 Richard Widmark: Dies at 93
Actor Richard Widmark, who earned an Oscar nomination playing a giggling killer in his first film "Kiss of Death", has died at the age of 93. A medical official in his home state of Connecticut said on Wednesday.
Richard Widmark's wife Susan Blanchard, said he died on Monday but she would not provide details of his illness. Susan said that funeral arrangements would be private. She said, "It was a big shock, but he was 93".
Richard Widmark had earned an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor for his role in the 1947 thriller "Kiss of Death." He played Tommy Udo, who delighted in pushing an old lady in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs to her death. It was his only Oscar nomination.
He had told a reporter in 1961, "That damned laugh of mine! For two years after that picture, you couldn't get me to smile. I played the part the way I did because the script struck me as funny and the part I played made me laugh. The guy was such a ridiculous beast".
Actress Shirley Jones, who appeared with Widmark and James Stewart in "Two Rode Together" and became a good friend, said she was devastated about Widmark's death.
Jones said, "He was a down-to-earth guy, and I respected him for that. He was a real guy, but he was such a wonderful actor".
Richard Widmark was born Dec. 26, 1914, in Sunrise, Minn., where his father ran a general store, then became a traveling salesman. The family moved to Sioux Falls, S.D., Henry, Ill., and Chillicothe, Mo., before settling in Princeton, Ill.
He had told in an interview, "Like most small-town boys, I had the urge to get to the big city and make a name for myself. I was a movie nut from the age of 3, but I don't recall having any interest in acting".
At Lake Forest College, Richard Widmark became a protege of the drama teacher and their he met his first wife Ora Jean Hazelwood, who was drama student. Their daughter, Ann married baseball immortal Sandy Koufax.
Widmark's long career was marked by playing villains, tough guys and cowboys.
Widmark appeared in 20 Fox films from 1957 to 1964. Among them: "The Street with No Name", "Road House", "Yellow Sky", "Down to the Sea in Ships".
After leaving Fox, Richard Widmark's career continued to flourish. He starred as Jim Bowie with John Wayne in "The Alamo", with James Stewart in John Ford's "Two Rode Together", as the U.S. prosecutor in "Judgment at Nuremberg". |
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