Lawrence Tierney
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Tierney was an American
actor
, known for his many screen portrayals of mobsters and hardened criminals, which mirrored his own frequent brushes with the law.
Commenting on the DVD release of a Tierney film in 2005, a New York Times critic observed, "The hulking Tierney was not so much an actor as a frightening force of nature."
, New York
, the son of Mary and Lawrence Tierney, an Irish-American policeman. Tierney was a star athlete at Boys High School in Brooklyn, where he won awards for track and field
and was a member of Omega Gamma Delta fraternity. He earned an athletic scholarship to Manhattan College
, but quit after two years to work as a laborer on the New York Aqueduct. He traveled around the country, bouncing from job to job, and worked as catalogue model for Sears Roebuck & Co. An acting coach suggested that he try the stage, and Tierney joined the Black Friars theatre group and later the American-Irish Theatre. He was spotted there by an RKO talent scout and given a film contract in 1943.
Early in his career, he appeared in supporting roles in B movie
s, including The Ghost Ship
(1943), The Falcon Out West (1944), Youth Runs Wild (1944) and Back to Bataan
(1945) before starring in the title role in 1945's Dillinger
. The role made him a star.
Tierney played the famous 1930s bank robber John Dillinger
, in a film that was advertised as a tale "written in bullets, blood and blondes." It was initially banned in Chicago and other cities where Dillinger had operated. Though a low-budget movie, with a budget of just $60,000, it proved popular, with Tierney "memorably menacing" in the title role, in the words of one recent commentator.
RKO assigned him to other tough-guy characters. He played Jesse James
in Badman's Territory (1946), a reformed prison inmate in San Quentin (1946), and an ex-marine falsely accused of murder in Step by Step (1946). In 1947 he played the lead role of Sam Wilde in films that have since gained a cult following: the Robert Wise
film Born to Kill
and The Devil Thumbs a Ride
, directed by Felix Feist, in which he played a vicious hitch-hiker.
Writing in The New York Times
, film critic Bosley Crowther
condemned Born to Kill as "not only morally disgusting but is an offense to a normal intellect." He said that Tierney "as the bold, bad killer whose ambition is to 'fix it so's I can spit in anybody's eye,' is given outrageous license to demonstrate the histrionics of nastiness." More recent critics and scholars have viewed the film as a significant film noir
, and as an excellent example of RKO's approach to the genre.
Tierney later said that he did not like playing violent roles:.
Tierney had a more sympathetic role as a man wrongly convicted of murder in Richard Fleischer
's Bodyguard (1948), but by the 1950s, his well-publicized off-screen brawls began to hurt his career, and his parts grew smaller. He received fourth billing in Joseph Pevney
's Shakedown (1950), and had a supporting role playing Jesse James, again, in Best of the Badmen (1951). He played a small role as the villain who caused a train wreck in Cecil B. DeMille
's 1952 best-picture Oscar-winner, The Greatest Show on Earth
. DeMille asked Paramount Pictures
to put Tierney under contract, but the idea was dropped when he was arrested for fighting in a bar.
role of Duke Mantee in a touring version of The Petrified Forest
, alongside Franchot Tone
and Betsy von Furstenburg. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he appeared in only bit parts in movies, his career damaged by his frequent brushes with the law. Among his film roles was a small part in the John Cassavetes
film A Child is Waiting
(1963). He also made television appearances in shows such as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and moved to France
for several years.
He returned to New York City in the 1960s, and his troubles with the law continued. In New York, he worked as a bartender, construction worker and drove a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park
. He occasionally found film work in Otto Preminger
's Such Good Friends (1971) in which he had a bit part as a security guard. In 1976, he appeared in Andy Warhol
's Bad, which he later described as "a terrible experience – unprofessional." He also had a small role in Cassavetes' Gloria (1980).
