law, Diagnosis: Murder, and more. He had a recurring role in the short-lived series The Net, based on the film of the same title starring Sandra Bullock. He appeared in the horror sequel The Prophecy II (1996), with Christopher Walken and Brittany Murphy.[8]

Abbott is semi-retired from acting. He is an architect and artist and works in the custom-design industry. He has designed more than 20 homes.

Personal life

Abbott married Linda Hamilton in 1982; the union produced one child, Dalton Bruce (born October 4, 1989) (who can be seen in Terminator 2: Judgment Day as Infant John Connor). He and Linda divorced around 1989. That same year, on the set of the television film Trapped, Abbott met actress Kathleen Quinlan. They married April 12, 1994 and have one son, Tyler Quinlan (born October 17, 1990).

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Tag: The Assassination Game	Loren Gersh
1984	Why Me?	Markus	Television film
1984	The Last Starfighter	Rylan Sargent
1984	Velvet	Breed	Television film
1985	Re-Animator	Dan Cain
1985	Command 5	Deke Williams	Television film
1987	Summer Heat	Jack Ruffin
1987	Interzone	Swan
1988	Baja Oklahoma	Dove Christian
1988	Bad Dreams	Dr. Alex Karmen
1988	Casual Sex?	Keith
1988	Out of Time	Channing Taylor	Television film
1989	Trapped	John Doe	Television film
1989	Bride of Re-Animator	Dr. Dan Cain
1990	Johnny Ryan	Tom Kelly	Television film
1990	Kaleidoscope	Sam	Television film
1991	Dillinger	Harry Pierpont
1995	The Demolitionist	Professor Jack Crowley
1995	Black Scorpion	Michael Russo
1997	Melanie Darrow	Alex Kramer	Television film
1998	The Prophecy II	Thomas Daggett
2002	Trance	Taylor Black
2007	Humble Pie	Captain Atticus
2009	Adult Film: A Hollywood Tale	President Brad
2010	Eagles in the Chicken Coop	President Brad

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	The Blue and the Gray	Jake Hale Jr.	Miniseries
1985	MacGyver	Major Nikolai Kossov	1 episode
1988–1990	Beauty and the Beast	Devin Wells	2 episodes
1990	Father Dowling Mysteries	Nick Moran	1 episode
1991–95	Murder, She Wrote	Various	3 episodes
1992–93	Dark Justice	Judge Nicholas Marshall	20 episodes
1994	Diagnosis Murder	Paul Madison	1 episode
1998	The Net	Walter Cizelski	4 episodes
2000–02	Family Law	Colin Andrews	4 episodes
2002	UC: Undercover	Edward Curtis	1 episode

References

Notes

1. Maslin, Janet (October 18, 1985). "Re Animator (1985) SCREEN: STUART GORDON DIRECTS 'RE-ANIMATOR". The New York Times.
2. Canby, Vincent (February 22, 1991). "The Bride of Re Animator (1990) Review/Film; Bride's Head Revisited". The New York Times.
3. David Douglas High School Yearbook, Celtic 1972. 17. Portland, Oregon: David Douglas High School. 1972. p. 216.
4. "Bruce Abbott Biography (1954–)". Film Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
5. "Abbott, Bruce (1954–)". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
6. Rowan 2016, p. 22.
7. Erickson 2009, p. 75.
8. Mayo 2013, p. 478.

Sources

• Erickson, Hal (2009). Encyclopedia of Television Law Shows: Factual and Fictional Series About Judges, Lawyers and the Courtroom, 1948-2008. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-43828-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Mayo, Mike (2013). The Horror Show Guide: The Ultimate Frightfest of Movies. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-1-578-59420-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Rowan, Terry (2016). Hollywood Monsters & Creepy Things. Lulu. ISBN 978-1-365-46197-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Bruce Abbott at AllMovie
• Bruce Abbott on IMDb