Pat Hingle | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Hingle asThomas Edison in aGeneral Electric ad, in 1977 | |
| Born | Martin Patterson Hingle (1924-07-19)July 19, 1924 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | January 3, 2009(2009-01-03) (aged 84) |
| Alma mater | University of Texas[1] |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1951–2008 |
| Notable work | Batman,Hang 'Em High,Splendor in the Grass,Batman Returns,Batman Forever,Batman & Robin,Shaft |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5 |
Martin Patterson Hingle[2] (July 19, 1924 – January 3, 2009) was an Americancharacter actor who appeared in stage productions and in hundreds of television shows and feature films. His first film wasOn the Waterfront in 1954. He often played tough authority figures. Hingle was a close friend ofClint Eastwood and appeared in the Eastwood filmsHang 'Em High,The Gauntlet, andSudden Impact. He also portrayedCommissioner Gordon in theBatman film franchise from 1989 to 1997.
Born inMiami,Florida[2] (some sources sayDenver,Colorado[citation needed] ), Hingle was the son of a building contractor father and a mother who "worked at menial jobs".[2] He attendedhigh school inWeslaco, Texas, and playedtuba in the WHS band.[3] DuringWorld War II, Hingle enlisted in theU.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of theUniversity of Texas, and served on the destroyerUSSMarshall. He returned to UT after the war and earned a degree in radio broadcasting in 1949. As a Navy reservist, he was recalled to the service during theKorean War and served on the escort destroyerUSSDamato.[1]
Hingle began acting in college, and after graduating, he moved toNew York and studied atHB Studio[4] and theAmerican Theatre Wing. In 1952, he became a member of theActors Studio. This led to his first Broadway show,End as a Man.[5]
On Broadway, Hingle performed the role of Gooper in the original Broadway production ofTennessee Williams'sCat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955). He played the title role inArchibald MacLeish's award-winning Broadway playJ.B. (1958), receiving rave reviews.[6]
In February 1959, while playingJ.B. on Broadway, Hingle was seriously injured in an accident. He was trapped in the elevator of hisWest End Avenue apartment building when it stalled between the second and third floors. The elevator stopped four feet above the landing, within reach, and Hingle tried to jump to the second floor. He missed and fell back down the elevator shaft, plunging 30 feet to the bottom. He fractured his skull, wrist, hip and most of the ribs on his left side. He broke his left leg in three places and lost the little finger on his left hand.[7]
On the strength of his performance inJ.B., Hingle had been offered the title role of the 1960 filmElmer Gantry, but he lost it toBurt Lancaster because of his injuries. His recovery took months, and at first he could not walk without a cane.[6]
Hingle appeared in the 1963 Actors Studio production ofStrange Interlude, directed byJose Quintero, andThat Championship Season (1972). He earned aTony Award nomination for his performance inDark at the Top of the Stairs (1957).[5] In 1997, he playedBenjamin Franklin in theRoundabout Theatre revival of the musical1776, withBrent Spiner andGregg Edelman.[6]
Hingle's first film role was an uncredited part as bartender Jock inOn the Waterfront (1954). Later in his career, he was known for playing judges, police officers and other authority figures. He was a guest star on the earlyNBC legal dramaJustice, based on case histories of the Legal Aid Society ofNew York, which aired in the 1950s.[8]
Another notable role was as the father ofWarren Beatty's character inSplendor in the Grass (1961). Hingle was widely known for portraying the father ofSally Field's title characterNorma Rae (1979).[5] He also played managerColonel Tom Parker inJohn Carpenter's TV movieElvis (1979).[9]
Hingle had a long list of television and film credits to his name dating to 1948. Among them were two episodes ofThe Fugitive (1964),Carol for Another Christmas (1964),Nevada Smith (1966),Mission: Impossible (1967),The Invaders (1967),Hang 'Em High (1968),The Gauntlet (1977),Sudden Impact (1983),Road To Redemption (2001),When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (1979),Brewster's Millions (1985),Stephen King'sMaximum Overdrive (1986),Baby Boom (1987),The Grifters (1990),Citizen Cohn (1992),Cheers (1993),The Land Before Time (1988),Wings (1996), andShaft (2000). He played Dr. Chapman in seven episodes of the TV seriesGunsmoke (1971), and Col. Tucker in the movieGunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992). In 1963, Hingle guest-starred in an episode ofThe Twilight Zone, "The Incredible World of Horace Ford", as the title character.[10] He guest-starred in the TV seriesMatlock,In the Heat of the Night, andMurder, She Wrote. In 1980, he appeared in the short-lived police seriesStone withDennis Weaver.[11]
Hingle playedCommissioner Gordon in the 1989 filmBatman and its three sequels. He is one of only two actors to appear in the fourBatman films from 1989 to 1997; the other isMichael Gough.[12]
