diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/ContextCleaner.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/ContextCleaner.scala
index bf3c3a6ceb5ef..26872b197d232 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/ContextCleaner.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/ContextCleaner.scala
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ package org.apache.spark
 import java.lang.ref.{ReferenceQueue, WeakReference}
 
 import scala.collection.mutable.{ArrayBuffer, SynchronizedBuffer}
+import scala.reflect.ClassTag
+import scala.util.DynamicVariable
 
 import org.apache.spark.broadcast.Broadcast
 import org.apache.spark.rdd.RDD
@@ -63,6 +65,8 @@ private[spark] class ContextCleaner(sc: SparkContext) extends Logging {
     with SynchronizedBuffer[CleanerListener]
 
   private val cleaningThread = new Thread() { override def run() { keepCleaning() }}
+  
+  private var broadcastRefCounts = Map(0L -> 0L)
 
   /**
    * Whether the cleaning thread will block on cleanup tasks.
@@ -102,9 +106,25 @@ private[spark] class ContextCleaner(sc: SparkContext) extends Logging {
 
   /** Register a Broadcast for cleanup when it is garbage collected. */
   def registerBroadcastForCleanup[T](broadcast: Broadcast[T]) {
+    incBroadcastRefCount(broadcast.id)
     registerForCleanup(broadcast, CleanBroadcast(broadcast.id))
   }
 
+  private def incBroadcastRefCount[T](bid: Long) {
+    val newRefCount: Long = this.broadcastRefCounts.getOrElse(bid, 0L) + 1
+    this.broadcastRefCounts = this.broadcastRefCounts + Pair(bid, newRefCount)
+  }
+  
+  private def decBroadcastRefCount[T](bid: Long) = {
+    this.broadcastRefCounts.get(bid) match {
+      case Some(rc:Long) if rc > 0 => {
+        this.broadcastRefCounts = this.broadcastRefCounts + Pair(bid, rc - 1)
+        rc - 1
+      }
+      case _ => 0
+    }
+  }
+  
   /** Register an object for cleanup. */
   private def registerForCleanup(objectForCleanup: AnyRef, task: CleanupTask) {
     referenceBuffer += new CleanupTaskWeakReference(task, objectForCleanup, referenceQueue)
@@ -161,14 +181,18 @@ private[spark] class ContextCleaner(sc: SparkContext) extends Logging {
 
   /** Perform broadcast cleanup. */
   def doCleanupBroadcast(broadcastId: Long, blocking: Boolean) {
-    try {
-      logDebug("Cleaning broadcast " + broadcastId)
-      broadcastManager.unbroadcast(broadcastId, true, blocking)
-      listeners.foreach(_.broadcastCleaned(broadcastId))
-      logInfo("Cleaned broadcast " + broadcastId)
-    } catch {
-      case e: Exception => logError("Error cleaning broadcast " + broadcastId, e)
+    decBroadcastRefCount(broadcastId) match {
+      case x if x > 0 => {} 
+      case _ => try {
+        logDebug("Cleaning broadcast " + broadcastId)
+        broadcastManager.unbroadcast(broadcastId, true, blocking)
+        listeners.foreach(_.broadcastCleaned(broadcastId))
+        logInfo("Cleaned broadcast " + broadcastId)
+      } catch {
+        case e: Exception => logError("Error cleaning broadcast " + broadcastId, e)
+      }
     }
+    
   }
 
   private def blockManagerMaster = sc.env.blockManager.master
@@ -179,8 +203,19 @@ private[spark] class ContextCleaner(sc: SparkContext) extends Logging {
   // to ensure that more reliable testing.
 }
 
