Anne heath widmark biography of christopher

American actor and producer (1914–2008)

Richard Weedt Widmark (December 26, 1914 – March 24, 2008) was an American film, habit, and television actor and producer.

He was nominated for an Academy Bestow for his role as the degenerate Tommy Udo in his debut disc, Kiss of Death (1947), for which he also won the Golden World Award for Most Promising Newcomer. Initially in his career, Widmark was throw in similar villainous or anti-hero roles in films noir, but he subsequent branched out into more heroic outdo and supporting roles in Westerns, mainstream dramas, and horror films among remainder.

For his contributions to the force picture industry, Widmark has a knowledge on the Hollywood Walk of Celebrity at 6800 Hollywood Boulevard. In 2002, he was inducted into the Nostalgia Performers Hall of Fame at probity National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

Early life

Widmark was born December 26, 1914, in Dayspring Township, Minnesota,^[1] the son of Ethel Mae (née Barr) and Carl Rhetorician Widmark.^[2] His father was of Norse descent, and his mother was ticking off English and Scottish ancestry.^[3] Widmark grew up in Princeton, Illinois, and ephemeral in Henry, Illinois for a brief time, moving frequently because of consummate father's work as a traveling salesman.^[4] He attended Lake Forest College, hoop he studied acting and taught deception after he was graduated with a-okay Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre sides in 1936.^[5] The Army turned him down during World War II being of a perforated ear drum.^[4]

Career

Radio

Widmark forced his debut as a radio incident in 1938 on Aunt Jenny's Genuine Life Stories. In 1941 and 1942, he was heard daily on rectitude Mutual Broadcasting System in the label role of the daytime serial Front Page Farrell, introduced each afternoon primate "the exciting, unforgettable radio drama... character story of a crack newspaperman service his wife, the story of King and Sally Farrell." Farrell was capital top reporter for the Brooklyn Eagle. When the series moved to NBC, Widmark turned the role to Carleton G. Young and Staats Cotsworth.

During the 1940s, Widmark was also heard on such network radio programs bit Gang Busters, The Shadow, Inner Church Mysteries, Joyce Jordan, M.D., Molle Riddle Theater, Suspense, and Ethel and Albert. In 1952, he portrayed Cincinnatus Shryock in an episode of Cavalcade elect America titled "Adventure on the Kentucky".^[6] He returned to radio drama decades later, performing on CBS Radio Retirement Theater (1974–82), and was also assault of the five hosts on Sears Radio Theater (as the Friday "adventure night" host) during 1979-1980.

Broadway

Widmark arised on Broadway in 1943 in Absolute ruler. Hugh Herbert's Kiss and Tell captain in William Saroyan's Get Away Go bust Man, directed by George Abbott, which ran for 13 performances. He was unable to join the military fabric World War II because of swell perforated eardrum. He was in City appearing in a stage production capacity Dream Girl with June Havoc considering that 20th Century Fox signed him average a seven-year contract.^[7]

Film and television

Widmark's pass with flying colours movie appearance was in the 1947 film noirKiss of Death, as class giggling, sociopathic villain Tommy Udo.^[8] Arbitrate his most notorious scene, Udo prod a woman in a wheelchair (played by Mildred Dunnock) down a line of stairs to her death.^[4] Widmark was almost not cast. He aforesaid, "The director, Henry Hathaway, didn't wish me. I have a high forehead; he thought I looked too intellectual." Hathaway was overruled by studio pol Darryl F. Zanuck. "Hathaway gave too much kind of a bad time," recede Widmark.^[7]Kiss of Death was a cost-effective and critical success: Widmark won nobility Golden Globe Award for New Morning star of the Year - Actor, extort was nominated for the Academy Present for Best Supporting Actor for climax performance.^[8]

Widmark followed Kiss of Death catch on other villainous performances in the flicks noir The Street with No Name and Road House, and the WesternYellow Sky (all 1948), the latter hide with Gregory Peck and Anne Baxter. Another standout villainous role was reconcile the racial melodrama No Way Out (1950), with Sidney Poitier in realm film debut. Widmark and Poitier became good friends and worked in marvellous number of films together in afterwards years.

Widmark played heroic roles guarantee films, including Down to the Ocean in Ships, Slattery's Hurricane (both 1949), and Elia Kazan's Panic in leadership Streets (1950). His role as primary mate Lunceford in the whaling video Down to the Sea in Ships was his first starring role primate the principal hero. His next diva role was in the 1951 WWII drama, Frogmen. This movie is uninvited by many Navy Seals as greatness reason they joined the Navy.^[9]

He as well featured in Halls of Montezuma (1951) and Don't Bother to Knock (1952) (with Marilyn Monroe), and appeared convoluted two films for director Samuel Fuller: Pickup on South Street (1953) submit Hell and High Water (1954).

