ROBERT RYAN
Information from IMDb
Date of birth
11 November 1909
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Date of death
11 July 1973
New York, New York, USA. (lung cancer)
Birth name
Robert Bushnell Ryan
Height
6' 4" (1.93 m)
Spouse
Jessica Cadwalader (11 March 1939 - 1972) (her death) 3 children
Trivia
Originally intended to portray "Commodore Matt Decker" in the "Star Trek" (1966) (the original series) episode "Doomsday Machine", but was unable to do so. The character was intended as a Captain Ahab-type, obsessed with revenge for the loss of his crew. The role instead went to William Windom who portrayed Decker in a more tragic, sensitive light.
Initially planned on studying at the Pasadena Playhouse, but instead became a student of Max Reinhardt in the late 1930s, where he met fellow student and future wife Jessica Cadwalader. Following their marriage, she gave up her acting aspirations and later became a childrens' fiction book writer.
While performing in a stock play version of "A Kiss for Cinderella" in 1941 with actress Luise Rainer, Rainer's ex-husband, Clifford Odets, saw him and offered him the featured juvenile part in his Broadway play "Clash by Night" as "Joe Doyle", opposite Tallulah Bankhead. A decade later he starred in the film version but had outgrown the juvenile role and instead played Earl Pfeiffer, one of the leads, originated on Broadway by Joseph Schildkraut. His "Joe Doyle" character was played by Keith Andes in the film Clash by Night (1952).
In 1973, he played the terminally-ill political activist Larry Slade in The Iceman Cometh (1973). Ironically, while filming, he knew he was approaching the final stages of lung cancer and died in July of that year. His wife Jessica Cadwalader preceded him in death by a year, also succumbing to cancer.
Due to his towering frame, cruelly-lined face and a simmering intensity uncommon in his generation of "tough guys", he usually played hateful villains. Even on the rare occasions that he played a good guy, they often possessed a violent, obsessive personality that was a tad unsettling.
Two sons, Tim and Cheyney, and a daughter, Lisa, who is the youngest.
At the time he was diagnosed with cancer, he was scheduled to play "Don Quixote" in a film version of Miguel Cervantes' novel. It was Rex Harrison, however, who was finally seen as the Don in a 1973 made-for-television film of the book, a year after Peter O'Toole had starred in the film version of the Broadway musical "Man of La Mancha".
Shortly before his death, Ryan moved out of his apartment (number 72) at the Dakota in New York City. Ryan leased (and then his estate later sold) the apartment to John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
Co-founded the Theatre Group at the University of California at Los Angeles with John Houseman and Sidney Harmon in 1959. Nine years later in 1968 he co-founded the Plumstead Playhouse Repertory Company, with Henry Fonda and Martha Scott.
Was Turner Classic Movies' "Star of the Month" for February 2000, a rare honor for a character lead/supporting player.
Served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1944 to 1947.
When casting the role of the leading man in the 1943 Ginger Rogers' vehicle Tender Comrade (1943), RKO producer David Hempstead became interested in Ryan due to favorable preview cards hailing Ryan's performances in Bombardier (1943), The Sky's the Limit (1943) and Behind the Rising Sun (1943). He suggested him to Ginger Rogers, who was at first unimpressed after screening parts of the three movies. She turned him down as her leading man, as she thought he looked mean and, at 6' 4", he was too big. A week later, when Rogers visited David Hempstead at his office, he was busily going through preview cards of "The Sky's the Limit" and he showed her some of them. Ginger Rogers saw that all of the reviews of Ryan's performance were favourable and, since the time before principal production was drawing near, she decided to have another look at him. Ryan was conveniently waiting in a nearby office for just such a possibility. Less than a minute later, he came to the office and talked with both the producer and Rogers. After a few moments, Rogers unobtrusively slipped David Hempstead a note: "I think this is the guy." Today, the note hangs on the wall above Cheyney Ryan's (Ryan's son) desk, in his study.
Campaigned for Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 Democratic primaries.
Ryan was on his college boxing team and posted a 5-0 (3 knockouts) record.
Became friends with John Wayne while filming Flying Leathernecks (1951), despite their vast political differences.