-private object ContextCleaner {
+private[spark] object ContextCleaner {
   private val REF_QUEUE_POLL_TIMEOUT = 100
+  val currentCleaner = new DynamicVariable[Option[ContextCleaner]](None)
+  
+  /**
+   * Runs the given thunk with a dynamically-scoped binding for the current ContextCleaner.
+   * This is necessary for blocks of code that serialize and deserialize broadcast variable
+   * objects, since all clones of a Broadcast object <tt>b</tt> need to be re-registered with the
+   * context cleaner that is tracking <tt>b</tt>.
+   */
+  def withCurrentCleaner[T <: Any : ClassTag](cc: Option[ContextCleaner])(thunk: => T) = {
+    currentCleaner.withValue(cc)(thunk)
+  }
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/SparkContext.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/SparkContext.scala
index 8819e73d17fb2..9c93be0b6518a 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/SparkContext.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/SparkContext.scala
@@ -1058,7 +1058,9 @@ class SparkContext(config: SparkConf) extends Logging {
       throw new SparkException("SparkContext has been shutdown")
     }
     val callSite = getCallSite
-    val cleanedFunc = clean(func)
+    // There's no need to check this function for serializability,
+    // since it will be run right away.
+    val cleanedFunc = clean(func, false)
     logInfo("Starting job: " + callSite.short)
     val start = System.nanoTime
     dagScheduler.runJob(rdd, cleanedFunc, partitions, callSite, allowLocal,
@@ -1212,9 +1214,8 @@ class SparkContext(config: SparkConf) extends Logging {
    * @throws <tt>SparkException<tt> if <tt>checkSerializable</tt> is set but <tt>f</tt> is not
    *   serializable
    */
-  private[spark] def clean[F <: AnyRef](f: F, checkSerializable: Boolean = true): F = {
-    ClosureCleaner.clean(f, checkSerializable)
-    f
+  private[spark] def clean[F <: AnyRef : ClassTag](f: F, checkSerializable: Boolean = true): F = {
+    ClosureCleaner.clean(f, checkSerializable, this)
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/broadcast/Broadcast.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/broadcast/Broadcast.scala
index 76956f6a345d1..ee0936d83ab8f 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/broadcast/Broadcast.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/broadcast/Broadcast.scala
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@
 
 package org.apache.spark.broadcast
 
-import java.io.Serializable
+import java.io.{ObjectInputStream, Serializable}
 
-import org.apache.spark.SparkException
+import org.apache.spark.{ContextCleaner, SparkException}
 
 import scala.reflect.ClassTag
 
@@ -129,4 +129,12 @@ abstract class Broadcast[T: ClassTag](val id: Long) extends Serializable {
   }
 
   override def toString = "Broadcast(" + id + ")"
+  
+  private def readObject(in: ObjectInputStream) {
+    in.defaultReadObject()
+    ContextCleaner.currentCleaner.value match {
+      case None => {}
+      case Some(cc: ContextCleaner) => cc.registerBroadcastForCleanup(this)
+    }
+  }
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/rdd/RDD.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/rdd/RDD.scala
index 4e841bc992bff..a025934f46435 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/rdd/RDD.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/rdd/RDD.scala
@@ -733,14 +733,16 @@ abstract class RDD[T: ClassTag](
    * Applies a function f to all elements of this RDD.
    */
   def foreach(f: T => Unit) {
-    sc.runJob(this, (iter: Iterator[T]) => iter.foreach(f))
+    val cleanF = sc.clean(f)
+    sc.runJob(this, (iter: Iterator[T]) => iter.foreach(cleanF))
   }
 
   /**
    * Applies a function f to each partition of this RDD.
    */
   def foreachPartition(f: Iterator[T] => Unit) {
-    sc.runJob(this, (iter: Iterator[T]) => f(iter))
+    val cleanF = sc.clean(f)
+    sc.runJob(this, (iter: Iterator[T]) => cleanF(iter))
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/ClosureCleaner.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/ClosureCleaner.scala
index e3f52f6ff1e63..3be9e418a9132 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/ClosureCleaner.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/ClosureCleaner.scala
@@ -22,10 +22,12 @@ import java.io.{ByteArrayInputStream, ByteArrayOutputStream}
 import scala.collection.mutable.Map
 import scala.collection.mutable.Set
 
