Bruce William Boxleitner (born May 12, 1950) is an American actor and science fiction and suspense writer. He is known for his leading roles in the television series: How the West Was Won, Bring 'Em Back Alive, Scarecrow and Mrs. King (with Kate Jackson) and Babylon 5 (as John Sheridan in seasons 2–5, 1994–99). He is known for his dual role as the characters Alan Bradley and Tron in the 1982 Walt Disney Pictures film Tron, a role which he reprised in the 2003 video game Tron 2.0, the 2006 Square-Enix/Disney crossover game Kingdom Hearts II, the 2010 film sequel, Tron: Legacy and the animated series Tron: Uprising. He co-starred in most of the Gambler films with Kenny Rogers, where his character provided comic relief. He also voiced General Moss in the films AniMen: Triton Force and AniMen: The Galactic Battle.
Early life Boxleitner was born on May 12, 1950, in Elgin, Illinois. He attended Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, Illinois, and the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University).
Career
Television
Boxleitner is known for his leading roles in the television series How the West Was Won, Bring 'Em Back Alive, Scarecrow and Mrs. King (with Kate Jackson and Beverly Garland), and Babylon 5 (as John Sheridan in seasons 2–5, 1991–95). Bruce Boxleitner even has Amigas of which the Amiga was used to Make all 5 Seasons 1990 -1995, and the Spinoffs and the Movies of Babylon 5.
He also starred in The Gambler (as "Billy Montana", alongside Kenny Rogers: 1980, 1983 and 1987) and in such television films as Judith Krantz's Till We Meet Again and Danielle Steel's Zoya. In 2005, he co-starred as Captain Martin Duvall in Young Blades. He has also starred in several films within the Babylon 5 universe, including Babylon 5: In the Beginning (TV, 1998), Babylon 5: Thirdspace (TV, 1998), Babylon 5: A Call to Arms (TV, 1999), and the direct-to-DVD Babylon 5: The Lost Tales (2007).
Boxleitner has appeared in many other TV shows, including an appearance in 1973 as Rick Welsh, a University of Minnesota Track Star, in the season four episode, "I Gave at the Office", of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Other appearances include Gunsmoke, including the last episode of its twenty-year run; Tales from the Crypt; Touched by an Angel; The Outer Limits and She Spies. In 1982, he played Chase Marshall in the TV film Bare Essence, with Genie Francis. He was a member of the cast of Heroes for seasons three and four, playing New York Governor Robert Malden in three episodes. He also appears on the television series Chuck as the father of Devon Woodcomb. He was in such made-for-television films as The Secret, Hope Ranch, Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door, Pandemic, Sharpshooter and Aces 'n' Eights.
Boxleitner was a guest-star on NCIS in the fall of 2010. He played Vice Admiral C. Clifford Chase, a high-ranking Navy official. He reprised this role in the spring of 2017. Boxleitner also lends his voice to the animated version of his iconic character Tron in the animated series Tron: Uprising. The series premiered on Disney XD on June 7, 2012. He also reprises the character Alan Bradley/Tron from the films Tron and Tron: Legacy. From 2013 to 2015, he played Bob Beldon, the owner of the local bed and breakfast, in the Hallmark Channel series Cedar Cove.
Boxleitner later recurred on Supergirl portraying Baker, the vice-president of the United States who is later sworn in as the new president after Olivia Marsdin (Lynda Carter) is revealed as an extraterrestrial. He gained the role after Brent Spiner stepped down due to a scheduling conflict.
From 2019, Boxleitner had a recurring role on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries series of films The Matchmaker Mysteries.
Film
He has appeared in several theatrical films, including Tron (in which he played the title role) and The Baltimore Bullet (1980) with James Coburn. He reprised his role in the Tron sequel Tron: Legacy and in the video game Tron: Evolution which was released alongside the film Tron: Legacy, as he did for the sequel video game named Tron 2.0, and Disney/Square Enix crossover video game Kingdom Hearts II. Boxleitner also voiced Col. John Konrad in video game Spec Ops: The Line. He also starred as Confederate General James Longstreet in the 2003 film Gods and Generals. He provides the voice of Colin Barrow in the animated science fiction horror film Dead Space: Downfall, based on the video game Dead Space. Other films he has performed in include: Kuffs, The Babe, Brilliant, Snakehead Terror, Legion of the Dead, King of the Lost World, Shadows in Paradise and Transmorphers: Fall of Man.
In July 2015, Boxleitner said that he is done with the Tron franchise, as "it's been too up and down for me. I would rather not just keep going. I don't want to repeat my career anymore."
Modeling From 1986 to 1989, Boxleitner appeared in advertisements for Estee Lauder's "Lauder For Men".
Novels Boxleitner is the author of two science fiction novels with a Western setting, Frontier Earth (1999) and Searcher (2001).
Audio books Boxleitner played a major role in the audio dramatization of The Great Secret, part of the Golden Age of Fiction series by L. Ron Hubbard. He also played Captain Gavin Blaire in the unabridged version of World War Z.
Personal life Boxleitner's first marriage was to American actress Kathryn Holcomb, who co-starred with him on How The West Was Won as his on-screen sister Laura. They had two sons together.
Boxleitner's second marriage was to American actress Melissa Gilbert. They have a son born in 1995. Gilbert also guest-starred as Boxleitner's on-screen wife, Anna Sheridan, during Season 3 of Babylon 5. On March 1, 2011, Gilbert announced that she and Bruce had separated after 16 years of marriage. On August 25 of the same year, it was reported that Gilbert had filed for divorce.
