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Brandon Edwin Cruz (born May 28, 1962, in Bakersfield, California) was an American child actor and is currently a punk rock musician and also works in television production. In the early 1970s, the freckled-faced Cruz came to prominence by playing Bill Bixby's charming and conniving son, Eddie Corbett, in the comedy-drama The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Cruz and Kristina Holland are the only remaining survivors of the series. After his role on Courtship, Cruz also played the role of Joey Turner, the Yankees' pitcher, in the 1976 movie The Bad News Bears. He also played a 'guest star' of The Incredible Hulk as the young man who helped Bixby/The Hulk land a 747. The airplane footage was used from Airport 1975.
Biography
When Cruz was five years old, he started to take acting seriously, as he beat out sixty-five other child actors for the role of Eddie Corbett in The Courtship of Eddie's Father. The chemistry of Bixby and Cruz was remarkable, and they spent a lot of time together, especially when the show was on hiatus. Cruz kept in contact with Bixby until his mentor's own death on November 21, 1993, just several years after he was reunited with him on two episodes of The Arsenio Hall Show.
Cruz has been married to his wife Elizabeth for 14 years. They have a 13 year old son and an eight year old daughter.
After Courtship, Cruz guest-starred on a few TV shows, including the first episode of Kung Fu (TV series), and was reunited with Bixby on The Incredible Hulk. After his guest-starring roles, Cruz had retired from acting in 1980, at age 18, to focus on a music career to shed the squeaky-clean Eddie image.
In the 1980s, Cruz fronted a hardcore punk band from Oxnard, California called Dr. Know, which released several records. He later joined the Dead Kennedys as lead vocalist, replacing Jello Biafra. He quit singing for Dead Kennedys in 2003. Jeff Penalty took his place, and Cruz rejoined Dr. Know, which continues to perform, and has recently finished a new CD, Killing For God (Unrest Records).
Cruz was interviewed in the documentary film American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock, 1980-1986.
Cruz has been a surfer his entire life, growing up on the challenging beach break of Silver Strand Beach in Oxnard, California. He has traveled the world several times. His travels have included Africa, Indonesia, Australia, The Mentawai Islands, Tasmania, New Zealand, Europe, Japan, South America, Central America, Hawaii, India, China, Russia, and Cuba. At 46, he still surfs whenever and wherever possible. Cruz is also a member of the Jaks, a skateboarding brotherhood, known worldwide as punk rock skateboarders who love fireworks, beer, Absolute Music, and fun, but not always in that order.