+import scala.reflect.ClassTag
+
 import com.esotericsoftware.reflectasm.shaded.org.objectweb.asm.{ClassReader, ClassVisitor, MethodVisitor, Type}
 import com.esotericsoftware.reflectasm.shaded.org.objectweb.asm.Opcodes._
 
-import org.apache.spark.{Logging, SparkEnv, SparkException}
+import org.apache.spark.{Logging, SparkEnv, SparkException, SparkContext, ContextCleaner}
 
 private[spark] object ClosureCleaner extends Logging {
   // Get an ASM class reader for a given class from the JAR that loaded it
@@ -100,8 +102,8 @@ private[spark] object ClosureCleaner extends Logging {
       null
     }
   }
-
-  def clean(func: AnyRef, checkSerializable: Boolean = true) {
+  
+  def clean[F <: AnyRef : ClassTag](func: F, captureNow: Boolean = true, sc: SparkContext): F = {
     // TODO: cache outerClasses / innerClasses / accessedFields
     val outerClasses = getOuterClasses(func)
     val innerClasses = getInnerClasses(func)
@@ -154,14 +156,19 @@ private[spark] object ClosureCleaner extends Logging {
       field.set(func, outer)
     }
     
-    if (checkSerializable) {
-      ensureSerializable(func)
+    if (captureNow) {
+      ContextCleaner.withCurrentCleaner(sc.cleaner){
+        cloneViaSerializing(func)
+      }
+    } else {
+      func
     }
   }
 
-  private def ensureSerializable(func: AnyRef) {
+  private def cloneViaSerializing[T: ClassTag](func: T): T = {
     try {
-      SparkEnv.get.closureSerializer.newInstance().serialize(func)
+      val serializer = SparkEnv.get.closureSerializer.newInstance()
+      serializer.deserialize[T](serializer.serialize[T](func))
     } catch {
       case ex: Exception => throw new SparkException("Task not serializable", ex)
     }
diff --git a/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/ContextCleanerSuite.scala b/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/ContextCleanerSuite.scala
index 13b415cccb647..0d6c0377be75a 100644
--- a/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/ContextCleanerSuite.scala
+++ b/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/ContextCleanerSuite.scala
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import java.lang.ref.WeakReference
 import scala.collection.mutable.{HashSet, SynchronizedSet}
 import scala.language.existentials
 import scala.language.postfixOps
+import scala.reflect.ClassTag
 import scala.util.Random
 
 import org.scalatest.{BeforeAndAfter, FunSuite}
@@ -141,6 +142,33 @@ class ContextCleanerSuite extends FunSuite with BeforeAndAfter with LocalSparkCo
     postGCTester.assertCleanup()
   }
 
+  test("automatically cleanup broadcast only after all extant clones become unreachable") {
+    var broadcast = newBroadcast
+    
+    // clone this broadcast variable
+    var broadcastClone = cloneBySerializing(broadcast)
+    
+    val id = broadcast.id
+    
+    // eliminate all strong references to the original broadcast; keep the clone
+    broadcast = null
+    
+    // Test that GC does not cause broadcast cleanup since a strong reference to a 
+    // clone of the broadcast with the given id still exist
+    val preGCTester =  new CleanerTester(sc, broadcastIds = Seq(id))
+    runGC()
+    intercept[Exception] {
+      preGCTester.assertCleanup()(timeout(1000 millis))
+    }
+    
+    // Test that GC causes broadcast cleanup after dereferencing the clone
+    val postGCTester = new CleanerTester(sc, broadcastIds = Seq(id))
+    broadcastClone = null
+    runGC()
+    postGCTester.assertCleanup()
+  }
+
+
   test("automatically cleanup RDD + shuffle + broadcast") {
     val numRdds = 100
     val numBroadcasts = 4 // Broadcasts are more costly
@@ -242,7 +270,14 @@ class ContextCleanerSuite extends FunSuite with BeforeAndAfter with LocalSparkCo
       Thread.sleep(200)
     }
   }
-
+  
+  def cloneBySerializing[T <: Any : ClassTag](ref: T): T = {
+    val serializer = SparkEnv.get.closureSerializer.newInstance()
+    ContextCleaner.withCurrentCleaner[T](sc.cleaner){
+      serializer.deserialize(serializer.serialize(ref))
+    }
+  }
+  
   def cleaner = sc.cleaner.get
 }
 