Tierney returned to Hollywood in late 1983 and guest-starred on television shows
such as Remington Steele
, Fame
, Hunter, Seinfeld
, Star Trek: The Next Generation
, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
and The Simpsons
. In 1984, he appeared in a national campaign of an Excedrin
commercial playing a construction worker. In 1985 he had a small speaking role as the chief of police of New York City in John Huston
's film Prizzi's Honor
. Tierney made a number of appearances on Hill Street Blues
, as the desk sergeant on the night tour, and in fact uttered the last line of the last episode of the series, answering the phone at the station house's front desk and saying, "Hill Street Station".
He had a more substantial supporting role in Norman Mailer
's movie adaptation of his novel in Tough Guys Don't Dance
(1987), playing the father of protagonist Ryan O'Neal
. He also had a role in the film adaptation of Stephen King
's Silver Bullet
, in which he played a baseball bat-wielding bar owner.
In 1988, Tierney played the role of a tough holodeck
gangster in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation
, and in 1990 he played Elaine Benes
's father Alton Benes in the Seinfeld
episode "The Jacket". In 1991, Quentin Tarantino
cast him as crime lord Joe Cabot in the film Reservoir Dogs
. The success of the film put bookends on his career as a gangster actor. During the film, Cabot reports that one of his henchmen was "dead as Dillinger" - a line inserted by Tarantino as an "in-joke" and reference to Tierney's first major film role. During the production of Reservoir Dogs, Tierney's off screen antics both amused and disturbed the cast and crew. Tarantino later said that he almost got in a fight with Tierney during the filming.
One of his last film roles was as an appearance as Bruce Willis
' father in Armageddon (1998). His agent Don Gerler later commented that "a few years back I was still bailing him out of jail. He was 75 years old and still the toughest guy in the bar!"
, and once said that he "threw away about seven careers through drink."
Between 1944 and 1951, Tierney had been arrested a dozen times for brawling, frequently for drunkenness. His legal troubles included a 90-day jail sentence for breaking a college student's jaw.
At the time of his arrest for brawling with two policemen outside a Manhattan bar in 1958, the New York Times reported that he had been arrested six times in California
and five times in New York on similar charges. In 1973 he was stabbed in a bar fight on the west side of Manhattan.
In June 1975, Tierney was questioned by New York City police in connection with the apparent suicide
of a 24-year old woman, who jumped from the window of her apartment. Tierney told police that he had come to visit the woman, "had just gotten there, and she just went out the window".
In December 1995, Tierney guest starred as security guard Don Brodka in The Simpsons
season 7 episode "Marge Be Not Proud
". A former show runner
, Josh Weinstein
, called Tierney's appearance "the craziest guest star experience we ever had". In addition to yelling at and intimidating employees of the show, Tierney made unreasonable requests such as abandoning his distinctive voice to do the part in a southern
accent and refusing to perform lines if he did not "get the jokes". Despite this, Bill Oakley
, another former runner of the show and Weinstein thought Tierney did a good job. Weinstein said that "he certainly delivered and he's one of my favorite characters we have had [on the show]". After Tierney's death, the episode "The Old Man and the Key
" was dedicated to him.
When he guest-starred on Seinfeld
(1990) in "The Jacket
" episode as Elaine
's father, Alton Benes, the show's fans were disappointed that he had not reprised the role in later episodes. Cast members later recounted that he scared them so badly that they never had him back on. He stole a butcher knife from the set and hid it under his jacket. When Jerry Seinfeld
confronted him about it (much to the dismay of the entire cast), Tierney made a joking stabbing motion towards him as in reference to the movie Psycho
. Writer Larry David
said that Tierney returned to the show's offices about a week after shooting on the episode had wrapped, late on a Saturday night; although uncertain of his motive, David speculated that he was "looking for a sandwich or something." From that moment forward, David later threatened cast members that if they caused problems on the set he would "bring back Lawrence Tierney."
. His nephew is film director and actor Michael Tierney. On February 26, 2002, Tierney died at the age of 82 of pneumonia
at a Los Angeles
nursing home. He left three children, including a daughter, Elizabeth Tierney, of Park City, Utah
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, known for his many screen portrayals of mobsters and hardened criminals, which mirrored his own frequent brushes with the law.
