Name | Richard Widmark |
---|---|
Caption | Widmark in the trailer for Panic in the Streets (1950) |
Birth name | Richard Weedt Widmark |
Birth date | December 26, 1914 |
Birth place | Sunrise Township, Minnesota, U.S. |
Death date | March 24, 2008 |
Death place | Roxbury, Connecticut, U.S. |
Years active | 1947–1996 |
Spouse | (her death)(his death) |
Richard Widmark (December 26, 1914March 24, 2008) was an American actor of films, stage, radio and television.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death. Early in his career Widmark specialized in similar villainous or anti-hero roles in films noir, but he later branched out into more heroic leading and support roles in westerns, mainstream dramas and horror films, among others.
At his death, Widmark was the earliest surviving Oscar nominee in the Supporting Actor category, and one of only two left from the 1940s (the other having been James Whitmore). For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Widmark has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6800 Hollywood Boulevard. In 2002, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
During the 1940s, Widmark was also heard on such network radio programs as Gang Busters, Inner Sanctum Mysteries, Joyce Jordan, M.D., Molle Mystery Theater, Suspense and Ethel and Albert. In 1952 he portrayed Cincinnatus Shryock in an episode of "Cavalcade of America" entitled "Adventure on the Kentucky". He returned to radio drama decades later, performing on CBS Radio Mystery Theater (1974–82), and was also one of the five hosts on Sears Radio Theater (as the Friday "adventure night" host) from 1979-81.
Widmark's first movie appearance was in 1947's Kiss of Death, as the giggling, sociopathic villain Tommy Udo. His most notorious scene found Udo pushing a wheelchair-bound woman (played by Mildred Dunnock) down a flight of stairs to her death. Widmark was almost not cast. He said, "The director, Henry Hathaway, didn't want me. I have a high forehead; he thought I looked too intellectual." Hathaway was overruled by studio boss Darryl F. Zanuck. "Hathaway gave me kind of a bad time," recalled Widmark. Kiss of Death was a commercial and critical success: Widmark won the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actor, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. Widmark's character was also the inspiration for the song The Ballad of Tommy Udo by the band Kaleidoscope.
In 1950, Widmark co-starred with Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jack Palance and Zero Mostel in Elia Kazan's Panic in the Streets, and appeared opposite Gene Tierney in Jules Dassin's Night and the City. Both are considered classic examples of film noir.
In 1952, Widmark had his handprints cast in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. During his stint at Fox, he appeared in The Street with No Name (1948), Don't Bother to Knock (1952) with Marilyn Monroe, and Pickup on South Street (1953). He also appeared in Vincente Minnelli's 1955 cult film The Cobweb with Lauren Bacall.
He starred in and also produced a drama set during the Cold War, The Bedford Incident (1965). He is also credited with producing his films Time Limit (1957) and The Secret Ways (1961). Other notable films in the 1960s were The Alamo (1960), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), How the West Was Won (1962) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964). During the 1970s, Widmark's films included Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Coma (1978), and The Swarm (1978). In all, Widmark appeared in over 60 films before making his final movie appearance in the 1991 thriller True Colors.}}
Short films:
Category:1914 births Category:2008 deaths Category:Actors from Minnesota Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:American film actors Category:American radio actors Category:American stage actors Category:Lake Forest College alumni Category:People from Chisago County, Minnesota Category:People from Litchfield County, Connecticut Category:People from Princeton, Illinois Category:Western (genre) film actors
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