diff --git a/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/FailureSuite.scala b/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/FailureSuite.scala
index e755d2e309398..67b1d84ac15b0 100644
--- a/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/FailureSuite.scala
+++ b/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/FailureSuite.scala
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ class FailureSuite extends FunSuite with LocalSparkContext {
     FailureSuiteState.clear()
   }
 
-  test("failure because task closure is not serializable") {
+  test("failure because closure in final-stage task is not serializable") {
     sc = new SparkContext("local[1,1]", "test")
     val a = new NonSerializable
 
@@ -122,6 +122,13 @@ class FailureSuite extends FunSuite with LocalSparkContext {
     assert(thrown.getMessage.contains("NotSerializableException") || 
       thrown.getCause.getClass === classOf[NotSerializableException])
 
+    FailureSuiteState.clear()
+  }
+
+  test("failure because closure in early-stage task is not serializable") {
+    sc = new SparkContext("local[1,1]", "test")
+    val a = new NonSerializable
+
     // Non-serializable closure in an earlier stage
     val thrown1 = intercept[SparkException] {
       sc.parallelize(1 to 10, 2).map(x => (x, a)).partitionBy(new HashPartitioner(3)).count()
@@ -130,6 +137,13 @@ class FailureSuite extends FunSuite with LocalSparkContext {
     assert(thrown1.getMessage.contains("NotSerializableException") || 
       thrown1.getCause.getClass === classOf[NotSerializableException])
 
+    FailureSuiteState.clear()
+  }
+
+  test("failure because closure in foreach task is not serializable") {
+    sc = new SparkContext("local[1,1]", "test")
+    val a = new NonSerializable
+
     // Non-serializable closure in foreach function
     val thrown2 = intercept[SparkException] {
       sc.parallelize(1 to 10, 2).foreach(x => println(a))
@@ -141,5 +155,6 @@ class FailureSuite extends FunSuite with LocalSparkContext {
     FailureSuiteState.clear()
   }
 
+
   // TODO: Need to add tests with shuffle fetch failures.
 }
diff --git a/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/serializer/ProactiveClosureSerializationSuite.scala b/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/serializer/ProactiveClosureSerializationSuite.scala
index 5d15a68ac7e4f..304f60c013d92 100644
--- a/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/serializer/ProactiveClosureSerializationSuite.scala
+++ b/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/serializer/ProactiveClosureSerializationSuite.scala
@@ -51,11 +51,11 @@ class ProactiveClosureSerializationSuite extends FunSuite with SharedSparkContex
   // transformation on a given RDD, creating one test case for each
   
   for (transformation <- 
-      Map("map" -> xmap _, "flatMap" -> xflatMap _, "filter" -> xfilter _, 
-          "mapWith" -> xmapWith _, "mapPartitions" -> xmapPartitions _, 
-          "mapPartitionsWithIndex" -> xmapPartitionsWithIndex _,
-          "mapPartitionsWithContext" -> xmapPartitionsWithContext _, 
-          "filterWith" -> xfilterWith _)) {
+      Map("map" -> map _, "flatMap" -> flatMap _, "filter" -> filter _, 
+          "mapWith" -> mapWith _, "mapPartitions" -> mapPartitions _, 
+          "mapPartitionsWithIndex" -> mapPartitionsWithIndex _,
+          "mapPartitionsWithContext" -> mapPartitionsWithContext _, 
+          "filterWith" -> filterWith _)) {
     val (name, xf) = transformation
     
     test(s"$name transformations throw proactive serialization exceptions") {
@@ -70,21 +70,28 @@ class ProactiveClosureSerializationSuite extends FunSuite with SharedSparkContex
     }
   }
   
