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Trivia
Birth name: Richard Tiffany Gere
Date of birth: 31 August 1949
Place of birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Height: 5' 10½" (1.79 m)
Spouse: Carey Lowell (9 November 2002 - present) 1 child, Cindy Crawford (12 December 1991 - 1995) (divorced).
Attended the University of Massachusetts.
Dropped out to pursue acting.
Is the second of five children born to Homer
and Doris Gere
People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive [1999]
Graduated from North Syracuse Central High
School; [1967]
Was a member of the student council,
gymnastics team, lacrosse, and ski team
Won a gymnastics scholarship to the
University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he majored in philosophy; he
dropped out in 1969 to pursue acting.
Listed as one of twelve "Promising New
Actors of 1977" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 29. [1977]
A Buddhist for over a decade, Gere was
banned from the Oscars once after making anti-China comments on the air
at the 1993 ceremony.
Cindy Crawford and Richard were married 12
December 1991 by Rev. Wes McPherson at the Little Church of the West,
Las Vegas.
He appeared in the music video and sang in
the choir on the song "Voices That Care."
Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50
Most Beautiful People in the world. [1991]
An accomplished pianist and music writer; in
fact, he composed and performed the piano solo featured in _Pretty Woman
(1991)_ .
His son, with actress Carey Lowell, Homer
James Jigme Gere was born on 6th February 2000 in New York City weighing
in at 8 pounds, 12 ounces.
When the Chinese Government asked Gere to
one of their film festivals, Gere would go attend two conditions: 1.
That he was allowed to bring his own interpretor and 2. That he would
stay in Taipei, Taiwan during his visit. The government agreed and Gere
went to the festival.
Named his son: Homer James Jigme. "Jigme"
means "fearless" in Tibetan.
Turned down the lead role in Die Hard (1988)
which went to Bruce
Willis.
Is referenced in the 2001 hit song
"Crying at the Discothéque" by Swedish dance group Alcazar.
Irish-American
He trained for five months for the tap dance
scene in Chicago (2002).
Some of his earliest photos, known as
"head shots" were taken by boyhood friend and struggling
photographer Herb Ritts. The people handling Gere were so impressed with
the photos, they began hiring Ritts for other assignments and he is now
a top photographer.
Agreed to a small role in the HBO film And
the Band Played On (1993) (TV) despite the prevalent belief in the film
industry it would be detrimental to his career. Subsequently, stars like
Steve Martin, Alan Alda, Phil Collins and Anjelica Huston were willing
to appear.
Visited Kosovo's fugitives in Macedonia,
during the Kosovo's crisis in 1999.
Is a vegetarian.
Was the first man ever to appear on the
cover of Vogue magazine (with then-wife Cindy Crawford). To date, he and
George
Clooney are the only men to have had the privilege.
Is President of The Gere Foundation, founded
in 1991. The non-profit organization focusing on international
humanitarian issues, with emphasis on Tibet.
In the three films that made him a star,
_Days in Heaven (1979), American Gigolo (1980), and An Officer and a
Gentleman (1982), his role had been turned down by John Travolta.
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