American actor who made his memorable screen debut as a psychotic killer in Kiss Of Death (1947). The film earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. A durable star, his career spanned over six decades of noteworthy performances in theater, film and TV including film production via his company, Heath Productions. Early in his career, Widmark was typecast in similar villainous or anti-hero roles in films noir, but he later branched out into more heroic leading and supporting roles in Westerns, mainstream dramas, and horror films among others.
As the son of a traveling salesman, he lived in four different states with his family. Widmark enrolled in Lake Forrest College with his sights set on a law degree until he was sidetracked by football – and his love for movies. After graduating in 1936, he remained at the college for two years as a drama teacher. Moving to New York in 1938 he became a regular in radio dramas and appeared in several Broadway plays. Rejected from the military during World War II because of a punctured eardrum, he landed his first Broadway role in 1943. In 1947, he was cast in what would be his breakthrough movie role as the sadistic killer Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death. Although his film career took off, he worried about being stereotyped as a villain and took on a variety of roles. Nevertheless, he may be best known for his gritty performances as tough guys, evil doers, and justice-seekers. His on-film persona seemed to be perfect for film noir movie roles that won him acclaim.
In real life, he was described as a quiet and mild-tempered man, who hated guns and violence and held liberal political views. He frequently apologized to his co-star Sidney Poitier for his racist lines as they filmed No Way Out and lobbied John Huston to make a film that focused on the plight of Native Americans (Cheyenne Autumn). He tended to keep his private life sheltered. Avoiding the limelight and the Hollywood glitz, he maintained perspective on his star status. Considering himself a working actor rather than a star, he said of his career, “I supposed I wanted to act in order to have a place in the sun. I’d always lived in small towns, and acting meant having some kind of identity.” One story recounts that he took on the role of the corpse in Murder on the Orient Express (1974) just to say that the great John Gielgud played his valet. He often joked that when his daughter was naughty he would force her as punishment to watch him in Run for the Sun, a 1956 jungle adventure film he considered truly awful. And when asked if he had been wise about handling his earnings, he retorted, “No, just tight.”
In 1942, he married Jean Hazlewood, a former actress and sometime screenwriter, and for much of their married life they lived outside Hollywood, on a private ranch in the Los Angeles hills and on their Connecticut farm. They had one child, Anne, at one-time the wife of baseball legend, Sandy Koufax. In 1997, after 55 years of marriage his wife died and he sold their California ranch. Two years later, in 1999, he married Susan Blanchard.
Richard Widmark died on 24 March 2008 in Roxbury, Connecticut from complications that ensued from a fall. He was 93.
Link to Wikipedia biography
Link to Astrodienst discussion forum