Jeffrey Franklin East (born October 27, 1957) is an American actor. Beginning his professional acting career at the age of fourteen, East is known for his portrayal of

Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...

in the

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feature films ''

Tom Sawyer Thomas Sawyer () is the titular character of the Mark Twain novel ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), '' Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and '' Tom Sawyer, ...

'' (1973) and ''

'' (1974), as well as for his portrayal of a teenage Clark Kent in

Richard Donner Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American filmmaker whose notable works included some of the most financially-successful films during the New Hollywood era. According to film historian ...

's '' Superman: The Movie'' (1978).

Early life

East was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to parents Ira and Joan Ann East. His father worked in real estate and his mother was a homemaker. East grew up with three siblings; an older sister named Anne, an older brother named Ronald, and a twin sister named Jane.

Career

East's feature film credits include ''The Flight of the Grey Wolf'' (1974), '' Stranger in Our House'' (1978), ''Mary and Joseph: A Story of Faith'' (1979), ''

Klondike Fever ''Klondike Fever'' is a 1980 Canadian adventure film, based on the writings of Jack London. It follows London's journey from San Francisco to the Klondike gold fields of the Yukon Territory, Canada in 1898. Cast * Jeff East as Jack London * R ...

'' (1980), ''

Deadly Blessing ''Deadly Blessing'' is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven. The film tells the story of a strange figure committing murder in a contemporary community that is not far from another community that believes in ancient evil and curses. ...

'' (1981), '' Up the Creek'' (1984), '' Dream West'' (1986), '' Pumpkinhead'' (1988), '' Another Chance'' (1989), and '' Deadly Exposure'' (1993). Unbeknownst to East when the film was being made, his '' Superman'' dialogue was dubbed over by

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the film '' Superman'' (1978) and three sequels. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey ...

. East also starred in the 1983 television film ''

The Day After ''The Day After'' is an American television film that first aired on November 20, 1983 on the ABC television network. More than 100 million people, in nearly 39 million households, watched the film during its initial broadcast. With ...

''. His TV guest appearances include ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...

'' ( "Settling Debts"), ''

Otherworld The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherwor ...

'', and ''

Shades of L.A. ''Shades of LA'' is an American crime drama syndicated television series that aired from October 10, 1990 until April 6, 1991. Premise While recovering from a gunshot wound, a Los Angeles detective finds that he can see the spirits of the dead ...

Personal life

In 1987, East became involved in real estate development with his father. In February 2004, he moved back to Kansas City to take over his father's commercial real estate company. Jeff's first marriage was to Lori Gates. Though the marriage ended in divorce the couple had two children, Alexander Gates East (1984) and Madison Gates East (1987). In 2014, East married for the third time, to Pascale Lambert East, and moved to Nice, France.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Jeff East Interview
November 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:East, Jeff 1957 births American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Living people Male actors from St. Louis