Richard Dreyfuss - Personal Life

Personal Life

Dreyfuss married writer-producer Jeramie Rain in the early 1980s. With her he had three children: Emily (1983), Benjamin (1986) and Harry (1990). His elder son, Benjamin, was born with Peters Anomaly, a rare genetic eye disorder which, after many operations, left him blind in his left eye. Dreyfuss and Rain have continued to raise money for ophthalmology centers throughout the United States. After his 1995 divorce from Rain, Dreyfuss then married Janelle Lacey in 1999 but they divorced in 2005.

Dreyfuss' mother died on October 19, 2000, due to complications from a stroke.

Dreyfuss suffers from bipolar disorder. In 2006, he appeared in Stephen Fry's documentary, Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, in which Fry (who also has the disorder) interviewed him about his life.

On August 9, 2008, it was reported that Dreyfuss was suing his father and uncle over a 24-year-old loan he claimed was never repaid. He said he gave his relatives $870,000 in 1984 when they owned an interest in a Los Angeles office building. In court papers filed on August 8, 2008, he claimed the loan was still outstanding and that his uncle, Gilbert, had refused to turn over financial records. He was reported to be seeking repayment of the loan, plus interest and punitive damages.

Dreyfuss and Russian-born Svetlana Erokhin married in 2006 and have lived in San Diego since then, although they frequently visit New York City and London, where Dreyfuss once lived. They initially lived in Carlsbad, California. In February 2008, they bought a $1.5 million house in the rural community of Olivenhain in eastern Encinitas, California, and plan to renovate the 1970s structure with state-of-the-art green technologies.

On June 10, 2011, Dreyfuss was made a Master Mason by the Grand Master of Masons of the District of Columbia at the Washington DC Scottish Rite building, as well as a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason and is a member of the Valley of the District of Columbia, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.

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