He was a founder of SANE (an anti-nuclear action group) and a vocal supporter of the blacklisted Hollywood Ten during the 1950s.
His Shakespearean roles included "Antony and Cleopatra" with Katharine Hepburn in 1960, and the title role of "Othello" at the Nottingham Playhouse in England.
Mini-Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
He most often played hardened cops and ruthless villains throughout his career. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1932, where he was also the school boxing champion. After graduation, not finding work to his liking, Ryan worked as a stoker on a ship, a laborer, and a ranch hand in Montana.
He attempted to make a career in show business as a playwright, but had to turn to acting to support himself. He studied acting in Hollywood and appeared on stage in small film parts during the 1940s. Robert Ryan enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corp in January 1944. He was trained as a drill instructor, assigned to Camp Pendleton. The extremely creative Marine took up abstract painting during his time at the Southern California barracks, producing a hellish self-portrait. It may have been a way for him to grapple with the inner battle stirred up by having to play the real-life role of a tough, no-nonsense marine trainer, all the while knowing that many of those fresh-faced boys would never survive the war.
Ryan was equally affected by many of the war veterans who did return. He watched as the wounded and crippled tried to cope with uncertain futures. He saw the horror behind the haunted gaze of those who had lived through unimaginable conditions, leaving comrades forever behind.
While he had made films starting in 1940, his productive career commenced after his discharge from the military. He also became involved in many liberal causes.
He married Jessica Cadwalader on March 11, 1939, and they remained married until her death from cancer in 1972; they had 3 children. He died from lung cancer in New York City the following year at the age of 63.
The role that first put him on the map was as the anti-semitic killer in Edward Dmytryk's 1947 film-noir Crossfire. From then on Ryan's speciality was tough/tender roles, finding particular expression in the films of celebrated directors such as Nicholas Ray, Robert Wise and Sam Fuller. In Ray's On Dangerous Ground (1951) he portrayed a burnt-out violent city-cop finding redemption whilst solving a rural murder. He played the over-the-hill boxer in The Set-Up (1949). Other important films were Anthony Mann's western The Naked Spur, Sam Fuller's uproarious Japanese set gangland thriller House of Bamboo, Bad Day at Black Rock, and the socially conscious heist-movie Odds Against Tomorrow. He also appeared in several all-star war films, including The Longest Day (1962) and Battle of the Bulge (1965).
Ryan's Broadway credits included Mr. President and The Front Page.
In his latter years, Ryan continued playing key roles in major films. Most notable of these were The Dirty Dozen, The Professionals and Sam Peckinpah's highly influential brutal western The Wild Bunch.
Personal quotes
[On why he never became a target of 'Joseph McCarthy (II)' and the Red-baiting HUAC, despite being known for his left-of-center politics] "I was involved in the things he was throwing rocks at but I was never a target. Looking back, I suspect my Irish name, my being a Catholic and an ex-Marine sort of softened the blow."
[On being listed as one of the screen's all-time best heavies]: I guess they never saw me in most of my pictures. Still, I've never stopped working so I can't complain.
[On why he never became a target of Joseph McCarthy and the Red-baiting House Un-American Activities Committee, despite being known for his left-of-center politics] "I was involved in the things he was throwing rocks at but I was never a target. Looking back, I suspect my Irish name, my being a Catholic and an ex-Marine sort of softened the blow."