Commenting on the DVD release of a Tierney film in 2005, a New York Times critic observed, "The hulking Tierney was not so much an actor as a frightening force of nature."
Early life
Tierney was born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, the son of Mary and Lawrence Tierney, an Irish-American policeman. Tierney was a star athlete at Boys High School in Brooklyn, where he won awards for track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
and was a member of Omega Gamma Delta fraternity. He earned an athletic scholarship to Manhattan College
Manhattan College
Manhattan College is a Roman Catholic liberal arts college in the Lasallian tradition in New York City, United States. Despite the college's name, it is no longer located in Manhattan but in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, roughly 10 miles north of Midtown. Manhattan College offers...
, but quit after two years to work as a laborer on the New York Aqueduct. He traveled around the country, bouncing from job to job, and worked as catalogue model for Sears Roebuck & Co. An acting coach suggested that he try the stage, and Tierney joined the Black Friars theatre group and later the American-Irish Theatre. He was spotted there by an RKO talent scout and given a film contract in 1943.
Career
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
s, including The Ghost Ship
The Ghost Ship
The Ghost Ship is a black-and-white horror and crime film starring Richard Dix, Russell Wade, and Skelton Knaggs. The film is about a young merchant marine officer who begins to suspect that his ship's captain is mentally unbalanced and endangering the lives of the ship's crew...
(1943), The Falcon Out West (1944), Youth Runs Wild (1944) and Back to Bataan
Back to Bataan
Back to Bataan is a World War II war film produced by Robert Fellows, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring John Wayne and Anthony Quinn. It was produced by RKO Radio Pictures. It depicts events that took place after the Battle of Bataan on the island of Luzon in the Philippines...
(1945) before starring in the title role in 1945's Dillinger
Dillinger (1945 film)
Dillinger is a 1945 gangster film telling the story of John Dillinger. The film was directed by Max Nosseck. Dillinger was the first major film to star Lawrence Tierney. The B-movie was shot in black and white and features a smoke-bomb bank robbery edited into the film from the 1937 Fritz Lang...
. The role made him a star.
Tierney played the famous 1930s bank robber John Dillinger
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
, in a film that was advertised as a tale "written in bullets, blood and blondes." It was initially banned in Chicago and other cities where Dillinger had operated. Though a low-budget movie, with a budget of just $60,000, it proved popular, with Tierney "memorably menacing" in the title role, in the words of one recent commentator.
RKO assigned him to other tough-guy characters. He played Jesse James
Jesse James
Jesse Woodson James was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. He also faked his own death and was known as J.M James. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary...
in Badman's Territory (1946), a reformed prison inmate in San Quentin (1946), and an ex-marine falsely accused of murder in Step by Step (1946). In 1947 he played the lead role of Sam Wilde in films that have since gained a cult following: the Robert Wise
Robert Wise
Robert Earl Wise was an American sound effects editor, film editor, film producer and director...
film Born to Kill
Born to Kill (1947 film)
Born to Kill is a 1947 film noir starring Lawrence Tierney and directed by Robert Wise. It was the first film noir to be directed by Wise, who later directed The Set-Up , The Captive City , and Odds Against Tomorrow...
and The Devil Thumbs a Ride
The Devil Thumbs a Ride
The Devil Thumbs a Ride is a 1947 suspense film, considered to be film noir, starring Lawrence Tierney.-Plot:Steve Morgan , a charming but utterly sociopathic criminal who has just robbed and killed a cinema cashier, gets a ride with unsuspecting Jimmy 'Fergie' Ferguson , who does not know that...
, directed by Felix Feist, in which he played a vicious hitch-hiker.
Writing in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, film critic Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
condemned Born to Kill as "not only morally disgusting but is an offense to a normal intellect." He said that Tierney "as the bold, bad killer whose ambition is to 'fix it so's I can spit in anybody's eye,' is given outrageous license to demonstrate the histrionics of nastiness." More recent critics and scholars have viewed the film as a significant film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
, and as an excellent example of RKO's approach to the genre.
Tierney had a more sympathetic role as a man wrongly convicted of murder in Richard Fleischer
Richard Fleischer
-Early life:Fleischer was born in Brooklyn, the son of Essie and animator/producer Max Fleischer. He started in motion pictures as director of animated shorts produced by his father including entries in the Betty Boop, Popeye and Superman series.His live-action film career began in 1942 at the RKO...
's Bodyguard (1948), but by the 1950s, his well-publicized off-screen brawls began to hurt his career, and his parts grew smaller. He received fourth billing in Joseph Pevney
Joseph Pevney
Joseph Pevney was an American film and television director.-Biography:Pevney was born on September 15, 1911 in New York City, New York.He made his debut in vaudeville as a boy soprano in 1924...
's Shakedown (1950), and had a supporting role playing Jesse James, again, in Best of the Badmen (1951). He played a small role as the villain who caused a train wreck in Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
's 1952 best-picture Oscar-winner, The Greatest Show on Earth
The Greatest Show on Earth
The Greatest Show on Earth is a 1952 drama film set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The film was produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture...
. DeMille asked Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
to put Tierney under contract, but the idea was dropped when he was arrested for fighting in a bar.
Decline and comeback
He returned to the stage, playing the Humphrey BogartHumphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
role of Duke Mantee in a touring version of The Petrified Forest
The Petrified Forest
The Petrified Forest is a 1936 American film, starring Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Humphrey Bogart. A precursor of film noir, it was adapted from Robert E. Sherwood's 1936 stage play of the same name...
, alongside Franchot Tone
Franchot Tone
Franchot Tone was an American stage, film, and television actor, star of Mutiny on the Bounty and many other films through the 1960s...
and Betsy von Furstenburg. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he appeared in only bit parts in movies, his career damaged by his frequent brushes with the law. Among his film roles was a small part in the John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
film A Child is Waiting
A Child Is Waiting
A Child Is Waiting is a 1963 American drama film written by Abby Mann and directed by John Cassavetes. Burt Lancaster portrays the director of a state institution for mentally handicapped and emotionally disturbed children, and Judy Garland is a new teacher who challenges his methods.-Plot:Jean...
(1963). He also made television appearances in shows such as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for several years.
He returned to New York City in the 1960s, and his troubles with the law continued. In New York, he worked as a bartender, construction worker and drove a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
. He occasionally found film work in Otto Preminger
Otto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger was an Austro–Hungarian-American theatre and film director.After moving from the theatre to Hollywood, he directed over 35 feature films in a five-decade career. He rose to prominence for stylish film noir mysteries such as Laura and Fallen Angel...
's Such Good Friends (1971) in which he had a bit part as a security guard. In 1976, he appeared in Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
's Bad, which he later described as "a terrible experience – unprofessional." He also had a small role in Cassavetes' Gloria (1980).
Tierney returned to Hollywood in late 1983 and guest-starred on television shows
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
such as Remington Steele
Remington Steele
Remington Steele is an American television series, co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from 1982 to 1987. The series blended the genres of romantic...
, Fame
Fame (1982 TV series)
Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although...
, Hunter, Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
and The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. In 1984, he appeared in a national campaign of an Excedrin
Excedrin
Excedrin is an over-the-counter headache pain reliever, typically in the form of tablets or caplets. It contains acetaminophen , aspirin, and caffeine. Until late 2005 it was manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb, but in July 2005 it was purchased by Novartis, along with other products from BMS's...
commercial playing a construction worker. In 1985 he had a small speaking role as the chief of police of New York City in John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
's film Prizzi's Honor
Prizzi's Honor
Prizzi's Honor is a 1985 American black comedy film directed by John Huston. It stars Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Robert Loggia and Anjelica Huston.The film was adapted by Richard Condon and Janet Roach from Condon's novel of the same name...
. Tierney made a number of appearances on Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
, as the desk sergeant on the night tour, and in fact uttered the last line of the last episode of the series, answering the phone at the station house's front desk and saying, "Hill Street Station".
He had a more substantial supporting role in Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
's movie adaptation of his novel in Tough Guys Don't Dance
Tough Guys Don't Dance (film)
Tough Guys Don't Dance is a 1987 film written and directed by Norman Mailer based on his novel of the same name. It is a murder mystery/film noir piece that was scorned by audiences and critics alike. It was screened out of competition at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.The script had revisions done...
(1987), playing the father of protagonist Ryan O'Neal
Ryan O'Neal
Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...
. He also had a role in the film adaptation of Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's Silver Bullet
Silver Bullet
A silver bullet is a method to kill mythical creatures such as werewolves or a metaphor for any solution of extreme effectiveness.Silver Bullet may also refer to:* Silver Bullet , a 1985 American film based on a Stephen King novella...
, in which he played a baseball bat-wielding bar owner.
In 1988, Tierney played the role of a tough holodeck
Holodeck
A holodeck, in the fictional Star Trek universe, is a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases. The first use of a "holodeck" by that name in the Star Trek universe was in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint", although a conceptually...
gangster in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, and in 1990 he played Elaine Benes
Elaine Benes
Elaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld; she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer...
's father Alton Benes in the Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
episode "The Jacket". In 1991, Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
cast him as crime lord Joe Cabot in the film Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
. The success of the film put bookends on his career as a gangster actor. During the film, Cabot reports that one of his henchmen was "dead as Dillinger" - a line inserted by Tarantino as an "in-joke" and reference to Tierney's first major film role. During the production of Reservoir Dogs, Tierney's off screen antics both amused and disturbed the cast and crew. Tarantino later said that he almost got in a fight with Tierney during the filming.
One of his last film roles was as an appearance as Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
' father in Armageddon (1998). His agent Don Gerler later commented that "a few years back I was still bailing him out of jail. He was 75 years old and still the toughest guy in the bar!"
Off-screen troubles
Tierney had numerous arrests for drunken fights over the years, and served jail terms. His run-ins with the law took a toll on his career. He was an admitted alcoholic who gave up drinking in 1982 after having a strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
, and once said that he "threw away about seven careers through drink."
Between 1944 and 1951, Tierney had been arrested a dozen times for brawling, frequently for drunkenness. His legal troubles included a 90-day jail sentence for breaking a college student's jaw.
At the time of his arrest for brawling with two policemen outside a Manhattan bar in 1958, the New York Times reported that he had been arrested six times in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and five times in New York on similar charges. In 1973 he was stabbed in a bar fight on the west side of Manhattan.
In June 1975, Tierney was questioned by New York City police in connection with the apparent suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
of a 24-year old woman, who jumped from the window of her apartment. Tierney told police that he had come to visit the woman, "had just gotten there, and she just went out the window".
In December 1995, Tierney guest starred as security guard Don Brodka in The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
season 7 episode "Marge Be Not Proud
Marge Be Not Proud
"Marge Be Not Proud" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1995. In the episode, Marge refuses to buy Bart the new video game Bonestorm, so he steals it from a local discount store...
". A former show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
, Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans High School; Weinstein then attended Stanford University and was editor-in-chief of the...
, called Tierney's appearance "the craziest guest star experience we ever had". In addition to yelling at and intimidating employees of the show, Tierney made unreasonable requests such as abandoning his distinctive voice to do the part in a southern
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
accent and refusing to perform lines if he did not "get the jokes". Despite this, Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at high school; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon...
, another former runner of the show and Weinstein thought Tierney did a good job. Weinstein said that "he certainly delivered and he's one of my favorite characters we have had [on the show]". After Tierney's death, the episode "The Old Man and the Key
The Old Man and the Key
"The Old Man and the Key" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on March 10, 2002. In the episode, Grampa Simpson falls in love with Zelda, an old woman who has just moved in to the senior home in which Grampa lives...
" was dedicated to him.
When he guest-starred on Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
(1990) in "The Jacket
The Jacket (Seinfeld episode)
"The Jacket" is the third episode of the second season of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld and the show's eighth episode overall. In the episode, protagonist Jerry Seinfeld buys an expensive suede jacket and has dinner with the father of his ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes...
" episode as Elaine
Elaine Benes
Elaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld; she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer...
's father, Alton Benes, the show's fans were disappointed that he had not reprised the role in later episodes. Cast members later recounted that he scared them so badly that they never had him back on. He stole a butcher knife from the set and hid it under his jacket. When Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
confronted him about it (much to the dismay of the entire cast), Tierney made a joking stabbing motion towards him as in reference to the movie Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
. Writer Larry David
Larry David
Lawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American actor, writer, comedian and producer. He is best known as the co-creator , head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in...
said that Tierney returned to the show's offices about a week after shooting on the episode had wrapped, late on a Saturday night; although uncertain of his motive, David speculated that he was "looking for a sandwich or something." From that moment forward, David later threatened cast members that if they caused problems on the set he would "bring back Lawrence Tierney."
Personal life
Tierney's brother was actor Scott BradyScott Brady
Scott Brady was an American film and television actor.Born as Gerard Kenneth Tierney, he was the younger brother of fellow actor Lawrence Tierney. Brady served in the Navy during World War II, where he was a boxing champ...
. His nephew is film director and actor Michael Tierney. On February 26, 2002, Tierney died at the age of 82 of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
at a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
nursing home. He left three children, including a daughter, Elizabeth Tierney, of Park City, Utah
Park City, Utah
Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...
.
Filmography
- SouthieSouthie (film)Southie is a 1999 American film directed by John Shea and starring Donnie Wahlberg. The film centers on Danny Quinn who returns home to South Boston from New York City and gets stuck between his friends, who are supported by one Irish gang, and his family, which are members of another...
(1998) as Collie Powers - Armageddon (1998) (uncredited) as Harry StamperBruce WillisWalter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
's father - 2 Days in the Valley2 Days in the Valley2 Days in the Valley is a 1996 film, directed by John Herzfeld. The film revolves around the events over 48 hours in the lives of a group of people who are drawn together by a murder. Several parallel storylines overlap one another in the film.-Plot:...
(1996) as Older Man - The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Marge Be Not ProudMarge Be Not Proud"Marge Be Not Proud" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1995. In the episode, Marge refuses to buy Bart the new video game Bonestorm, so he steals it from a local discount store...
" (1995) as Det. Don Brodka, store security officer - Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
(1993) as the Regent ("Business As UsualBusiness as Usual (DS9 episode)"Business as Usual" is an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the eighteenth episode of the fifth season. It has an average fan rating of 4/5 on the official Star Trek website as of September, 2009.-Plot:...
") - Reservoir DogsReservoir DogsReservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
(1992) - Eddie PresleyEddie PresleyEddie Presley is a 1992 dramedy film directed by Jeff Burr and featuring Duane Whitaker in the title role. It is based on a one man show Whitaker had written and performed in Los Angeles....
(1992) as Joe West - RED (1991) as Louis "Red" Deutsch based on the Tube Bar prank callsTube Bar prank callsThe Tube Bar prank calls are a legendary series of prank calls. Performed in the mid-1970s, John Elmo and Jim Davidson made a number of phone calls to the Tube Bar in Jersey City, asking the proprietor if they could speak to a named customer. The given names were homophones for other, often...
. - SeinfeldSeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
episode "The JacketThe Jacket (Seinfeld episode)"The Jacket" is the third episode of the second season of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld and the show's eighth episode overall. In the episode, protagonist Jerry Seinfeld buys an expensive suede jacket and has dinner with the father of his ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes...
" (1991) as Alton Benes, Elaine'sElaine BenesElaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld; she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer...
gruff father - The Naked GunThe Naked GunThe Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! is a 1988 American comedy film that is the first in a The Naked Gun series of films starring Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, and O. J. Simpson...
: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) - Tough Guys Don't DanceTough Guys Don't Dance (film)Tough Guys Don't Dance is a 1987 film written and directed by Norman Mailer based on his novel of the same name. It is a murder mystery/film noir piece that was scorned by audiences and critics alike. It was screened out of competition at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.The script had revisions done...
(1987) - Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
(1987) as Cyrus Redblock, a mobster in a holodeckHolodeckA holodeck, in the fictional Star Trek universe, is a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases. The first use of a "holodeck" by that name in the Star Trek universe was in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint", although a conceptually...
fantasy ("The Big Goodbye") - Prizzi's HonorPrizzi's HonorPrizzi's Honor is a 1985 American black comedy film directed by John Huston. It stars Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Robert Loggia and Anjelica Huston.The film was adapted by Richard Condon and Janet Roach from Condon's novel of the same name...
(1985) - Arthur (1981)
- Gloria (1980)
- A Child is WaitingA Child Is WaitingA Child Is Waiting is a 1963 American drama film written by Abby Mann and directed by John Cassavetes. Burt Lancaster portrays the director of a state institution for mentally handicapped and emotionally disturbed children, and Judy Garland is a new teacher who challenges his methods.-Plot:Jean...
(1963) - Female JungleFemale JungleFemale Jungle is a 1955 black-and-white B-movie notable for being Jayne Mansfield's first film; one of Lawrence Tierney's last before his comeback and the only American International Pictures entry into film noir.-Plot:...
(1954); Aka: The Hangover - The Greatest Show on EarthThe Greatest Show on EarthThe Greatest Show on Earth is a 1952 drama film set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The film was produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture...
(1952) - The BushwackersThe Bushwackers (film)-Cast:*John Ireland as Jefferson Waring*Wayne Morris as Marshal John Harding*Lawrence Tierney as Sam Tobin*Dorothy Malone as Cathy Sharpe*Lon Chaney Jr...
(1952) - The HoodlumThe HoodlumThe Hoodlum is a 1951 American film directed by Max Nosseck.- Cast :*Lawrence Tierney*Allene Roberts*Marjorie Riordan*Lisa Golm*Edward Tierney*Stuart Randall*Angela Stevens*John De Simone*Tom Hubbard*Eddie Foster*O.Z. Whitehead*Richard Barron...
(1951) - BodyguardBodyguard (1948 film)Bodyguard is an American semi-documentary crime film noir directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Fred Niblo Jr.and Harry Essex, based on a story written by George W. George and Robert Altman, who would on to direct MASH and other notable films...
(1948) - The Devil Thumbs a RideThe Devil Thumbs a RideThe Devil Thumbs a Ride is a 1947 suspense film, considered to be film noir, starring Lawrence Tierney.-Plot:Steve Morgan , a charming but utterly sociopathic criminal who has just robbed and killed a cinema cashier, gets a ride with unsuspecting Jimmy 'Fergie' Ferguson , who does not know that...
(1947) - Born to KillBorn to Kill (1947 film)Born to Kill is a 1947 film noir starring Lawrence Tierney and directed by Robert Wise. It was the first film noir to be directed by Wise, who later directed The Set-Up , The Captive City , and Odds Against Tomorrow...
(1947) - Back to BataanBack to BataanBack to Bataan is a World War II war film produced by Robert Fellows, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring John Wayne and Anthony Quinn. It was produced by RKO Radio Pictures. It depicts events that took place after the Battle of Bataan on the island of Luzon in the Philippines...
(1945) - DillingerDillinger (1945 film)Dillinger is a 1945 gangster film telling the story of John Dillinger. The film was directed by Max Nosseck. Dillinger was the first major film to star Lawrence Tierney. The B-movie was shot in black and white and features a smoke-bomb bank robbery edited into the film from the 1937 Fritz Lang...
(1945) - The Falcon Out West (1944) (uncredited)
External links
- Lawrence Tierney Official Website
- Todd Mecklem's Tierney tribute
- Essay on Tierney by writer Eddie MullerEddie MullerEddie Muller is a writer based in San Francisco. He is known for writing books about movies, particularly film noir. Founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation, he is considered a noir expert and is called on to write and talk about the film genre, notably on wry commentary tracks for Fox's...