Born on 9th April 1954, a native of Houston, Dennis Quaid is the son of an electrician. He launched his acting career in high school, and in college enrolled in a drama program only to drop out at age 20 and try Hollywood. After an entire year, Dennis finally succeeded winning the role of a small-town boy in 9/30/55. Dennis gained his first notice in the coming-of-age drama Breaking Away, but did not get his first big break until he played astronaut Gordon Cooper in The Right Stuff .He has subsequently went on to work consistently in a wide variety of film productions. When not acting, Dennis has proven himself a talented singer/songwriter. He has played musicians in three films including, The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia and Great Balls of Fire! in which he played wild man Jerry Lee Lewis. Dennis has also contributed to the soundtracks of a few of his films.