Richard Dreyfuss was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1947 and began his acting career at the Los Angeles Jewish Community Center when he was eight years old. He acted on television in shows such as Bewitched and The Big Valley and others for over a decade and worked in theater in Los Angeles from 1963. He started doing features in roles of size in the early 70s such as American Graffiti, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, and Jaws. He won the Oscar in 1978 for his performance in The Goodbye Girl. He has been acting in American theatre and films for 45 years. In his personal life, Dreyfuss has undertaken a nation-wide enterprise to encourage, revive, elevate, and enhance the teaching of civics in American schools. He has become a spokesperson on the issue of media informing policy, legislation, and public opinion, both speaking and writing to express his sentiments in favor of privacy, freedom of speech, democracy, and individual accountability.
The Dreyfuss Civics Initiative is a non-profit, non-partisan organization launched in 2008. It aims to revive the teaching of civics in American public education to empower future generations with the critical-thinking skills they need to fulfill the vast potential of American citizenship. Its programs promote the advancement of civic education, civic virtue, and the role citizens can play in the success of the United States.
