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Bruce's talent for acting emerged early. At just three years old in 1935, he entertained his mother during the hardships of Depression-era Chicago by imitating scenes from movies, such as FDR struggling to walk, physically experiencing the moment to understand it. His comedic flair was evident during a church pageant when his booming delivery of the line "No room at the Inn" from a small frame had the congregation roaring with laughter. He enjoyed the response so much that he repeated it louder and louder, even as he was chased by the minister around the altar to the delight of everyone.
By age six, Bruce earned his first paycheck—60 cents for six days delivering groceries. From then on, he consistently worked after school, on weekends, and during summers, holding jobs like selling newspapers in the Chicago Loop or ladling molten glass in a factory. At 15, when his father urged him to drop out of school to help support the family, his mother stepped in by taking a job herself. School revealed two possible escapes from poverty: art, through selling paintings, and football—he played on the 1949 Chicago high school city championship team, which offered a chance at a scholarship. Bruce played two seasons in college football and also joined a semi-pro team.
A new opportunity arose when he modeled at an Art Institute class alongside a naked woman who asked him, "How would you like to—be a gorilla?" She was a stripper needing a strong man to wear a 90-pound ape suit and toss her around. A magician at the club tapped him jokingly with his wand and said, "Bruce, you are an actor."
Drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Bruce served the last six months of the conflict and returned with malaria, which postponed his football career. In 1955, without any formal acting training or reading on the subject, he auditioned for a play, naturally landed the lead role, and received excellent reviews. He then spent summers performing a new play every week in summer stock theater. Over twelve years, he worked in theater both on and off Broadway. He visited Hollywood in 1965 and made it his permanent home by 1967.
