Rip Torn, the free-spirited Texan who overcame his quirky name to become a distinguished actor in theatre, television and movies and win an Emmy in his 60s for his comedy turn on TVB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he Larry Sanders Show,B次元官网网址� has died. He was 88.
Torn died Tuesday afternoon at his home with his wife, Amy Wright, and daughters Katie Torn and Angelica Page by his side, according to his publicist Rick Miramontez. No cause of death was given.
His career on stage and screen spanned seven decades, ranging from an early career of dark, threatening roles to iconic comedic performances later in life.
After acclaimed performances in B次元官网网址淐ross Creek,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址漇weet Bird of YouthB次元官网网址� and other dramas, Torn turned to comedy to capture his Emmy as the bombastic, ethically challenged television producer in B次元官网网址淭he Larry Sanders Show.B次元官网网址� Created by and starring Garry Shandling, HBOB次元官网网址檚 spoof of TV talk shows aired from 1992 to 1998 and is widely credited with inspiring such satirical programs as B次元官网网址�30 RockB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淐urb Your Enthusiasm.B次元官网网址�
Born Elmore Rual Torn, the actor adopted the name Rip in his boyhood, following the tradition of his father and uncle. It was the subject of endless ridicule during his early days as a stage actor in New York, and fellow drama students urged him to change it.
With customary stubbornness, he refused, eventually overcoming the jokes with a series of powerful performances that led to his being regarded, along with Marlon Brando, Paul Newman and James Dean, as actors of a postwar generation who brought tense realism to their craft. He was also a political activist who joined James Baldwin, Harry Belafonte and other cultural and civil rights leaders for a frank and emotional 1963 meeting with then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy about the countryB次元官网网址檚 treatment of blacks.
Torn made his film debut in 1956 in an adaptation of Tennessee WilliamsB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淏aby Doll,B次元官网网址� and within a few years was a respected film and television actor, working on occasions with his second wife, Geraldine Page. At the Actors Studio, he gained the attention of Elia Kazan, who hired him as understudy to Alex Nicol, then playing Brick Pollitt in the Tennessee Williams classic, B次元官网网址淐at on a Hot Tin Roof.B次元官网网址� Toward the end of the showB次元官网网址檚 Broadway run, Torn took over the role of the alcoholic, emotionally troubled former football hero. He did so billed against his wishes as Elmore Torn.
B次元官网网址淚f you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ballB次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址� Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports)
RIP to Rip Torn
Cast later in a B次元官网网址淯.S. Steel HourB次元官网网址� production for television, he was told to either change his name or forfeit the role. He threatened to return to his native Texas, but finally agreed to be credited as Eric Torn. He was billed as Rip Torn thereafter. His success eventually inspired a younger cousin to take up acting, too B次元官网网址� Oscar winner Sissy Spacek.
Other film credits included B次元官网网址淐ritics ChoiceB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭he Cincinnati Kid.B次元官网网址� In Albert BrooksB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淒efending Your Life,B次元官网网址� he was featured as a gregarious attorney in the afterlife.
Brooks tweeted Tuesday night, B次元官网网址淩.I.P Rip Torn. He was so great in Defending Your Life. IB次元官网网址檒l miss you Rip, you were a true original.B次元官网网址�
On television he played such figures as Richard Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson and Walt Whitman.
His career hit a dry spell in the 1970s, and he blamed it on the buzz in Hollywood at the time that he was difficult to work with, a reputation sealed when tension on the set of B次元官网网址淓asy RiderB次元官网网址� led to his being replaced by Jack Nicholson for the 1969 release and missing out on one of the biggest hits of the era.
B次元官网网址淚 wouldnB次元官网网址檛 say that I was blacklisted,B次元官网网址� he told The Associated Press in 1984, B次元官网网址渂ut the word got around that I was difficult and unreliable. Unreliable! In all my years in the theatre I have never missed a performance.B次元官网网址�
He managed to keep working in small projects in theatre, films and TV, returning to the mainstream in 1983 with B次元官网网址淐ross Creek,B次元官网网址� in which he played table-smashing backwoodsman Marsh Turner. The role brought him his only Oscar nomination, for best supporting actor.
Among his other films: B次元官网网址淐ity HeatB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淢en in Black.B次元官网网址�
But he never entirely shook his rebellious reputation.
B次元官网网址淲hat do they say about all the guys that are tremendous actors?B次元官网网址� he told The New York Times in 2006. B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 they say they have a volatile temper and emotions? Yeah, sure they do! TheyB次元官网网址檙e not saying they like a nice, mild guy. Look at Sean Penn.
In 1994, actor-director Dennis Hopper said on B次元官网网址淭he Tonight Show With Jay LenoB次元官网网址� that Torn once pulled a knife in a New York restaurant as he complained about being replaced in B次元官网网址淓asy Rider.B次元官网网址� He sued Hopper for slander and won a $475,000 judgment.
He remained active in film and television in later years, including a recurring role in B次元官网网址�30 RockB次元官网网址� and a voice acting gig in the 2007 animated B次元官网网址淏ee Movie.B次元官网网址�
He weathered a couple of drunken driving arrests, including one in December 2008 near his home in Salisbury, Connecticut, that led to his placement in an alcohol education program.
Born in Temple, Texas, Torn initially studied agriculture at Texas A&M and acting at the University of Texas. After service as a military policeman during the Korean War, he hitchhiked to Hollywood. Landing only tiny roles in movies and TV dramas, and supporting himself as a fry cook and dishwasher, he decided to shift to New York and seek more training as an actor.
Torn and his first wife, actress Ann Wedgeworth, had a daughter, Danae, before divorcing. In 1963 he married Page, with whom he had co-starred in the touring production and movie version of B次元官网网址淪weet Bird of Youth.B次元官网网址� They had three children, a daughter, Angelica, and twins Jon and Tony, and appeared in productions together until her death in 1987. Torn also had two children, Katie and Claire, with actress Amy Wright.
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Former AP Entertainment Writer Bob Thomas in Los Angeles compiled this report before his death in 2014.
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Bob Thomas, The Associated Press
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