Bruce Jenner

A track star who made international headlines for his gold-medal decathlon win at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Bruce Jenner pulled off that coup while juggling his athletic career with an occupational stint as an insurance salesman (an opportunity that was only generating a reported 9,000 dollars per year). Jenner subsequently parlayed his Olympic fame into a lucrative series of on-camera assignments as a pundit for various brand names, including Coca-Cola, IBM Computers, and his own eponymous video game (the 1996 Bruce Jenner's World Class Decathlon). The sportsman also incorporated Bruce Jenner Aviation (a company devoted to purchasing and reselling aircraft) and the infomercial production outfit Jenner Productions, whose late-night programs Jenner often personally emceed. Meanwhile, he also competitively raced various types of motor vehicles, including powerboats and stock cars, in his off time. In terms of on-camera work, Jenner briefly held a post as a correspondent for Good Morning America (a job that required him to confront and overcome his dyslexia) and experienced a spotty movie career, beginning with a role as a conservative attorney and the romantic conquest of Valerie Perrine in the 1980 Village People musical Can't Stop the Music. Jenner appeared as a guest actor on Murder, She Wrote and acted in the little-seen 1991 drama Original Intent, but maintained his highest profile in sports-themed documentaries, such as the 1998 Olympic Experience, and occasional exercise videos.

In 2007, Jenner enjoyed renewed popularity as a participant in the E! Network reality program Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The program depicted candid events from the lives of Jenner's stepdaughters -- the biological children of third wife Kris Jenner and her first husband, the late attorney Robert Kardashian. Jenner himself was no stranger to reality television, as two of his biological sons, Brody Jenner and Brandon Jenner, headlined their own 2005 reality series, The Princes of Malibu.

~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide