Sweet Bird of Youth

Background:

Hailing from Texas, Rip Torn initially tried acting to earn money to buy a ranch. However, he found success in acting and has dazzled both the screen and stage for an astounding six decades. After being nominated for a Broadway Tony Award for his portrayal of Tom Finley Jr. in "Sweet Bird of Youth," a role which he would reprise in its film version in 1962, he continued to appear in unusual films or play unusual characters in more mainstream fare, most notably his Oscar nominated performance in Martin Rift’s part-adaptation of Marjorie Kennan Rawlings' 1942 memoir "Cross Creek" (1983) and his Emmy winning turn as Arthur in the HBO critically acclaimed satirical television sitcom "The Larry Sanders Show" (1992-1998).

Torn played gruff boss Zed in the "Men in Black" films (1997, 2000 and 2002) and starred in such films as "Pork Chop Hill" (1959), "Heartland" (1979), "One Trick Pony" (1980), "City Heat" (1984), "Beyond the Law" (1992), "Where the Rivers Flow North" (1994), "Freddy Got Fingered" (2001), "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" (2004), "Marie Antoinette" (2006) and "Bee Movie" (2007; voice of Lou Lo Ducal). The prolific, versatile character player will next be seen in the upcoming films "Chatham,” "August," "Lucky Days," "American Cowslip," "Cat Tale" (voice) and "Funny Peculiar."

On a more personal note, the 5' 10" thespian and father of six has been married three times, once to actress Ann Wedgeworth (1955-1961) and once to Oscar winning actress Geraldine Page (1963 until her death in 1987). His third and present wife is actress Amy Wright.

Texas Roots

Childhood and Family:

In Temple, Texas, Elmore Rule Torn Jr. (nicknamed "Rip" by his father) was born on February 6, 1931, to Thelma Mary Space and Elmore Real Torn, an agriculturalist and economist. He studied animal husbandry at Texas A&M and graduated in 1952 and later studied acting at the University of Texas. He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

Torn is a first cousin of Oscar winning actress and singer Sissy Spacek. He was a close friend of actors George Peppard and Larry Blyden.

Torn married actress Ann Wedgeworth on January 15, 1955, but they divorced in 1961 after the birth of their daughter, Danae Torn. He was then married to Oscar winning actress Geraldine Page from 1963 until her death on June 13, 1987. With Page, he has one daughter, Angelica Torn (born in 1964; appeared in "Nobody's Fool") and twin sons, Jonathan and Anthony Torn (born in 1965). His third and present wife is actress Amy Wright, with whom he shares two daughters, Claire Torn (born on February 6, 1992) and Katie Torn (born in 1982), who is an accomplished painter and video artist.

Around 1990, Torn reported that he won a $475,000 defamation suit against actor Dennis Hopper. The lawsuit came about after Hopper told "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" that Torn pulled a knife on him during pre-production of the film ''Easy Rider,'' which caused him to be replaced by Jack Nicholson. According to Torn's suit, it was actually Hopper who pulled the knife and a judge ruled in Torn's favor. Hopper then appealed but the judge again ruled in Torn's favor and Hopper was required to pay another $475,000 in punitive damages.

In early 2004, Torn was arrested for drunk driving after colliding with a taxi in New York City, but a jury acquitted Torn of any wrongdoing. He was arrested for drunk driving once again in late 2006 in North Salem, New York, after colliding with a tractor trailer. He later plead guilty and agreed to have his license suspended for 90 days and pay a $380 fine.

The Larry Sanders Show

Career:

Planning to become a rancher, Texas born Rip Torn opted to pursue an acting career to get money to buy a ranch. However, he was stung by the acting bug and struggled in Los Angeles for several years while working as a dishwasher and short-order cook to make ends meet. His hard work eventually paid off when he landed a number of small roles in movies and television series.

In the early 1950s, he headed to Manhattan to study acting under Lee Strasberg. He made his Broadway debut as an understudy and replacement for Alex Nicol in an original production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1955) and got his first film role in Actors Studio associate Elia Kazan's controversial classic ''Baby Doll'' (1956), which was scripted by Tennessee Williams. In the late 1950s, he could be seen onstage in the Tennessee Williams drama "Orpheus Descending" and the Richard Brooks directed "Sweet Bird of Youth," in which he portrayed Tom Finley Jr. and was nominated for Broadway's 1960 Tony Award for Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic). He would later recreate his "Sweet Bird of Youth" stage role in its film version in 1962.

Torn also began appearing on television and was seen in the TV anthology series "The Alcoa Hour" and the TV movie version of the 1948 feature film "Johnny Belinda." He also supported Gregory Peck in the film "Pork Chop Hill.”

Returning to Broadway, Torn played Carlo in ''Daughter of Silence'' (November 30, 1961 - December 30, 1961), portrayed Edmund Darrell in ''Strange Interlude'' (1963), Lyle Britten in ''Blues for Mister Charlie'' (April 23, 1964 - August 29, 1964) and headlined ''The Cuban Thing'' (1968). He also made his stage directing debut with the play "The Beard" (1968). On the wide screen, he played supporting roles in Norman Jewison's ''The Cincinnati Kid'' (1965, opposite Steve McQueen and Karl Malden), Francis Ford Coppola's ''You're a Big Boy Now'' (1966) and Cornel Wilde's ''Beach Red'' (1967).

In the early 1970s, Torn starred in the Norman Mailer directed experimental film "Maidstone” and was seen on stage in the Broadway play ''Dance of Death'' (as Edgar; April 28, 1971 - May 1, 1971). He then directed ''Look Away,'' which ran on Broadway in January 1973. He also returned to the small screen with a role in the TV movie "The President's Plane Is Missing" (1973) and the miniseries "Attack on Terror: The FBI Versus the Ku Klux Klan" (1975).

Torn continued his stage work by starring in a Broadway revival of ''The Glass Menagerie'' (December 18, 1975 - February 22, 1976) and the Broadway short-lived comedy "Mixed Couples" (December 28, 1980 - January 3, 1981). As for his film work, he took home a Bronze Wrangler Award for his performance in Richard Pearce's western drama "Heartland" (1979) and received general rave reviews for his performance as Marsh Turner in Martin Ritt's adaptation of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' 1942 memoir "Cross Creek" (1983), which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Torn was nominated for an ACE award (Best Actor in a Theatrical or Dramatic Special) for his turn as Big Daddy in a TV version (aired on Showtime and later PBS) of Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1985) and was nominated for an Emmy (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special) for his role as Lewis Slaton in the miniseries "The Atlanta Child Murders" (both in 1985). After winning a CableACE award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries for his performance in the novel-based drama/thriller TV movie ''Laguna Heat" (1987), he made his film directorial debut with "The Telephone" (1988), an independent drama comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg. He also acted again in "Sweet Bird of Youth" (1989), this time a made-for-TV adaptation.

From 1992 to 1998, Torn played the regular role of Arthur ("Artie"), the show's producer, in the HBO critically acclaimed satirical television sitcom "The Larry Sanders Show," alongside Garry Shandling and Jeffrey Tambor. He was nominated for Emmy's Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series several times and won one in 1996. He also took home an American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Male Performer in a TV Series.

During his hefty stint in "The Larry Sanders Show," Torn acted opposite Charlie Sheen in the feature "Beyond the Law" (1992) and played a leading role as a logger and cedar-oil harvester in Jay Craven's feature adaptation of Howard Frank Mosher's novel, "Where the Rivers Flow North" (1994). After portraying Chris in a Broadway revival of ''Anna Christie'' (January 14, 1993 - February 28, 1993), he was spotted as a guest in a September 1995 episode of CBS’ medical drama "Chicago Hope," for which he was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

The rest of the decade, Torn narrated the syndicated horror anthology series "Ghost Stories" and returned to Broadway to co-star with Shirley Knight in Horton Foote's "The Young Man From Atlanta" (as Will Kidder; March 27, 1997 - June 8, 1997). He also starred with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in the comedy "Men in Black" (1997), playing the gruff boss Zed, a role which he would reprise in its sequels, "Men in Black Alien Attack" (2000) and "Men in Black II" (2002).

Meanwhile, Torn voiced Zeus in the animated feature "Hercules" (1997), starred as Father Robert Grant in the fact-based television movie "Passing Glory" (1999) and was featured alongside Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire in Curtis Hanson's drama/comedy movie inspired by Michael Chabon's novel, "Wonder Boys" (2000). He was also nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor for his work in the comedy ''Freddy Got Fingered'' (2001).

Next, Torn had a recurring role as Senator Turner on the short-lived NBC legal drama "The Lyon's Den" (2003) and was cast in the dark comedy "Eulogy" and in the comedy "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" (both in 2004), with Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn. He was then featured in the comedy "Welcome to Mooseport" (2004) and teamed up with Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo for the 2005 remake of the comedy "Yours, Mine and Ours.'' In 2006, he co-starred with Tim Allen and Courteney Cox in the family comedy "Zoom" and played the lead role of France's Louis XV in Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette." He also guest starred in an episode of NBC’s crime drama series "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and in multiple episodes of NBC's Emmy-winning sitcom "30 Rock."

Recently, in 2007, Torn appeared in the romantic comedy "Three Days to Vegas” and "Turn the River," a drama starring Famke Janssen. He also provided his voice for the character Lou Lo Duca in the Golden Globe nominated computer animated movie "Bee Movie." He has completed Daniel Adams' film adaptation of Joseph C. Lincoln's novel, a period romantic comedy titled "Chatham" (aka. "The Golden Boys"), which also stars Charles Durning, David Carradine and Mariel Hemingway.

Torn will soon wrap up Austin Chick's drama "August," with Josh Hartnett, Naomie Harris and David Bowie. He will also be seen in a romantic drama starring his daughter Angelica and co-directed by his son Tony titled "Lucky Days" and in Mark David's comedy "American Cowslip," starring Val Kilmer. He is also working on an upcoming film by writers/directors Elizabeth V. Foley and Peter J. Hobbs titled "Funny Peculiar" and is set to lend his voice to the computer-animated movie "Cat Tale."

Awards:

• Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, "The Larry Sanders Show," 1996

• American Comedy: Funniest Supporting Male Performer in a TV Series, "The Larry Sanders Show," 1994

• CableACE: Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries, ''Laguna Heat," 1989

• Bronze Wrangler: Theatrical Motion Picture, "Heartland," 1981