Bruce William Boxleitner (born May 12, 1951) is an American actor, and science fiction and suspense writer. He is known for his leading roles in the television series How the West Was Won, Bring 'Em Back Alive, Scarecrow and Mrs. King (with Kate Jackson and Beverly Garland), and Babylon 5 (as John Sheridan in seasons 2–5, 1994–1998). He is also known for his dual role as the characters Alan Bradley and Tron in the 1982 Walt Disney Pictures film Tron, a role which he reprised in the 2010 sequel, Tron: Legacy and the animated series Tron: Uprising.

Biography

Boxleitner's first marriage (1977–1987) was to American actress Kathryn Holcomb, who had previously co-starred with him on How The West Was Won. They had two sons together: Sam (born 1980) and Lee (born 1985). Kathryn Holcomb went on to marry English actor Ian Ogilvy. Ogilvy also guest-starred on Boxleitner's series Babylon 5.

Boxleitner's second marriage (1995-2011) was to American actress Melissa Gilbert. They had one son together: Michael (born 1995). Gilbert also guest-starred as Boxleitner's on-screen wife, Anna Sheridan, during Season 3 of Babylon 5.

In 2003, Boxleitner was appointed to the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, a nonprofit, educational space advocacy organization founded by Dr. Wernher von Braun.

On March 1, 2011, Gilbert announced that she and Bruce had separated after 16 years of marriage. On August 25 of the same year the Associated Press reported that, based on court records, Gilbert had filed for divorce.

He was best friends with Beverly Garland for nearly 30 years. He met her on an episode of How The West Was Won, and later co-starred alongside her on Scarecrow & Mrs. King, though he had very few scenes with her. Then, in 1986, Boxleitner presented Garland the Golden Boot Award, for which she won that honor. After the cancellation of Scarecrow, Boxleitner remained close to Garland, contacting her consistently, until her death, on December 5, 2008. He said in an interview, "I used to keep up with Beverly Garland until she passed. There was actually a hotel named after her. She was such a trip. She was a great lady.

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