Dennis Woodruff
Dennis Woodruff | |
|---|---|
 Woodruff in his car, 2015 | |
| Born | 1952 |
| Died | 2024 (aged 71–72) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, producer, director |
| Website | denniswoodruffshow |
Dennis Woodruff (1952–2024) was an American actor, producer, and director who was based in Los Angeles. He was known for his ostentatious self-promotion of his services as an actor, and for his fleet of hand decorated "art cars".[1] Much of his fame was derived from his lack of success in the movie industry.[2]
Career
[edit]In the 1980s, Woodruff began to decorate cars in order to advertise his acting career. He was producing his own movies by the 2000s.[3] He would leave his cars parked in prominent places to serve as personal promotion. He would also hand out flyers to movie producers and distributors at Hollywood events.[4][5] He started a production company, Dennis Woodruff Entertainment, with his brother Scott. They ran it out of a mobile home in Los Angeles.[6]
Woodruff was given background roles in works such as Quantum Leap, RoboCop 2, Serious Money, and Toys.[5][7] He featured in Harrod Blank's documentary Automorphosis, which focused on art cars and their artists.[7]
In 2020, Woodruff stated that he had created 28 movies and 3 television programs alongside collaborator Keith Kurlander.[8] He declared that he had "made more movies than Tarantino or anyone in Hollywood".[3] He sold physical copies of his films from the trunk of his car, and claimed to make $100,000 doing so annually.[9] He was also known for giving tours on Hollywood Boulevard and selling his movies to tourists.[10][11]
Personal life
[edit]Woodruff was born in Huntington Beach, California. He was the grandson of S. H. Woodruff, a prominent developer of Hollywoodland.[3] In 2000, the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "hard to live in L.A. and not know who Dennis Woodruff is".[6] He stated that his public persona was a character that he played.[6]
On October 2, 2024, Keith Kurlander announced the death of Woodruff.[12] He died alone at his West Hollywood apartment. He had no close next of kin.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Moore, Booth (24 May 2000). "Hollywood's Ever-Optimistic Outsider Artist". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Campbell, Rob (2007). Plato's Garage. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-4299-7151-5. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ a b c Kreuzer, Nikki (1 May 2016). "Offbeat L.A.: Cast Me in Your Next Film! Actor Dennis Woodruff, A Hollywood Legend and His Tricked Out Cars". The LA Beat. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ Harvey, Steve (7 June 1990). "Just in case you don't recognize Dennis..." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ a b "Actor Hopes to Ride Trusty (and Rusty) Colt to Success". Los Angeles Times. 12 March 1995. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ a b c Moore, Booth (24 May 2000). "Hollywood's Ever-Optimistic Outsider Artist". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ a b c Nichols, Chris (7 November 2024). "Hollywood Personality Dennis Woodruff Dies". LAmag. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "Dennis Woodruff: 40 Years of Not Being Famous Led to a Cult Following". VICE. July 11, 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ Rowe, Sam (April 2016). "Meet Hollywood's Greatest Failure" (PDF). Empire. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ Keefe, Terry (3 June 2017). "You were AWESOME in those 80s movies!!!". Medium. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ Stuart, Gwynedd (20 January 2020). "Dennis Woodruff, Hollywood's Most Notorious Aspiring Actor, Is Still Holding Out for His Big Break". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ Kurlander, Keith (2 October 2024). "Dennis Woodruff Has Left The Building And Is Now Driving His Car In Heaven. I got involved with Dennis over 25 years ago when we made the following film..." Facebook. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
External links
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