In 2003, Boxleitner was appointed to the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, a nonprofit, educational space advocacy organization founded by Dr. Wernher von Braun.
He was friends with actress Beverly Garland for nearly 30 years. He met her on an episode of How The West Was Won, and later co-starred alongside her on Scarecrow & Mrs. King, though he had very few scenes with her. Then, in 1986, Boxleitner presented Garland the Golden Boot Award. After the cancellation of Scarecrow, Boxleitner remained close to Garland, contacting her consistently, until her death, on December 5, 2008. He said in an interview: "I used to keep up with Beverly Garland until she passed. There was actually a hotel named after her. She was such a trip. She was a great lady."
Bruce is currently married to publicist Verena King.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1975 Sixpack Annie Bobby Joe 1980 The Baltimore Bullet Billie Joe Robbins 1982 Tron Alan Bradley / Tron 1990 Breakaway Joey 1991 Diplomatic Immunity Cole Hickel 1992 Kuffs Officer Brad Kuffs The Babe Joe "Jumpin' Joe" Dugan 1999 Free Fall Mark Ettinger 2000 The Perfect Nanny Dr. Robert Lewis 2001 Life in the Balance Eric Johnson 2002 Contagion President Howard The Only Witness Agent Nicholas Preston 2003 Gods and Generals Lieutenant General James Longstreet 2004 Brilliant Dr. Dietrich 2005 Legion of the Dead Sheriff Jones King of the Lost World Lieutenant Challenger 2007 Babylon 5: The Lost Tales President John J. Sheridan Direct-to-video2007The Simpsons MovieDome DepotVoice 2008 Dead Space: Downfall Colin Barrow Voice, direct-to-video 2009 Transmorphers: Fall of Man Sheriff Hadley Ryan Direct-to-video 2010 Shadows in Paradise Captain Dyer AniMen: Triton Force General MossVoice Tron: Legacy Alan Bradley / Tron / Rinzler 2011 51 Colonel Martin Tron: The Next Day Alan Bradley Short film 2012 AniMen: The Galactic Battle General Moss Voice 2013 Silver Bells Bruce Dalton Direct-to-video 2018 The Oath Vice President Hogan 2023 Babylon 5: The Road Home John Sheridan Voice, Direct-to-video Far Haven Ben Watkins 2024 Space Command Redemption General Joe Haldeman 2026 Batman: Knightfall Commissioner Gordon Voice, Direct-to-video Gettysburg 1863 Samuel Schmucker Filming
Television films Year Title Role Notes 1974 The Chadwick Family Danny 1975 A Cry for Help Richie Danko 1976 The Macahans Luke Macahan Kiss Me...Kill Me Douglas Lane 1977 Murder at the World Series Cisco 1978 Happily Ever After Jack 1980 Kenny Rogers as The Gambler Billy Montana 1981 Fly Away Home Carl Danton 1983 Kenny Rogers as the Gambler: The Adventure Continues Billy Montana I Married Wyatt Earp Wyatt Earp 1986 Passion Flower Larry Janson Louis L'Amour's Down the Long Hills Scott Collins 1987 Angel in Green Captain William Wicker Kenny Rogers as the Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues Billy Montana 1988 Red River Matthew Garth The Town Bully Robert Doniger 1989 From the Dead of Night Peter Langford Road Raiders Charlie Rhodes 1991 Murderous Vision Detective Kyle Robeshaw 1992 The Secret Patrick Dunmore Perfect Family Allan Bodine Double Jeopardy Jack Hart 1993 Flight from Justice Michael Shafer House of Secrets Dr. Frank Ravinel 1994 Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice Davis Healy Wyatt Earp: Return to Tombstone Sam - Sheriff of Cochise County Gambler V: Playing for Keeps Billy Montana 1995 Danielle Steel's Zoya Clayton Andrews1998 Babylon 5: In the BeginningCaptain John J. Sheridan Babylon 5: Thirdspace 1999 Babylon 5: A Call to Arms 2002 Perilous Judd Ross Hope Ranch J.T. Hope 2003 Killer Flood: The Day the Dam Broke Jordan Walker 2004 Snakehead Terror Sheriff Patrick James They Are Among Us Hugh Saving Emily Gregory 2005 Detective Ketledge A Killer Upstairs Detective Bruning 2006 Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door Frank Lucas Double Cross James Mystery Woman: Wild West Mystery Clint Lawson 2007 Pandemic Kenneth Friedlander Sharpshooter Sheriff Gardner 2008 Bone Eater Sheriff Steve Evans Aces 'N' Eights D.C. Cracker 2010 Lego Atlantis: The Movie Captain Ace SpeedmanVoice 2011 Love's Everlasting Courage Lloyd Davis 2013 The Thanksgiving House Parker Mather 2015 So You Said Yes Nick Blanche 2016 Wedding Bells Charlie Turner Double Mommy Scott Davick 2017 Gourmet Detective: Eat, Drink, and Be Buried Jim Ross 2018 The Christmas Contract Tim Guidry 2019 Matchmaker Mysteries: A Killer Engagement Nick Columba Holiday Date Walter Miller 2020 Roux the Day: A Gourmet Detective Mystery Jim Ross Matchmaker Mysteries: A Fatal RomanceNick Columba 2021 Matchmaker Mysteries: The Art of the Kill 2024 Christmas Under the Northern Lights Doug Barnes Great American Family
Television series