Filmography
Actor
1. The Iceman Cometh (1973) .... Larry Slade
2. Executive Action (1973) .... Foster
3. The Outfit (1973) .... Mailer
4. The Man Without a Country (1973) (TV) .... Lt. Cmdr. Vaughan
5. Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973) .... Pap Gutshall
... aka The Lolly-Madonna War (UK)
6. Course du lièvre à travers les champs, La (1972) .... Charley
... aka And Hope to Die (USA)
... aka Corsa della lepre attraverso i campi, La (Italy)
7. The Love Machine (1971) .... Gregory 'Greg' Austin
8. Lawman (1971) .... Sabbath Marshal Cotton Ryan
9. The Front Page (1970) (TV) .... Walter Burns
10. Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969) .... Captain Nemo
11. The Wild Bunch (1969) .... Deke Thornton
12. Anzio (1968) .... General Carson
... aka Batalla de Anzio, La (Spain)
... aka Sbarco di Anzio, Lo
... aka The Battle for Anzio (UK)
13. Minuto per pregare, un instante per morire, Un (1968) .... New Mexico Gov. Lem Carter
... aka A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die
... aka Dead or Alive
... aka Dove vai ti ammazzo
... aka Escondido
... aka Outlaw Gun
14. Custer of the West (1967) .... Sgt. Mulligan
... aka A Good Day for Fighting (short version)
... aka Custer, l'homme de l'Ouest (France)
15. Hour of the Gun (1967) .... Ike Clanton
16. The Dirty Dozen (1967) .... Col. Everett Dasher Breed
17. The Busy Body (1967) .... Charley Barker
18. The Professionals (1966) .... Hans Ehrengard
19. "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" .... Andrew Dixon (1 episode, 1966)
... aka The Chrysler Theater
... aka Universal Star Time (syndication title)
- Guilty or Not Guilty (1966) TV Episode .... Andrew Dixon
20. Battle of the Bulge (1965) .... Gen. Grey
21. The Dirty Game (1965) .... General Bruce
... aka Guerra segreta, La (Italy)
... aka Guerre secrète (France)
... aka Spione unter sich (West Germany)
... aka The Dirty Agents
... aka The Secret Agents (USA)
22. The Crooked Road (1965) .... Richard Ashley
... aka Krivi put (Yugoslavia: Serbian title)
23. "The Reporter" .... Rush (1 episode, 1964)
- No Comment (1964) TV Episode .... Rush
24. The Presidency: A Splendid Misery (1964) (TV)
25. "Wagon Train" .... Bob Stuart / ... (3 episodes, 1962-1964)
... aka Major Adams, Trail Master
- The Bob Stuart Story (1964) TV Episode .... Bob Stuart
- The John Bernard Story (1962) TV Episode .... John Bernard
- The Madame Sagittarius Story (1962) TV Episode
26. "The Bell Telephone Hour" .... Host (1 episode, 1964)
- Almanac (1964) TV Episode .... Host
27. "The Eleventh Hour" .... Franklin 'Hoppy' Hopp (1 episode, 1964)
- Who Chopped Down the Cherry Tree? (1964) TV Episode .... Franklin 'Hoppy' Hopp
28. "Breaking Point" .... Lloyd Osment (1 episode, 1964)
- Better Than a Dead Lion (1964) TV Episode .... Lloyd Osment
29. "Kraft Suspense Theatre" .... Tom Bollington (1 episode, 1963)
- Are There Any More Out There Like You? (1963) TV Episode .... Tom Bollington
30. Billy Budd (1962) .... John Claggart, Master d'Arms
31. The Longest Day (1962) .... Brig. Gen. James M. Gavin
32. King of Kings (1961) .... John the Baptist
33. "Frontier Justice" .... Captain Krag / ... (2 episodes, 1959-1961)
- Interrogation (1961) TV Episode .... Captain Krag
- You Only Run Once (1959) TV Episode .... Matt
34. The Canadians (1961) .... Inspector William Gannon
35. Ice Palace (1960) .... Thor Storm
36. Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) .... Earle Slater
37. "Zane Grey Theater" .... Matt / ... (5 episodes, 1956-1959)
... aka Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater (USA: complete title)
... aka The Westerners (USA: rerun title)
- Interrogation (1959) TV Episode .... Captain Kraig
- To Sit in Judgment (1958) TV Episode .... Sheriff Parney
- Trial by Fear (1958) TV Episode .... Cob Oakley
- The Hanging Tree (1957) TV Episode .... Matt
- You Only Run Once (1956) TV Episode .... Matt
