In 1979, with his Detroit friends, Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, Bruce raised
$350,000 for a low-budget film, Evil Dead, in which he starred and Co-Executive
Produced. Completed piecemeal over four years, the film first gained
notoriety in England where it became the best-selling video of 1983,
beating out The Shining. After its appearance at Cannes, where Stephen
King dubbed it 'the most ferociously original horror film of the year'
New Line Cinema stepped forward to release Evil Dead in the U.S.
After Co-Producing Crimewave, a cross-genre comedy written by Sam Raimi,
Ethan and Joel Coen, Bruce moved to Los Angeles and quickly gained a
foothold producing or starring in genre films such as the Maniac Cop
series, Lunatics: A Love Story, Moontrap, and Mindwarp, a post-apocalyptic
Jeremiah Johnson, during which he met his wife-to-be, filmmaker Ida
Gearon.
Bruce then rejoined his Detroit colleagues to star and Co-Produce the
second and third films in the Evil Dead trilogy, completing twelve years
of work on the cult favorite. This rough-and-tumble background was a
plus as Bruce made his foray into television, first starring in the
highly touted Fox series The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., then as
a recurring Guest-Star on the hit show Lois and Clark: The New Adventures
of Superman. With these under his belt, Bruce easily made the transition
to Director, helming numerous episodes and recurring as the "King
of Thieves" in the #1 syndicated Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,
and its follow-up phenomenon, Xena: Warrior Princess. Bruce has since
expanded his range on television, with appearances in Disney's TV movies
Gold Rush, and their update of The Love Bug. He teamed up with Fox again
for the hit TV film Tornado! and starred in NBC's top-rated In the Line
of Duty: Blaze of Glory. At the invitation of ABC, Bruce ventured into
the world of sit-coms with a recurring role on ABC's Emmy-nominated
Ellen, participating in one of the three touted "Out" episodes.
Following decidedly dramatic turns on the acclaimed series Homicide,
and X-Files, Bruce enjoyed a recurring role on Showtime's edgy TV industry
comedy, Beggars and Choosers.
But Bruce didn't abandon his film roots. During that time, he had featured
roles in the blockbuster Congo, John Carpenter's Escape from LA, and
the award-winning independent crime drama, Running Time. Bruce followed
these up with roles in Paramount's romantic comedy, Serving Sara, Jim
Carrey's The Majestic, and Sam Raimi's blockbuster Spider-Man series.
After a return to episodic television in the swashbuckling series, Jack
of all Trades, Bruce took the title role in MGM's cult sleeper Bubba
Ho-Tep. His directorial debut, Man with the Screaming Brain recently
premiered on the Sci Fi Channel, and Dark Horse Comics published the
comic adaptation. Bruce's current films include the fun-filled Disney
hit, Sky High, MGM's thriller and The Woods.
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