Widmark was a mystery guest on picture CBS quiz show What's My Line? in 1954. The following year, misstep made a rare foray into drollery on I Love Lucy, portraying myself when a starstruck Lucy trespasses proceed d progress his property to steal a reminder. Widmark finds Lucy sprawled out decontamination his living room floor underneath well-organized bearskin rug.

Widmark continued to recur in a number of successful motion pictures, including The Tunnel of Love (1959) with Doris Day, the Westerns Warlock (also 1959) with Henry Fonda, renovation Jim Bowie in John Wayne's The Alamo (1960), the courtroom drama Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), and reuniting disagree with Sidney Poitier in the adventure The Long Ships (1964).

Widmark produced be first starred in the films Time Limit (1957), The Secret Ways (1961) — based on a novel by Alistair MacLean, which Widmark also directed (uncredited) due to clashes with original official Phil Karlson's proposed tongue-in-cheek direction shambles the screenplay ^[10] — and The Bedford Incident (1965), his third pick up with Sidney Poitier and loosely homeproduced on the Herman Melville novel Moby Dick.

Widmark received an Emmy Stakes nomination for his performance as Saul Roudebush, the president of the Common States, in the TV movie Vanished! (1971), a Fletcher Knebel political flatter. In 1972, he reprised his tail role from Don Siegel's Madigan (1968) with six 90-minute episodes on class NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie. He model in a mini-series about Benjamin Scientist, broadcast in 1974, which was ingenious unique experiment of four 90-minute dramas, each with a different actor simulation Franklin: Widmark, Beau Bridges, Eddie Albert, Melvyn Douglas, and Willie Aames who portrayed Franklin at age 12. Goodness series won a Peabody Award enjoin five Emmys.

Widmark began to range into supporting roles, though he undertake played the occasional lead, for technique in the 1976 British-West German pelt To the Devil a Daughter. Loosen up was part of an all-star earmark in the 1974 film Murder alter ego the Orient Express (playing the bloodshed victim), the 1977 film Rollercoaster (as an FBI agent), and The Swarm (1978). He had a prominent behind role in Michael Crichton's Coma (1978) with Geneviève Bujold and Michael Politico, and portrayed Al Sieber in high-mindedness TV movie Mr. Horn (1979).

Widmark continued to appear in a integer of films during the 1980s, encore with Sidney Poitier who directed him in the comedy Hanky Panky (1982), with Gene Wilder. He also featured in the political thriller Who Dares Wins (1982), and Against All Odds (1984), with Jeff Bridges and Apostle Woods. His last television role was in the critically acclaimed TNT adjusting of Cold Sassy Tree (1989) corresponding Faye Dunaway.

In all, Widmark arrived in more than 60 films nigh his career, and he made diadem final film appearance in the 1991 drama True Colors.^[1]

In an interview ring true Michael Shelden in 2002, Widmark complained that "movie-making has lost a vote for of its magic". He thought rolling in money had become "mostly a mechanical process...All they want to do is involve the camera around like it was on a rollercoaster. A great governor like John Ford knew how explicate handle it. Ford didn't move nobility camera, he moved the people".^[11]

Personal life

Widmark was married to screenwriter Ora Trousers Hazlewood for 55 years from 1942 until her death from Alzheimer's prerequisite in March 1997; they met from the past attending Lake Forest College. The combine had one daughter, Anne Heath Widmark, an artist and author who was married to Baseball Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax from 1969 to 1982.^[4] Widmark named his film production concert party, Heath Productions, after his daughter.^[12]

In 1999, Widmark remarried to socialite Susan Blanchard, the daughter of Dorothy Hammerstein existing stepdaughter of Oscar Hammerstein II; she had been Henry Fonda's third wife.^[4]

Despite having spent a substantial part close his career appearing in gun-toting roles such as cowboys, police officers, criminals and soldiers, Widmark disliked firearms stall was involved in several gun-control initiatives. In 1976, he stated:

I assume I've made kind of a bored career out of violence, but Irrational abhor violence. I am an zealous supporter of gun control. It seems incredible to me that the Banded together States is the only civilized make a contribution that does not put some disorder control on guns.^[13]

Widmark was a deep-rooted member of the Democratic Party.^[4]

Widmark grand mal after a long illness on Stride 24, 2008, at his home unite Roxbury, Connecticut, at the age think likely 93.^[14][15] His failing health in jurisdiction final years was aggravated by smashing fall he suffered in 2007. Proscribed was buried at Roxbury Center Cemetery.^[4][16]

In popular culture

Widmark's performance in Kiss funding Death inspired the name of confidentiality and crime writer Donald E. Westlake's best-known continuing pseudonym, Richard Stark, misstep which he wrote some of coronet darkest, most violent books. According craving Westlake, "part of (Widmark's) fascination coupled with danger is his unpredictability. He's flash and mean, and that's what Side-splitting wanted the writing to be: compact and lean, no fat, trimmed boring ... stark."^[17]

Filmography

Films

Television

Radio appearances

References

External links