Kevin Norwood Bacon was born on July 8, 1958, in Philadelphia, PA, the youngest of six children of noted city planner, Edmund Norwood Bacon and Ruth Hilda Holmes Bacon, a teacher and liberal political activist. After leaving home at the age of 18, he received his education at The Circle In The Square (where he became the youngest student to ever appear in a production) and the Manning Street Actor’s Theater. He made his film debut as Chip Diller in the frat-epic, “Animal House” (1978). A few forgettable films followed such as “Hero At Large” and “Friday The Thirteenth” (both 1980), and his breakthrough role came in 1982 with the portrayal of troubled Timothy Fenwick in Barry Levinson’s “Diner.” It would be another two years, however, before stardom and a persistent teen icondom, which came with the film, “Footloose” (1984).
His career was shaky over the next few years even though he still appeared in a number of films. They were all, however, curious failures. Among them were “Quicksilver” (1986) and “White Water Summer” (1987). In 1987, on the set of “Lemon Sky”, Bacon met the lady who would become his wife, Kyra Sedgewick. They married in 1988 and they have two children, a boy and a girl. His career faltered a bit over the next year or so, only to be revived in 1991 with the Oliver Stone conspiracy film, “JFK”. It proved to be a very important role for Kevin, as it finally permitted him to shed his “teen idol” image. Some fine performances followed, notably “Murder In The First” (1995) and “Apollo 13”.
In addition to his career as an actor, Kevin also tours with his brother, Michael playing country-folk music under the moniker of “The Bacon Brothers”. He also has become the center of a modern day parlor game called “The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”. The object of the game is to link any movie star to Kevin Bacon in fewer than six steps. The game is testimony to how well recognized and prominent he is in the world of the cinema and popular culture.
Yeah, Kevin! Keep up the good work!