In November 2007, he created the Pat Hingle Guest Artist Endowment to enable students to work with visiting professional actors at theUniversity of North Carolina Wilmington.[5]
Hingle married Alyce Faye Dorsey on June 3, 1947. They had three children. The couple later divorced. In 1979 Hingle married Julia Wright. He and his second wife had two children.[citation needed]
Hingle died from myelodysplastic cancer (which he had been diagnosed with in November 2008) at the age of 84 at his house inCarolina Beach inNorth Carolina on 3 January 2009. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in theAtlantic Ocean.[5]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | On the Waterfront | Jocko | Uncredited |
| 1957 | The Strange One | Harold Koble | |
| No Down Payment | Herman Kreitzer | ||
| 1960 | Wild River | Narrator (voice) | Uncredited |
| 1961 | Splendor in the Grass | Ace Stamper | |
| 1963 | The Ugly American | Homer Atkins | |
| All the Way Home | Ralph Follet | ||
| 1964 | Invitation to a Gunfighter | Sam Brewster | |
| Carol for Another Christmas | Ghost of Christmas Present | ||
| 1966 | Nevada Smith | 'Big Foot' | |
| 1968 | Sol Madrid | Harry Mitchell | |
| Jigsaw | Lew Haley | ||
| Hang 'Em High | Judge Adam Fenton | ||
| 1970 | Bloody Mama | Sam Adams Pendlebury | |
| WUSA | Bingamon | ||
| Norwood | Grady Fring | ||
| 1972 | The Carey Treatment | Captain Pearson | |
| 1973 | One Little Indian | Captain Stewart | |
| Happy as the Grass Was Green | Eric Mills | ||
| 1974 | The Super Cops | Inspector Novick | |
| Nightmare Honeymoon | Mr. Binghamton | ||
| 1976 | Independence | John Adams | |
| 1977 | The Gauntlet | Detective Maynard Josephson | |
| 1979 | When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? | Lyle Stricker | |
| Norma Rae | Vernon | ||
| 1980 | Running Scared | Sergeant McClain | |
| 1983 | Going Berserk | Ed Reese | |
| Running Brave | Coach Bill Easton | ||
| Sudden Impact | Chief Lester Jannings | ||
| 1985 | The Falcon and the Snowman | Charles Boyce | |
| Brewster's Millions | Edward Roundfield | ||
| 1986 | Maximum Overdrive | Bubba Hendershot | |
| 1987 | Baby Boom | Hughes Larabee | |
| 1988 | The Land Before Time | Narrator / Rooter (voice) | |
| 1989 | Batman | Commissioner Jim Gordon | |
| 1990 | The Grifters | 'Bobo' Justus | |
| 1992 | Batman Returns | Commissioner Jim Gordon | |
| Citizen Cohn | J. Edgar Hoover | ||
| 1994 | Lightning Jack | U.S. Marshal Dan Kurtz | |
| 1995 | The Quick and the Dead | Horace Pinnick | |
| Batman Forever | Commissioner Jim Gordon | ||
| 1996 | Larger than Life | Vernon | |
| Bastard out of Carolina | Mr. Waddell | ||
| 1997 | Batman & Robin | Commissioner Jim Gordon | |
| A Thousand Acres | Harold Clark | ||
| 1999 | Muppets from Space | General Luft | |
| 2000 | Shaft | Judge Dennis Bradford | |
| 2001 | Road to Redemption | Grandpa Nathan Tucker | |
| 2006 | Two Tickets to Paradise | Mark's Dad | |
| Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby | Mr. Dennit Sr. |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Warren Selvy | 1 episode |
| 1962; 1963 | The Untouchables | Mitchell A. Grandin/Barney | 2 episodes |
| 1963 | The Twilight Zone | Horace Ford | Episode: "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" |
| 1965 | Daniel Boone | Will Carey | 1 episode |
| 1965 | The Fugitive | Sheriff Joe Bob Sims | 1 episode |
| 1966 | The Andy Griffith Show | Fred Gibson | 1 episode |
| 1967 | Mission: Impossible | R.J. McMillan | 1 episode |
| 1967 | The Invaders | Brother Avery | 1 episode |
| 1971 | Gunsmoke | Dr. John Chapman | Recurring role, 7 episodes |
| 1973 | Kung Fu | General Thoms | 1 episode |
| 1974 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Senator Hill | 1 episode |
| 1975 | Hawaii Five-O | Ormsbee | 1 episode |
| 1977 | Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo | 'Doc' Hodgins | Television film |
| 1979 | Elvis | Colonel Tom Parker | Television film |
| 1980 | M*A*S*H | Colonel Daniel Webster Tucker | 1 episode |
| 1980 | Stone | Chief Gene Paulton | Main role, 10 episodes |
| 1984 | Magnum, P.I. | Garwood Huddle | 1 episode |
| 1985 | Amazing Stories | The Sheriff | 1 episode |
| 1985 | The Lady from Yesterday | Jim Bartlett | Television film |
| 1985 | The Rape of Richard Beck | 'Chappy' Beck | Television film |
| 1986; 1990 | Murder, She Wrote | Retired Lieutenant Barney Kale / Lieutenant James Ignatius O'Malley / Captain Zach Franklin | 3 episodes |
| 1988 | War and Remembrance | AdmiralWilliam "Bull" Halsey | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1990 | The Kennedys of Massachusetts | PJ Kennedy | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1992 | Gunsmoke: To the Last Man | Colonel Tucker | Television film |
| 1993 | Cheers | Gus O'Malley | 1 episode |
| 1993-1994 | In the Heat of the Night | Daddy Roy Eversole | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Wings | Jack Hackett | 1 episode |
| 1997 | The Shining | Pete Watson | Miniseries, 1 episode |
