Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is best known for his starring roles in a 
number of films including American Graffiti (1973), Jaws (1975), Close
Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995) 
which was filmed in Portland, Oregon.  

Dreyfuss won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1977 for his role
in The Goodbye Girl. He began his acting career at a Beverly Hills
community center at the age of 15.

Richard Dreyfuss in American Graffiti

Dreyfuss with his Best Actor Oscar

The Great Depression began with the crash of the Wall Street stock market
and had a severe worldwide economical effect in the decade preceding
World War ll. Unemployment in the U.S. rose to 25%, and in some countries
rose as high as 33%. The negative effect of the Great Depression lasted
until the end of the war.

1950s