38. Day of the Outlaw (1959) .... Blaise Starrett
39. God's Little Acre (1958) .... Ty Ty Walden
40. "Playhouse 90" .... Jay Gatsby (1 episode, 1958)
- The Great Gatsby (1958) TV Episode .... Jay Gatsby
41. "Alcoa Theatre" .... Jeff Banner / ... (4 episodes, 1957-1958)
- The Perfectionist (1958) TV Episode .... Ken Morton
- Hidden Witness (1958) TV Episode .... Jeff Banner
- The Face of Truth (1957) TV Episode .... Mike Ripetti
- On Edge (1957) TV Episode .... William Trilbridge
42. "Goodyear Theatre" .... Dr. Robert Ross / ... (5 episodes, 1957-1958)
... aka Award Theatre (USA: syndication title)
... aka Golden Years of Television (USA: cable TV title)
- The Giant Step (1958) TV Episode .... Gunner's Mate Smith
- The Seventh Letter (1958) TV Episode .... Lieutenant Joe Carter
- The White Flag (1958) TV Episode .... Dr. Robert Ross
- The Crowd Pleaser (1957) TV Episode .... Frank Berry
- Silhouette of a Killer (1957) TV Episode .... Man
43. Lonelyhearts (1958) .... William Shrike
... aka Miss Lonelyheart
44. Men in War (1957) .... Lt. Benson (2nd Platoon, Co. D)
45. Back from Eternity (1956) .... Bill Lonagan
46. The Proud Ones (1956) .... Cass Silver, Marshal Flat Rock Kansas
47. "Screen Directors Playhouse" .... President Abraham Lincoln (1 episode, 1955)
- Lincoln's Doctor's Dog (1955) TV Episode .... President Abraham Lincoln
48. The Tall Men (1955) .... Nathan Stark
49. House of Bamboo (1955) .... Sandy Dawson
50. Escape to Burma (1955) .... Jim Brecan
51. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) .... Reno Smith
52. Her Twelve Men (1954) .... Joe Hargrave
... aka Her 12 Men
... aka Miss Baker's Dozen (USA)
53. About Mrs. Leslie (1954) .... George Leslie
54. Alaska Seas (1954) .... Matt Kelly
55. Inferno (1953) .... Donald Whitley Carson III
56. City Beneath the Sea (1953) .... Brad Carlton
57. The Naked Spur (1953) .... Ben Vandergroat
58. Horizons West (1952) .... Dan Hammond
59. Beware, My Lovely (1952) .... Howard Wilton
60. Clash by Night (1952) .... Earl Pfeiffer
61. On Dangerous Ground (1952) .... Jim Wilson
62. The Racket (1951) .... Nick Scanlon
63. Flying Leathernecks (1951) .... Capt. Carl 'Griff' Griffin
64. Best of the Badmen (1951) .... Jeff Clanton
65. Hard, Fast and Beautiful (1951) (uncredited) .... Seabright Tennis Match Spectator
... aka Mother of a Champion (USA)
66. Born to Be Bad (1950) .... Nick Bradley
67. The Secret Fury (1950) .... David McLean
68. I Married a Communist (1949) .... Brad Collins aka Frank Johnson
... aka The Woman on Pier 13 (UK)
69. The Set-Up (1949) .... Bill "Stoker" Thompson
70. Caught (1949) .... Smith Ohlrig
71. Act of Violence (1948) .... Joe Parkson
72. The Boy with Green Hair (1948) .... Dr. Evans
73. Return of the Bad Men (1948) .... Sundance Kid
... aka Return of the Badmen (International: English title)
74. Berlin Express (1948) .... Robert Lindley
75. Crossfire (1947) .... Montgomery
76. The Woman on the Beach (1947) .... Scott
77. Trail Street (1947) .... Allen
78. Marine Raiders (1944) .... Capt. Dan Craig
79. Golden Gloves (1944)
80. Tender Comrade (1943) .... Chris Jones
81. Gangway for Tomorrow (1943) .... Joe Dunham
82. The Iron Major (1943) .... Father Timothy 'Tim' Donovan
83. Behind the Rising Sun (1943) .... Lefty O'Doyle
84. The Sky's the Limit (1943) .... Reginald Fenton
85. Bombardier (1943) .... Joe Connors
86. The Feminine Touch (1941) (uncredited) .... Bit Part
87. The Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940) (uncredited) .... Eddie
88. North West Mounted Police (1940) .... Const. Dumont
... aka Northwest Mounted Police
... aka The Scarlet Riders
89. Golden Gloves (1940) .... Pete Wells
90. Queen of the Mob (1940) (uncredited) .... Jim
91. The Ghost Breakers (1940) (uncredited) .... Intern
Soundtrack
1. Tender Comrade (1943) ("You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)" (1913)
