Ed Bruce
Biography
Ed Bruce was an American country singer, songwriter and actor who grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, and got his start in music after the Sun Records owner Sam Phillips took an interest in him in 1957. He recorded rockabilly for RCA and smaller labels in the early 1960s, first charted in 1967 with Walker's Woods, and wrote songs that other artists turned into hits, among them Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys, a major success for Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings in 1978. In 1982 he topped the country chart with You're the Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had, his first top-10 hit as a singer. He later shifted toward acting, co-starring as a town lawman in the television series Bret Maverick and appearing in films including Fire Down Below (1997). In 2018 he received an Arkansas Country Music Award for lifetime achievement.
81years old at death
- Born Keiser
- Died Clarksville
- Star sign: CapricornThe sign runs December 22 to January 19
- William Edwin Bruce Jr. (birth name)
Movie Career
- Films
- 3
- Career span
- 24 years1986 to 2010
Every film, newest first
- 2010Country StrongIMDb rating 6.3
- 1997Fire Down BelowIMDb rating 5.2
- 1986The Last Days of Frank and Jesse JamesIMDb rating 6.2
Genres
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A first
Ed Bruce's first charted single came in 1967 with "Walker's Woods." He also made the charts with his own version of The Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville."
A first
Ed Bruce's biggest hit was "You're the Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had," which topped the country chart in 1982. It was his first top-10 hit as a singer, coming after 15 years.
Beyond film
Ed Bruce wrote and sang the theme song for Bret Maverick, the 1981-82 NBC revival of Maverick, and James Garner sang that same song over the end titles while network announcements kept interrupting him.
First role
In 1957, when he was 17, Ed Bruce visited Jack Clement, a recording engineer for Sun Records. Sam Phillips, who owned Sun, took notice of Bruce, and Bruce wrote and recorded "Rock Boppin' Baby" for him as "Edwin Bruce".
Ed Bruce movies on Netflix
Worked with
Ed Bruce shares two films with Kris Kristofferson, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Kris Kristofferson's page
Harry Dean Stanton's page
Stephen Lang's page
Steven Seagal's page
John Diehl's page
Gwyneth Paltrow's page
Félix Enríquez AlcaláDirector, 1 film, 1997
All films by Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Shana FesteDirector, 1 film, 2010
All films by Shana Feste
William A. GrahamDirector, 1 film, 1986
All films by William A. Graham
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.