-  private def xmap(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] = 
-    x.map(y=>uc.op(y))
-  private def xmapWith(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] = 
-    x.mapWith(x => x.toString)((x,y)=>x + uc.op(y))
-  private def xflatMap(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] = 
+  def map(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] =
+    x.map(y => uc.op(y))
+  
+  def mapWith(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] =
+    x.mapWith(x => x.toString)((x,y) => x + uc.op(y))
+    
+  def flatMap(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] =
     x.flatMap(y=>Seq(uc.op(y)))
-  private def xfilter(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] = 
+  
+  def filter(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] =
     x.filter(y=>uc.pred(y))
-  private def xfilterWith(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] = 
-    x.filterWith(x => x.toString)((x,y)=>uc.pred(y))
-  private def xmapPartitions(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] = 
-    x.mapPartitions(_.map(y=>uc.op(y)))
-  private def xmapPartitionsWithIndex(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] = 
-    x.mapPartitionsWithIndex((_, it) => it.map(y=>uc.op(y)))
-  private def xmapPartitionsWithContext(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] = 
-    x.mapPartitionsWithContext((_, it) => it.map(y=>uc.op(y)))
+  
+  def filterWith(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] =
+    x.filterWith(x => x.toString)((x,y) => uc.pred(y))
+  
+  def mapPartitions(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] =
+    x.mapPartitions(_.map(y => uc.op(y)))
+  
+  def mapPartitionsWithIndex(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] =
+    x.mapPartitionsWithIndex((_, it) => it.map(y => uc.op(y)))
+  
+  def mapPartitionsWithContext(x: RDD[String], uc: UnserializableClass): RDD[String] =
+    x.mapPartitionsWithContext((_, it) => it.map(y => uc.op(y)))
   
 }
diff --git a/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/util/ClosureCleanerSuite.scala b/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/util/ClosureCleanerSuite.scala
index 054ef54e746a5..781c562d93f05 100644
--- a/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/util/ClosureCleanerSuite.scala
+++ b/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/util/ClosureCleanerSuite.scala
@@ -63,6 +63,20 @@ class ClosureCleanerSuite extends FunSuite {
     val result = TestObjectWithNestedReturns.run()
     assert(result == 1)
   }
+
+  test("capturing free variables in closures at RDD definition") {
+    val obj = new TestCaptureVarClass()
+    val (ones, onesPlusZeroes) = obj.run()
+    
+    assert(ones === onesPlusZeroes)
+  }
+
+  test("capturing free variable fields in closures at RDD definition") {
+    val obj = new TestCaptureFieldClass()
+    val (ones, onesPlusZeroes) = obj.run()
+    
+    assert(ones === onesPlusZeroes)
+  }
 }
 
 // A non-serializable class we create in closures to make sure that we aren't
@@ -180,3 +194,37 @@ class TestClassWithNesting(val y: Int) extends Serializable {
     }
   }
 }
+
+class TestCaptureFieldClass extends Serializable {
+  class ZeroBox extends Serializable {
+    var zero = 0
+  }
+
+  def run(): (Int, Int) = {
+    val zb = new ZeroBox
+  
+    withSpark(new SparkContext("local", "test")) {sc =>
+      val ones = sc.parallelize(Array(1, 1, 1, 1, 1))
+      val onesPlusZeroes = ones.map(_ + zb.zero)
+
+      zb.zero = 5
+    
+      (ones.reduce(_ + _), onesPlusZeroes.reduce(_ + _))
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+class TestCaptureVarClass extends Serializable {
+  def run(): (Int, Int) = {
+    var zero = 0
+  
+    withSpark(new SparkContext("local", "test")) {sc =>
+      val ones = sc.parallelize(Array(1, 1, 1, 1, 1))
+      val onesPlusZeroes = ones.map(_ + zero)
+
+      zero = 5
+    
+      (ones.reduce(_ + _), onesPlusZeroes.reduce(_ + _))
+    }
+  }
+}