Kevin Kline's father owned a toy and record store in Clayton, MO, called "The Record Bar.".
Appeared with John Cleese in Silverado (1985), A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Fierce Creatures (1997). He would later appear in The Pink Panther (2006), but was replaced in the sequel by none other than Cleese. His cast mate in that film is Steve Martin, with whom he previously appeared in Grand Canyon (1991). Kline went on to appear on stage as Cyrano de Bergerac, while Martin played a modern Cyrano-like character in Roxanne (1987).
Appears with wife Phoebe Cates and their two children, Owen Kline and Greta Kline, as a family of four in The Anniversary Party (2001).
Became the 2,272nd recipient of a bronze-edged star embedded in the pavement of Los Angeles' Hollywood Boulevard.
Brother of producer Kate Kline May.
Children: Owen Kline (full name, Owen Joseph Kline, b. October 14th 1991) and Greta Kline (full name, Greta Simone Kline, b. March 21st 1994).
Graduate of St. Louis Priory School (Class of 1965).
Graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana in 1970 with a BA in Speech & Theatre.
Has a star in the St. Louis Walk of Fame located on the Delmar Loop.
Has played dual roles in three of his films: Dave (1993), Wild Wild West (1999) and Fierce Creatures (1997). In each film, one of his characters has to impersonate the other one.
Has won two Tony awards, the first in 1978 for the role of Bruce Granit in 'On the Twentieth Century', and the second in 1981 for the role of The Pirate King in 'The Pirates of Penzance.'
In 1975, he met with director Steven Spielberg about playing Matt Hooper in Jaws (1975) (Played by Richard Dreyfuss). Kevin said that he knew someone who was an oceanographer and thought he could play one. Spielberg then told him "I don't want someone who knows someone who is an oceanographer, I want someone who is an oceanographer". Richard Dreyfuss then got the part.
Inspired the Kevin Kline Mustache Principle, according to movie critic Roger Ebert: Kline always has facial hair in comedies, but is clean-shaven in dramatic roles. There are several exceptions to the rule, most notably In & Out (1997) and Wild Wild West (1999) (although in the latter, he did wear a beard and mustache to play President Ulysses S. Grant).
Kevin is the first American actor to receive the Sir John Gielgud Golden Quill Award and was recently honored with the Lucille Lortel Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2004, he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.
Kline has played presidents and their doubles twice to date: he played Dave and President Bill Mitchell in Dave (1993), and Artemus Gordon and President Ulysses S. Grant in Wild Wild West (1999).
Kline is one of the few actors in history to receive the Academy Award for a comedic acting role (A Fish Called Wanda (1988)).
Met future wife Phoebe Cates when she auditioned for the part of Chloe in The Big Chill (1983), that eventually went to 'Meg Tilly'.
Son-in-law of Joseph Cates.
Studied acting with Michael Howard in New York City.
The Kevin Kline Awards were first presented on March 20, 2006 in honor of the actor, a St. Louis native and Priory School graduate. The awards recognize outstanding achievement in Professional Theatre in the Greater St. Louis Area. They honor theatre artists and productions in over 20 categories. Earlier in 1998, he was inducted to the St. Louis Wall of Fame.