Cast

David Bowie

Acting

Cast

David Bowie

Known for

Acting

Born

1947-01-08

From

London, England, UK

Died

2016-01-10

Also known as David Robert Jones , Tin Machine, David Jones

Biography

David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer, songwriter and actor. He was a figure in popular music for over five decades, regarded by critics and musicians as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, his music and stagecraft significantly influencing popular music. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million worldwide, made him one of the world's best-selling music artists. In the UK, he was awarded nine platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, releasing eleven number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and seven gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Born and raised in South London, Bowie developed an interest in music as a child, eventually studying art, music and design before embarking on a professional career as a musician in 1963. “Space Oddity” became his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart after its release in July 1969. After a period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by the success of his single “Starman” and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which won him widespread popularity. In 1975, Bowie's style shifted radically towards a sound he characterized as “plastic soul,” initially alienating many of his UK devotees but garnering him his first major US crossover success with the number-one single “Fame” and the album Young Americans. In 1976, Bowie starred in the cult film The Man Who Fell to Earth and released Station to Station. The following year, he further confounded musical expectations with the electronic-inflected album Low (1977), the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno that would come to be known as the Berlin Trilogy. Heroes (1977) and Lodger (1979) followed; each album reached the UK top five and received lasting critical praise. After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single “Ashes to Ashes,” its parent album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and “Under Pressure,” a 1981 collaboration with Queen. He then reached his commercial peak in 1983 with Let's Dance, with its title track topping both UK and US charts. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including industrial and jungle. Bowie also continued acting; his roles included Major Celliers in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), the Goblin King Jareth in Labyrinth (1986), Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (2006), among other film and television appearances and cameos. He stopped concert touring after 2004 and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with the release of The Next Day. He remained musically active until he died of liver cancer two days after the release of his final album, Blackstar (2016).

David Bowie

David Bowie

Biography

The Prestige

David Bowie: Love You Till Tuesday

Arthur and the Invisibles

Labyrinth

Zoolander

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

The Last Temptation of Christ

Eno

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

The Man Who Fell to Earth

LOLA

Burden

Thriller 40

WHAM!

Basquiat

TV Party

Zappa

Enigma

I Am Divine

Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special

Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA

Tina Turner: The Girl from Nutbush

Jim Henson Idea Man

Christiane F.

The Hunger

Why Are We Creative?

Bowie: The Final Act

Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas

David Gilmour - Breaking Bread, Drinking Wine

Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces

David Bowie: On the Rock Trail

Into the Night

David Bowie: Roseland Ballroom, NYC

The Concert for New York City

Let's Dance: Bowie Down Under

Queen: Champions of the World

The Magic Voices of Pop

David Bowie: The 1980 Floor Show

Looney Tunes 50th Anniversary

Tina Turner: Private Dancer Tour

The Velvet Underground

David Bowie - Music in Review

Twiggy

David Bowie: The Making of "1.Outside"

Can't Buy Me Lunch: Another Look at The Rutles

David Bowie: The Last Five Years

Night Flight: Born Again

Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music

Absolute Beginners

Blast 'Em

2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Dear Bowie

Rockthology 2

David Bowie: VH1 Storytellers

Mayor of the Sunset Strip

Bandslam

Live Aid

David Bowie: Rare and Unseen

Bing Crosby: The Television Specials Volume 2 – The Christmas Specials

David Bowie: Starman

The Image

Wilde Jahre West-Berlin

The Dada Principle

The World of Jim Henson

Gimme Danger

The Linguini Incident

Moonage Daydream

Imagine: John Lennon

David Bowie On Stage: Live in Japan

David Bowie: Cracked Actor

David Bowie: Live at Montreux

Just a Gigolo

David Bowie: Glass Spider

The Love We Make

David Bowie - Live at The Elysee Montmartre Paris

Bing Crosby: Rediscovered

Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock