Richard Widmark
Encyclopedia
Richard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.
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
.
, the son of Ethel Mae (née Barr) and Carl H. Widmark. His father was of Swedish descent and his mother of English and Scottish ancestry. Widmark grew up in Princeton, Illinois
, and also lived in Henry, Illinois for a short time, moving frequently because of his father's work as a traveling salesman. He attended Lake Forest College
, where he studied acting and also taught acting after he graduated.
in the title role of the daytime serial Front Page Farrell, introduced each afternoon as "the exciting, unforgettable radio drama... the story of a crack newspaperman and his wife, the story of David and Sally Farrell." Farrell was a top reporter for the Brooklyn Eagle
. When the series moved to NBC
, Widmark turned the role over to Carleton G. Young
and Staats Cotsworth.
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.
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Widmark appeared on Broadway
in 1943 in Kiss and Tell. He was unable to join the military during World War II
because of a perforated eardrum
. He was in Chicago appearing in a stage production of Dream Girl
with June Havoc
when 20th Century Fox
signed him to a seven-year contract.
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
. As well, in 1950 Widmark starred with Sidney Potier in the gripping racial melodrama No Way Out.
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
.
Widmark was a guest on What's My Line?
in 1954. The following year, he made a rare foray into comedy on I Love Lucy
, portraying himself when a star-struck Lucy trespasses onto his property to steal a souvenir. Widmark finds Lucy sprawled out on his living room floor underneath a bear skin rug.
Returning to television in the early 1970s, Widmark received an Emmy nomination for his performance as the U.S. President in the TV movie Vanished (1971), a Fletcher Knebel
political thriller. In 1972-73, he reprised his detective role from Madigan
(1968) with six 90-minute episodes on the NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie. The mini-series Benjamin Franklin (1974) was a unique experiment of four 90-minute dramas, each with a different actor performing the title role: Widmark, Beau Bridges
, Lloyd Bridges
, Eddie Albert
, Melvyn Douglas
and Willie Aames
(Franklin at age 12). The series won a Peabody Award and five Emmys. During the 1980s, Widmark returned to TV with a half-dozen TV movies.
From 1942 until her death in 1997, Widmark was married to playwright Jean Hazlewood
. The marriage produced a daughter, Anne Heath Widmark, an artist and author who was married to baseball player Sandy Koufax
from 1969 to 1982. In 1999, Widmark married socialite Susan Blanchard
, who had been Henry Fonda
's third wife.
Green City
, Missouri
, is the site of Widmark Airport in extreme northeastern Missouri. Towns the size of Green City (pop. 688 in 2000) usually do not have airports, but Richard Widmark owned a cattle ranch in the area during the 1950s and 1960s. Widmark contributed funds to the construction of an airport which led to its being named in his honor.
Despite having spent most of his career appearing countless times in gun-toting roles such as cowboys, policemen, gangsters and military men he loathed real-life gunplay and got involved in several gun-control initiatives and drives. In 1976 he famously stated
at age 93.
Short films:
He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death
Kiss of Death (1947 film)
Kiss of Death is a 1947 film noir movie directed by Henry Hathaway and written by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer from a story by Eleazar Lipsky. The story revolves around the film's protagonist, a former robber, and the antagonist, the ruthless, violent Tommy Udo...
. Early in his career Widmark specialized in similar villainous or anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
roles in films 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...
, 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
James Whitmore
James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
). For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Widmark has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6800 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
. In 2002, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of American rodeo, photographs, barbed wire, saddlery, and early rodeo trophies...
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
.
Early life
Widmark was born in Sunrise Township, MinnesotaSunrise Township, Minnesota
Sunrise Township is a township in Chisago County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,594 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 45.9 square miles , of which, 45.3 square miles of it is land and...
, the son of Ethel Mae (née Barr) and Carl H. Widmark. His father was of Swedish descent and his mother of English and Scottish ancestry. Widmark grew up in Princeton, Illinois
Princeton, Illinois
Princeton is a city in Bureau County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,501 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bureau County.Princeton is part of the Ottawa–Streator Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, and also lived in Henry, Illinois for a short time, moving frequently because of his father's work as a traveling salesman. He attended Lake Forest College
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest College, founded in 1857, is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. The college has 1,500 students representing 47 states and 78 countries....
, where he studied acting and also taught acting after he graduated.
Radio
Widmark made his debut as a radio actor in 1938 on Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories. In 1941 and 1942, he was heard daily on the Mutual Broadcasting SystemMutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
in the title role of the daytime serial Front Page Farrell, introduced each afternoon as "the exciting, unforgettable radio drama... the story of a crack newspaperman and his wife, the story of David and Sally Farrell." Farrell was a top reporter for the Brooklyn Eagle
Brooklyn Eagle
The Brooklyn Daily Bulletin began publishing when the original Eagle folded in 1955. In 1996 it merged with a newly revived Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and now publishes a morning paper five days a week under the Brooklyn Daily Eagle name...
. When the series moved to NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, Widmark turned the role over to Carleton G. Young
Carleton G. Young
Carleton G. Young From January 10, 1942 until August, 1943, he had the title role on The Adventures of Ellery Queen, and from 1943 to 1952, he had the role of Edmond Dantes in Mutual's The Count of Monte Cristo. In 1951, he played the leading character on NBC's The Whisperer...
and Staats Cotsworth.
During the 1940s, Widmark was also heard on such network radio programs as Gang Busters
Gang Busters
Gang Busters was an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered as G-Men, sponsored by Chevrolet, on July 20, 1935.-History:...
, Inner Sanctum Mysteries
Inner Sanctum Mysteries
Inner Sanctum Mysteries, a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952, was created by producer Himan Brown. A total of 526 episodes were broadcast.-Horror hosts:...
, Joyce Jordan, M.D., Molle Mystery Theater, Suspense
Suspense (radio program)
-Production background:One of the premier drama programs of the Golden Age of Radio, was subtitled "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" and focused on suspense thriller-type scripts, usually featuring leading Hollywood actors of the era...
and Ethel and Albert
Ethel and Albert
Ethel and Albert was a radio and television comedy series about a married couple, Ethel and Albert Arbuckle, living in the small town of Sandy Harbor...
. In 1952 he portrayed Cincinnatus Shryock
Cincinnatus Shryock
Cincinnatus Shryock was an American architect.-Life and career:Shryock was born into a famous American architectural family...
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
CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater was a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS affiliates from 1974 to 1982....
(1974–82), and was also one of the five hosts on Sears Radio Theater
Sears Radio Theater
Sears Radio Theater was a radio drama anthology series which ran weeknightly on CBS Radio in 1979, sponsored by the Sears chain. Often paired with The CBS Radio Mystery Theater during its first season, the program offered a different genre of drama for each day's broadcast.In 1980, the program...
(as the Friday "adventure night" host) from 1979-81.
Broadway and films
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1943 in Kiss and Tell. He was unable to join the military during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
because of a perforated eardrum
Eardrum
The eardrum, or tympanic membrane, is a thin membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear in humans and other tetrapods. Its function is to transmit sound from the air to the ossicles inside the middle ear. The malleus bone bridges the gap between the eardrum and the other ossicles...
. He was in Chicago appearing in a stage production of Dream Girl
Dream Girl (play)
Dream Girl is a play by Elmer Rice.At its core is Georgina Allerton, a young woman whose efforts to run a bookstore are undermined severely by her tendency to drift off into Walter Mitty-like flights of fancy on a regular basis...
with June Havoc
June Havoc
June Havoc was a Canadian-born American actress, dancer, writer, and theater director. Havoc was a child Vaudeville performer under the tutelage of her mother. She later acted on Broadway and in Hollywood and stage directed . She last appeared on television in 1990 on General Hospital...
when 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
signed him to a seven-year contract.
Widmark's first movie appearance was in 1947
1947 in film
The year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
's Kiss of Death
Kiss of Death (1947 film)
Kiss of Death is a 1947 film noir movie directed by Henry Hathaway and written by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer from a story by Eleazar Lipsky. The story revolves around the film's protagonist, a former robber, and the antagonist, the ruthless, violent Tommy Udo...
, as the giggling, sociopathic villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
Tommy Udo. His most notorious scene found Udo pushing a wheelchair-bound woman (played by Mildred Dunnock
Mildred Dunnock
Mildred Dunnock was an American theater, film and television actress.- Early life :Born in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from Western Senior High School, Dunnock was a school teacher who did not start acting until she was in her early thirties...
) down a flight of stairs to her death. Widmark was almost not cast. He said, "The director, Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:...
, didn't want me. I have a high forehead; he thought I looked too intellectual." Hathaway was overruled by studio boss Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck was an American producer, writer, actor, director and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors...
. "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
Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor
The Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor originated in 1948. Between 1954 and 1965, multiple winners were announced. The category was discontinued following the 1983 ceremonies.-Winners:*1948: Richard Widmark*1950: Richard Todd, Gene Nelson...
, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
for his performance. Widmark's character was also the inspiration for the song The Ballad of Tommy Udo by the band Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope (US band)
Kaleidoscope was an American psychedelic folk and ethnic band who recorded 4 albums and several singles for Epic Records between 1966 and 1970.-Formation:...
.
In 1950, Widmark co-starred with Paul Douglas
Paul Douglas (actor)
Paul Douglas was an American actor, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Paul Douglas Fleischer.-Career:...
, Barbara Bel Geddes
Barbara Bel Geddes
Barbara Bel Geddes was an American actress, artist and children's author. She is best known for her role in the television drama series Dallas as matriarch Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Ewing. Bel Geddes also starred in the original Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the role of Maggie...
, Jack Palance
Jack Palance
Jack Palance , was an American actor. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers.-Early life:Palance, one of five children, was born Volodymyr...
and Zero Mostel
Zero Mostel
Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel was an American actor of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus on stage and on screen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version...
in Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
's Panic in the Streets
Panic in the Streets (film)
Panic in the Streets is a 1950 film noir directed by Elia Kazan. It was shot exclusively on location in New Orleans, Louisiana and features numerous New Orleans citizens in speaking and non-speaking roles....
, and appeared opposite Gene Tierney
Gene Tierney
Gene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
in Jules Dassin
Jules Dassin
Julius "Jules" Dassin , was an American film director, with Jewish-Russian origins. He was a subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, and subsequently moved to France where he revived his career.-Early life:...
's Night and the City
Night and the City
Night and the City is a film noir based on the novel by Gerald Kersh, directed by Jules Dassin, and starring Richard Widmark and Gene Tierney. Shot on location in London, the plot evolves around an ambitious hustler whose plans keep going wrong....
. Both are considered classic examples of 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...
. As well, in 1950 Widmark starred with Sidney Potier in the gripping racial melodrama No Way Out.
In 1952, Widmark had his handprints cast in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a movie theater at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. It is on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame.The Chinese Theatre was commissioned following the success of the nearby Grauman's Egyptian Theatre which opened in 1922...
. During his stint at Fox, he appeared in The Street with No Name
The Street with No Name
The Street with No Name is a black-and-white film noir. The movie, a follow up to The House on 92nd Street , tells the story of an undercover FBI agent, Gene Cordell , who infiltrates a deadly crime gang. Cordell's superior, FBI Inspector George A. Briggs also appears in The House on 92nd Street...
(1948), Don't Bother to Knock
Don't Bother to Knock
Don't Bother to Knock is a 1952 American thriller film starring Marilyn Monroe and Richard Widmark, directed by Roy Ward Baker and written by Daniel Taradash. Monroe is featured as a disturbed babysitter watching a child at the same New York hotel where a pilot, played by Widmark, is staying...
(1952) with Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, and Pickup on South Street
Pickup on South Street
Pickup on South Street is writer-director Samuel Fuller's film noir released by the 20th Century Fox studio. The film stars Richard Widmark, Jean Peters and Thelma Ritter....
(1953). He also appeared in Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli was an American stage director and film director, famous for directing such classic movie musicals as Meet Me in St. Louis, The Band Wagon, and An American in Paris. In addition to having directed some of the most famous and well-remembered musicals of his time, Minnelli made...
's 1955 cult film The Cobweb
The Cobweb (film)
The Cobweb is a MGM film. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli and based on a novel by William Gibson. It was released on DVD as part of the Warner Archive Collection on January 18, 2011....
with Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
.
He starred in and also produced a drama set during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, The Bedford Incident
The Bedford Incident
The Bedford Incident is a 1965 British-American Cold War film starring Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier, and co-produced by Richard Widmark. The cast also features James MacArthur, Martin Balsam, Wally Cox and Eric Portman, as well as early appearances by Donald Sutherland and Ed Bishop...
(1965). He is also credited with producing his films Time Limit
Time Limit (film)
Time Limit is a 1957 legal drama film directed by Karl Malden, his only directing credit. In his autobiography, Malden stated that "he preferred being a good actor to being a fairly good director."-Plot:...
(1957) and The Secret Ways
The Secret Ways
The Secret Ways is a 1961 thriller film based on Alistair McLean's novel The Last Frontier.-Plot:American adventurer Michael Reynolds is hired by an international espionage ring to smuggle a noted scholar and resistance leader, Professor Jansci, out of Communist-ruled Hungary...
(1961). Other notable films in the 1960s were The Alamo
The Alamo (1960 film)
The Alamo is a 1960 American historical epic released by United Artists. The film was directed by John Wayne, who also starred as Davy Crockett. The cast also includes Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie and Laurence Harvey as William B...
(1960), Judgment at Nuremberg
Judgment at Nuremberg
Judgment at Nuremberg is a 1961 American drama film dealing with the Holocaust and the Post-World War II Nuremberg Trials. It was written by Abby Mann, directed by Stanley Kramer, and starred Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Marlene Dietrich, Judy...
(1961), How the West Was Won
How the West Was Won (film)
How the West Was Won is a 1962 American epic Western film. The picture was one of the last "old-fashioned" epic films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to enjoy great success. It follows four generations of a family as they move ever westward, from western New York state to the Pacific Ocean...
(1962) and Cheyenne Autumn
Cheyenne Autumn
Cheyenne Autumn is a 1964 western starring Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, James Stewart, and Edward G. Robinson. Regarded as an epic film it tells the story of a factual event, the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878-9, although it is told in 'Hollywood style' using a great degree of artistic license...
(1964). During the 1970s, Widmark's films included Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on January 1, 1934 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of...
(1974), Coma
Coma (film)
Coma is a 1978 suspense film based on the novel of the same name by Robin Cook. The film rights were acquired by director Michael Crichton, and the movie was produced by Martin Erlichmann for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
(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
True Colors (1991 film)
True Colors is a film written by Kevin Wade and directed by Herbert Ross. The cast included John Cusack, James Spader and Richard Widmark in his final movie role.-Plot summary:...
.
Television
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
in 1954. The following year, he made a rare foray into comedy on I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
, portraying himself when a star-struck Lucy trespasses onto his property to steal a souvenir. Widmark finds Lucy sprawled out on his living room floor underneath a bear skin rug.
Returning to television in the early 1970s, Widmark received an Emmy nomination for his performance as the U.S. President in the TV movie Vanished (1971), a Fletcher Knebel
Fletcher Knebel
Fletcher Knebel was an American author of several popular works of political fiction.Knebel was born in Dayton, Ohio, but moved a number of times during his youth. He graduated from high school in Yonkers, New York, spent a year studying at the Sorbonne and graduated from Miami University in...
political thriller. In 1972-73, he reprised his detective role from Madigan
Madigan
Madigan is a 1968 American thriller film directed by Don Siegel and starring Richard Widmark and Henry Fonda.The screenplay, originally titled Friday, Saturday, Sunday, was adapted by two writers who had been blacklisted in the 1950s, Abraham Polonsky and Howard Rodman , based on a novel titled The...
(1968) with six 90-minute episodes on the NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie. The mini-series Benjamin Franklin (1974) was a unique experiment of four 90-minute dramas, each with a different actor performing the title role: Widmark, Beau Bridges
Beau Bridges
Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III is an American actor and director.- Early life :Bridges was born in Los Angeles, the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and his college sweetheart, Dorothy Bridges . He was nicknamed "Beau" by his mother and father after Ashley Wilkes's son in Gone with the Wind, the book...
, Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...
, Eddie Albert
Eddie Albert
Edward Albert Heimberger , known professionally as Eddie Albert, was an American actor and activist. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1954 for his performance in Roman Holiday, and in 1973 for The Heartbreak Kid.Other well-known screen roles of his include Bing...
, Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg , better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor.Coming to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man , Douglas later transitioned into more mature and fatherly roles as in his Academy Award-winning performances in Hud...
and Willie Aames
Willie Aames
Willie Aames is an American actor, film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter. He played Tommy Bradford on the 1970s’ Eight Is Enough and Buddy Lembeck on the 1980s’ Charles in Charge.-Early life:...
(Franklin at age 12). The series won a Peabody Award and five Emmys. During the 1980s, Widmark returned to TV with a half-dozen TV movies.
Personal life
Jean Hazlewood
Ora Jean Hazlewood was an American screenwriter, and wife of actor Richard Widmark for 55 years. They met while they were both attending Lake Forest College....
. The marriage produced a daughter, Anne Heath Widmark, an artist and author who was married to baseball player Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...
from 1969 to 1982. In 1999, Widmark married socialite Susan Blanchard
Susan Blanchard (socialite)
Susan Blanchard is an American socialite and former lyricist and theatrical producer. She was the third wife of actor Henry Fonda, with whom she adopted a daughter, Amy , and the second wife of actor Richard Widmark....
, who had been Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
's third wife.
Green City
Green City, Missouri
Green City is a city in Sullivan County, Missouri, United States. The population was 657 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, is the site of Widmark Airport in extreme northeastern Missouri. Towns the size of Green City (pop. 688 in 2000) usually do not have airports, but Richard Widmark owned a cattle ranch in the area during the 1950s and 1960s. Widmark contributed funds to the construction of an airport which led to its being named in his honor.
Despite having spent most of his career appearing countless times in gun-toting roles such as cowboys, policemen, gangsters and military men he loathed real-life gunplay and got involved in several gun-control initiatives and drives. In 1976 he famously stated
Death
Widmark died after a long illness on March 24, 2008, at his home in Roxbury, ConnecticutRoxbury, Connecticut
Roxbury is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,136 at the 2000 census.-History:Roxbury, whose Indian name was "Shepaug", a Mahican name signifiying "rocky water", was settled about the year 1713...
at age 93.
Filmography
- Kiss of DeathKiss of Death (1947 film)Kiss of Death is a 1947 film noir movie directed by Henry Hathaway and written by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer from a story by Eleazar Lipsky. The story revolves around the film's protagonist, a former robber, and the antagonist, the ruthless, violent Tommy Udo...
(19471947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
) - The Street with No NameThe Street with No NameThe Street with No Name is a black-and-white film noir. The movie, a follow up to The House on 92nd Street , tells the story of an undercover FBI agent, Gene Cordell , who infiltrates a deadly crime gang. Cordell's superior, FBI Inspector George A. Briggs also appears in The House on 92nd Street...
(19481948 in filmThe year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
) - Road HouseRoad House (1948 film)For the 1989 film, see Road House .Road House is a film noir drama directed by Jean Negulesco, with cinematography by Joseph LaShelle. The picture features Ida Lupino, Cornel Wilde, Celeste Holm, Richard Widmark, among others....
(1948) - Yellow SkyYellow SkyYellow Sky is an American western film directed by William A. Wellman. The story is believed to be loosely adapted from William Shakespeare's The Tempest. A band of outlaws flee after a bank robbery and encounter an old man and his granddaughter in a ghost town.-Plot:In 1867, a gang led by James...
(1948) - Down to the Sea in ShipsDown to the Sea in ShipsDown to the Sea in Ships is a 1922 American silent film about a 19th century Massachusetts whaling family. Directed by Elmer Clifton, the film stars William Walcott, Marguerite Courtot, and Clara Bow.-Plot:...
(19491949 in filmThe year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
) - Slattery's HurricaneSlattery's HurricaneSlattery's Hurricane is a 1949 drama film based on a story submitted by Herman Wouk to Twentieth Century Fox. The film tells the story of an anti-hero ex-navy pilot who discovers that he works for a dope-smuggling ring, but ultimately attempts to redeem himself during a violent hurricane. It stars...
(1949) - Night and the CityNight and the CityNight and the City is a film noir based on the novel by Gerald Kersh, directed by Jules Dassin, and starring Richard Widmark and Gene Tierney. Shot on location in London, the plot evolves around an ambitious hustler whose plans keep going wrong....
(19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
) - Panic in the StreetsPanic in the Streets (film)Panic in the Streets is a 1950 film noir directed by Elia Kazan. It was shot exclusively on location in New Orleans, Louisiana and features numerous New Orleans citizens in speaking and non-speaking roles....
(1950) - No Way OutNo Way Out (1950 film)No Way Out is a black-and-white film noir directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and starring Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell, Stephen McNally, and Sidney Poitier...
(1950) - Halls of MontezumaHalls of Montezuma (film)Halls of Montezuma is a 1951 World War II war film starring Richard Widmark, Jack Palance and Karl Malden. The film, which is about U.S. marines fighting on a Japanese-held island, was directed by academy-award winner Lewis Milestone. It also starred Robert Wagner in his first credited screen role...
(1950) - The Frogmen (19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - Red Skies of MontanaRed Skies of MontanaRed Skies of Montana is a 1952 adventure drama in which smoke jumper Cliff Mason, Richard Widmark, attempts to save his crew while being over-run by a forest fire, not only to save his men, but to redeem himself after his last fire when he was the only survivor.The film was very loosely based on...
(19521952 in filmThe year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
) - Don't Bother to KnockDon't Bother to KnockDon't Bother to Knock is a 1952 American thriller film starring Marilyn Monroe and Richard Widmark, directed by Roy Ward Baker and written by Daniel Taradash. Monroe is featured as a disturbed babysitter watching a child at the same New York hotel where a pilot, played by Widmark, is staying...
(1952) - O. Henry's Full HouseO. Henry's Full HouseO. Henry's Full House is an anthology film made by 20th Century Fox, consisting of five separate stories by O. Henry. The film was produced by André Hakim and directed by five separate directors from five separate screenplays. The music score was composed by Alfred Newman...
(1952) - My Pal GusMy Pal GusMy Pal Gus is a 1952 comedy-drama film which follows Gus who is the young son of divorced industrialist Dave Jennings . Unable to cope with Gus' mischievous streak, Jennings places the boy in a day-care center. Gus' teacher Lydia Marble manages to curb the boy's prankishness, and along the way...
(1952) - Destination GobiDestination GobiDestination Gobi is a 1953 Technicolor war film in which Sam McHale heads a group of US Navy men, sent to Mongolia for weather observation. McHale must lead his men across the treacherous Gobi desert to the freedom of the seacoast...
(19531953 in filmThe year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
) - Pickup on South StreetPickup on South StreetPickup on South Street is writer-director Samuel Fuller's film noir released by the 20th Century Fox studio. The film stars Richard Widmark, Jean Peters and Thelma Ritter....
(1953) - Take the High Ground!Take the High Ground!Take the High Ground! is a film about the Korean War, starring Richard Widmark and Karl Malden as drill instructors who must transform a batch of everyday civilians into soldiers.-Plot:...
(1953) - Hell and High WaterHell and High Water (film)Hell and High Water is a 1954 Cold War drama film starring Richard Widmark, Bella Darvi and Victor Francen. The film was made to showcase CinemaScope being used in the confined sets of a submarine.Before the credits, an off-screen, voice-over narrates:...
(19541954 in filmThe year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
) - Garden of EvilGarden of EvilGarden of Evil is a Western film about three somewhat disreputable 19th-century soldiers of fortune, played by Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark, and Cameron Mitchell, who are hired by a woman, portrayed by Susan Hayward, to rescue her husband...
(1954) - Broken LanceBroken LanceBroken Lance is a 1954 Western film made by Twentieth Century-Fox, directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Sol C. Siegel. The movie stars Spencer Tracy and features Katy Jurado, Richard Widmark, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, Eduard Franz, Hugh O'Brian and Earl Holliman.Shot in color and...
(1954) - A Prize of GoldA Prize of GoldA Prize of Gold is a British 1955 Warwick Films heist film directed by Mark Robson partly filmed in West Berlin. The film stars Richard Widmark as a United States Air Force Air Police Master Sergeant motivated by love and compassion to begin a life of crime...
(19551955 in filmThe year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
) - The CobwebThe Cobweb (film)The Cobweb is a MGM film. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli and based on a novel by William Gibson. It was released on DVD as part of the Warner Archive Collection on January 18, 2011....
(1955) - BacklashBacklash (1956 film)Backlash is a 1956 Technicolor film released by Universal-International Pictures. It was directed by John Sturges , and unfolds in the vein of the psychological Western Backlash is a 1956 Technicolor film released by Universal-International Pictures. It was directed by John Sturges (with whom...
(19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) - Run for the SunRun for the SunRun for the Sun is a 1956 film released by United Artists, the third film to officially be based on Richard Connell's classic suspense story, "The Most Dangerous Game", after RKO's The Most Dangerous Game , which starred Joel McCrea and Fay Wray, and their remake, A Game of Death, which was...
(1956) - The Last Wagon (1956)
- Saint Joan (19571957 in filmThe year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
) - Time LimitTime Limit (film)Time Limit is a 1957 legal drama film directed by Karl Malden, his only directing credit. In his autobiography, Malden stated that "he preferred being a good actor to being a fairly good director."-Plot:...
(1957) - The Law and Jake WadeThe Law and Jake WadeThe Law and Jake Wade is a 1958 western released by MGM, based on the 1956 novel by Marvin H. Albert and directed by the legendary John Sturges. The title name, Jake Wade is a now reformed town sheriff marshal with a past that will soon catch up with him...
(19581958 in filmThe year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date. It would be the last installment of The Bowery Boys series which began back in 1946....
) - The Tunnel of LoveThe Tunnel of LoveThe Tunnel of Love is a 1958 romantic comedy film based on the Broadway hit by Peter De Vries and Joseph Fields. The film follows a married suburban couple who for reasons unknown, are unable to conceive a child and soon endure endless red tape on a path of adopting a child. The film is the first...
(1958) - The TrapThe Trap (1959 film)The Trap is a 1959 color film noir directed by Norman Panama and released through 20th-Century Fox. It stars Richard Widmark, Lee J. Cobb, Tina Louise, Earl Holliman, and Lorne Greene -Plot:...
(19591959 in filmThe year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
) - WarlockWarlock (1959 film)Warlock is a 1959 film, released by Twentieth Century Fox and shot in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. It is a Western adapted from the novel by Oakley Hall...
(1959) - The AlamoThe Alamo (1960 film)The Alamo is a 1960 American historical epic released by United Artists. The film was directed by John Wayne, who also starred as Davy Crockett. The cast also includes Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie and Laurence Harvey as William B...
(19601960 in filmThe year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
) - The Secret WaysThe Secret WaysThe Secret Ways is a 1961 thriller film based on Alistair McLean's novel The Last Frontier.-Plot:American adventurer Michael Reynolds is hired by an international espionage ring to smuggle a noted scholar and resistance leader, Professor Jansci, out of Communist-ruled Hungary...
(19611961 in filmThe year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
) - Two Rode TogetherTwo Rode TogetherTwo Rode Together is a western film directed by John Ford, and starring James Stewart, Richard Widmark, and Shirley Jones. The supporting cast includes Linda Cristal, Andy Devine, and John McIntire...
(1961) - Judgment at NurembergJudgment at NurembergJudgment at Nuremberg is a 1961 American drama film dealing with the Holocaust and the Post-World War II Nuremberg Trials. It was written by Abby Mann, directed by Stanley Kramer, and starred Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Marlene Dietrich, Judy...
(1961) - How the West Was WonHow the West Was Won (film)How the West Was Won is a 1962 American epic Western film. The picture was one of the last "old-fashioned" epic films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to enjoy great success. It follows four generations of a family as they move ever westward, from western New York state to the Pacific Ocean...
(19621962 in filmThe year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
) - The Long Ships (19641964 in filmThe year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
) - Flight from AshiyaFlight from AshiyaFlight from Ashiya is a 1964 film about the U.S. Air Force's Air Rescue Service, flying out of Ashiya Air Base, Japan. In this fictionalized film set in the early 1960s, a flight crew's mission is to rescue a liferaft of Japanese civilians stranded in rough seas.- Plot :The movie centers on three...
(1964) - Cheyenne AutumnCheyenne AutumnCheyenne Autumn is a 1964 western starring Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, James Stewart, and Edward G. Robinson. Regarded as an epic film it tells the story of a factual event, the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878-9, although it is told in 'Hollywood style' using a great degree of artistic license...
(1964) - The Bedford IncidentThe Bedford IncidentThe Bedford Incident is a 1965 British-American Cold War film starring Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier, and co-produced by Richard Widmark. The cast also features James MacArthur, Martin Balsam, Wally Cox and Eric Portman, as well as early appearances by Donald Sutherland and Ed Bishop...
(19651965 in filmThe year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - Alvarez KellyAlvarez KellyAlvarez Kelly is a 1966 war film set in the American Civil War. It starred William Holden and Richard Widmark. The film was based on the real-life Beefsteak Raid of September 1864.-Plot:...
(19661966 in filmThe year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
) - The Way WestThe Way West (film)The Way West is a 1967 American epic western film based on the novel by A. B. Guthrie, Jr.. The film stars Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, and Richard Widmark, and features Sally Field in her first major film role. The film was directed by veteran television director Andrew V. McLaglen and featured...
(19671967 in filmThe year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
) - MadiganMadiganMadigan is a 1968 American thriller film directed by Don Siegel and starring Richard Widmark and Henry Fonda.The screenplay, originally titled Friday, Saturday, Sunday, was adapted by two writers who had been blacklisted in the 1950s, Abraham Polonsky and Howard Rodman , based on a novel titled The...
(19681968 in filmThe year 1968 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 30 - The film The Lion in Winter, starring Katharine Hepburn, debuts.* November 1 - The MPAA's film rating system is introduced.-Top grossing films :- Awards :...
) - A Talent for Loving (19691969 in filmThe year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980...
) - Death of a GunfighterDeath of a GunfighterDeath of a Gunfighter is a 1969 Western film. It is most notable for the first use of the pseudonymous Allen Smithee directorial credit. It stars Richard Widmark and Lena Horne, and features an original score by Oliver Nelson...
(1969) - The Moonshine WarThe Moonshine WarThe Moonshine War is a 1970 film directed by Richard Quine, based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard. It starred Patrick McGoohan, Richard Widmark, Alan Alda, Will Geer, John Schuck, and Teri Garr....
(19701970 in filmThe year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....
) - VanishedVanishedVanished is an American serial drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox. The series premiered on August 21, 2006 on Fox and its last episode aired on November 10, 2006. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the series begins with the sudden disappearance of the wife of a Georgia senator, which is...
(19711971 in filmThe year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
) (TV) - When the Legends DieWhen the Legends DieWhen The Legends Die is both a novel and a film.The novel was written in 1963 by Hal Borland, and has become young adult classic.The film was made in 1972, starring Richard Widmark and Frederic Forrest. It was directed by Stuart Millar from a screenplay written by Robert Dozier...
(19721972 in filmThe year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...
) - Brock's Last Case (19731973 in filmThe year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
) - Murder on the Orient ExpressMurder on the Orient Express (1974 film)Murder on the Orient Express is a 1974 British mystery film directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot, and based on the1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.-Overview:...
(19741974 in filmThe year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...
) - The Last Day (19751975 in filmThe year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.-Events:*March 26 - The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London....
) (TV) - To the Devil a DaughterTo the Devil a DaughterTo the Devil... A Daughter is a 1976 horror film made by Hammer Film Productions, taken from the novel of the same name by Dennis Wheatley, directed by Peter Sykes. It stars Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Honor Blackman, Nastassja Kinski and Denholm Elliott...
(19761976 in filmThe year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
) - The Sell-Out (1976)
- Twilight's Last GleamingTwilight's Last GleamingTwilight's Last Gleaming is a 1977 film directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Burt Lancaster and Richard Widmark.Loosely based on a 1971 novel, Viper Three by Walter Wager, it tells the story of Lawrence Dell, a renegade USAF general, who escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo...
(19771977 in filmThe year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....
) - The Domino PrincipleThe Domino PrincipleThe Domino Principle is a 1977 thriller starring Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, Mickey Rooney and Richard Widmark. The film is based on the novel of the same name and was adapted for the screen by its author, Adam Kennedy...
(1977) - Rollercoaster (1977)
- ComaComa (film)Coma is a 1978 suspense film based on the novel of the same name by Robin Cook. The film rights were acquired by director Michael Crichton, and the movie was produced by Martin Erlichmann for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
(19781978 in filmThe year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California....
) - The Swarm (1978)
- Mr. HornMr. HornMr. Horn is a 1979 made for TV movie chronicling the life of Tom Horn. It was directed byJack Starrett from a screenplay by William Goldman.-Starring:*David Carradine as Tom Horn*Richard Widmark as Albert Sieber*Karen Black as Ernestina Crawford...
(19791979 in filmThe year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....
) (TV) - Bear IslandBear Island (film)Bear Island is a 1979 British-Canadian thriller film based on the novel Bear Island by Alistair MacLean. It was directed by Don Sharp and starred Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee and Lloyd Bridges.-Plot:...
(1979) - All God's Children (19801980 in film- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
) (TV) - A Whale for the Killing (19811981 in film-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
) (TV) - National Lampoon Goes to the MoviesNational Lampoon Goes to the MoviesNational Lampoon Goes to the Movies is a 1982 National Lampoon anthology of three shorts spoofing everything from personal growth films, glossy soap operas, and police stories...
(19821982 in film-Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T...
) - Hanky PankyHanky Panky (film)Hanky Panky is a 1982 comedy film that stars Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner. The film is directed by Sidney Poitier. Wilder first met Radner during filming of this movie; the two later married.-Plot:...
(1982) - Who Dares WinsWho Dares Wins (film)Who Dares Wins is a 1982 British film starring Lewis Collins, Judy Davis, Richard Widmark and Edward Woodward, directed by Ian Sharp. The title is the motto of the elite Special Air Service ....
(1982) - Against All Odds (19841984 in film-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
) - Blackout (19851985 in film-Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out Of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.* Bliss wins AFI Award for best Movie...
) (TV) - A Gathering of Old MenA Gathering of Old Men (film)A Gathering of Old Men is a 1987 American television drama film directed by Volker Schlöndorff and based on the novel of the same name. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Louis Gossett Jr...
(19871987 in film-Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records....
) (TV) - Once Upon a Texas TrainOnce Upon a Texas TrainOnce Upon a Texas Train is 1988 made-for-TV movie directed by Burt Kennedy and starring Willie Nelson as John Henry Lee and Richard Widmark as Captain Oren Hayes....
(1988) (TV) - Cold Sassy TreeCold Sassy TreeCold Sassy Tree is a 1984 novel by Olive Ann Burns. Set in the U.S. state of Georgia in the fictional town of Cold Sassy in 1906, it follows the life of a 14-year-old boy named Will Tweedy, and explores themes such as religion, death, and social taboos...
(19891989 in film-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
) (TV) - True ColorsTrue Colors (1991 film)True Colors is a film written by Kevin Wade and directed by Herbert Ross. The cast included John Cusack, James Spader and Richard Widmark in his final movie role.-Plot summary:...
(19911991 in filmThe year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...
) - Lincoln (19921992 in filmThe year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...
) (voice, documentary) - Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick (19961996 in filmMajor releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
) (documentary)
Short films:
- Screen Snapshots: Hopalong in Hoppy Land (1951)
- Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Night Life (1952)
- 1955 Motion Picture Theatre Celebration (1955)
- Shooting the Moonshine War (1970)