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Photo of David Bowie

David Bowie

Actor, Composer, Producer, Writer, Director, Additional Credits
Born January 8, 1947Died January 10, 2016 (69 years)
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).

Movies & Shows on Plex

  • Labyrinth
  • Arthur and the Invisibles
  • Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
  • Radio On
  • Freddie Mercury: The King of Queen
  • The Day the Rock Star Died

Known For

  • The Prestige
  • Labyrinth
  • The Man Who Fell to Earth
  • Cat People
  • Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
  • Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
  • The Hunger
  • The Snowman
  • Arthur and the Invisibles
  • Basquiat
  • Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces
  • Just a Gigolo
  • Absolute Beginners
  • The Linguini Incident
  • Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda
  • Mr. Rice's Secret
  • The Buddha of Suburbia
  • The Hunger
  • David Bowie: A Reality Tour
  • August
  • David Bowie: Serious Moonlight
  • Baal
  • Il mio West
  • Jazzin' for Blue Jean

Featured Videos

    Filmography

    2024
    Twiggy · as (archival Footage)
    2024
    Jim Henson: Idea Man · as Jareth (archive Footage)
    2018
    2018
    2017
    Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda · as Jack Celliers (archive Footage)
    2014
    Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces · as Phillip Jeffries
    2013
    David Bowie - Five Years (TV Series) · as David Bowie
    2013
    The Frame (TV Series) · as John Blaylock
    2008
    August · as Cyrus Ogilvie
    2007
    SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis · as Lord Royal Highness
    2006
    Arthur and the Invisibles · as Maltazard (voice)
    2006
    The Prestige · as Tesla
    2004
    1999
    Mr. Rice's Secret · as Mr. William Rice
    1999
    SpongeBob SquarePants (TV Series) · as Lord Royal Highness
    1998
    B.U.S.T.E.D · as Bernie
    1998
    Il mio West · as Jack Sikora
    1997
    The Hunger (TV Series) · as The Host
    1996
    Basquiat · as Andy Warhol
    1994
    The World of Jim Henson · as Jareth (archive Footage)
    1992
    Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me · as Special Agent Phillip Jeffries
    1991
    1990
    Dream On (TV Series) · as Sir Roland Moorecock
    1990
    Twin Peaks (TV Series) · as Phillip Jeffries (archive Footage)
    1988
    The Last Temptation of Christ · as Pontius Pilatus
    1986
    Labyrinth · as Jareth
    1986
    Absolute Beginners · as Vendice Partners
    1985
    Tokyo melody: un film sur Ryuichi Sakamoto · as Celliers (archive Footage)
    1985
    Into the Night · as Colin Morris
    1984
    Jazzin' for Blue Jean · as Vic / Screaming Lord Byron
    1983
    Yellowbeard · as The Shark (uncredited)
    1983
    1983
    The Hunger · as John Blaylock
    1982
    The Snowman · as Older James (re-Released Version) (uncredited)
    1982
    Baal · as Baal
    1978
    Just a Gigolo · as Paul Ambrosius Von Przygodski
    1976
    The Man Who Fell to Earth · as Thomas Jerome Newton
    1970
    1969
    The Virgin Soldiers · as Soldier
    1969
    The Image · as The Boy
    1964
    Theatre 625 (TV Series) · as Cast

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