Biography
A longtime activist in various liberal political causes, Beatty has, at various times, been extremely active in the presidential politics of the Democratic Party.
In 1968, he hit the campaign trail for the first time, supporting Senator Robert F. Kennedy's bid for his party's presidential nomination. His involvement in the senator's campaign, which included stump speaking and fundraising, was cut short when Kennedy was shot and killed by Sirhan Sirhan on the same night that he won a crucial primary in California.
Four years later, Beatty joined the campaign of Senator George McGovern as an advisor. As part of the so-called "Malibu Mafia," a group of Hollywood celebrities who were part of the candidate's "inner circle," Beatty gave McGovern's campaign manager Gary Hart advice about the handling of public relations and was instrumental in organizing a series of rock concerts which raised over $1 million for the senator's campaign.
In 1984, and again in 1988, Beatty was to play a similar role in Hart's own presidential campaigns. Hart, who had, by that time, become a senator himself, had become friends with Beatty during the 1972 campaign and the relationship had grown closer during the intervening decade. After Hart's second campaign imploded over allegations that he had committed adultery with a former beauty queen named Donna Rice, a mutual friend of the two explained why they were so close: "Gary always wanted to have Warren's life and Warren always wanted to have Gary's. It was a match made in heaven."
Beatty himself was to become presidential timber during the summer of 1999. After it became clear that the only two contenders for the Democratic Party's nomination were to be Vice President Al Gore and former Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey, Beatty made it generally known that he was dissatisfied with the two choices and began to drop hints that he might be willing to seek the nomination himself. "Bulworth" a film that Beatty made in 1998 about a U.S. senator who undergoes a radical transformation into a hip hop spouting ghetto populist seems to have been made expressly for the purpose of presenting Beatty as a "man of the people". After meeting with several powerful liberal activists and influential Democratic operatives, including pollster Pat Caddell, who had worked previously for Hart, McGovern, and President Jimmy Carter, and adman Bill Hillsman, who had worked on the campaigns of Senator Paul Wellstone and Governor Jesse Ventura, Beatty announced in September of 1999 that he would not seek the nomination. However, he continued to be courted by members of a different political party, the Reform Party, who were looking for an alternative to Pat Buchanan, a conservative who had switched parties after losing the Republican Party's presidential nomination for the third time in a row. Despite frequent entreaties by Governor Ventura, real-estate magnate Donald Trump, and syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington, Beatty refused to enter the race and Buchanan eventually won the Reform Party's nomination. Later in the campaign, Beatty announced that he was endorsing Ralph Nader for president.
Despite his decision not to seek the presidency in 2000, Beatty intimated that he might still run at a later time, telling reporters that he would do so if he thought he "could make an impact on the debate."
As California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's popularity with California voters dropped, Beatty campaigned against the special election in November 2005. He was the keynote speaker at the California Nurses Association's 2005 convention, and recorded radio ads urging voters to reject Schwarzenegger's ballot proposals. The propositions were defeated at the ballot box, increasing speculation that Beatty may run against Schwarzenegger in the 2006 election. Beatty has said that he is reluctant to enter the race because of the possibility of revealing his sexual liasons, but he has not ruled it out.
Trivia
Beatty studied acting at Northwestern University and joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity, but dropped-out prior to graduation.
He is a good friend of Jack Nicholson and Garry Shandling, with whom he has worked on several films.
Beatty graduated from Washington and Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia. [1] [2]
Beatty is 6'2".
Turned down roles in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Way We Were, The Great Gatsby and The Godfather.
Has a lifelong addiction to ice cream.
Was interested to play the title role in Crimson Tide.
The part of Bill in the film Kill Bill was originally written for him.
While attending Northwestern University, Warren Beatty once rode a motorcycle into his European History class. When he turned the engine off, the class and professor were still in a stunned silence. Before anyone could say a word, Beatty ripped out an electric guitar and performed what was reported to be a very rousing rendition of Good Golly, Miss Molly. He then got back on the motorcyle, rode out of class, and never returned to the university again. [citation needed] (This particular stunt is one of several urban legends that have been attributed to several actors in Mr. Beatty's generation at various universities.)
One of his first jobs was as a "rat catcher" in a Virginia movie theater.
Dick Tracy is the highest grossing film of Beatty's career.
Has starred in two of the biggest flops of all time, Ishtar and Town & Country.
Filmography
Splendor in the Grass (1961)
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961)
All Fall Down (1962)
Lilith (1964)
Mickey One (1965)
Promise Her Anything (1965)
Kaleidoscope (1966)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) (also producer)
The Only Game in Town (1970)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) (also writer)
$ (1971)
Year of the Woman (1973) (documentary)
The Parallax View (1974)
Shampoo (1975) (also producer and co-writer with Robert Towne)
The Fortune (1975)
Heaven Can Wait (1978) (also director, producer and writer)
Reds (1981) (also director, producer, and writer)
George Stevens: A Filmmakers Journey (1984) (documentary)
Ishtar (1987) (also producer)
Dick Tracy (1990) (also producer and director)
Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991) (documentary)
Bugsy (1991) (also producer)
Writing with Light: Vittorio Storaro (1992) (documentary)
Love Affair (1994) (also writer)
Bulworth (1998) (also producer, director and writer)
The Book That Wrote Itself (1999) (cameo)
Town & Country (2001)
Dean Tavoularis: The Magician of Hollywood (2003) (documentary)
One Bright Shining Moment (2005) (documentary)
