Robert Ryan | |
|---|---|
 Ryan inThe Naked Spur (1953) | |
| Born | Robert Bushnell Ryan (1909-11-11)November 11, 1909 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | July 11, 1973(1973-07-11) (aged 63) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Education | Loyola Academy |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College (B.A., 1932) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1940–1973 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | See below |
Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American actor and activist. He became known for his roles infilms noir andWesterns, gaining fame for his portrayals of both hardened anti-heroes and ruthless villains.[1] He was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role inCrossfire (1947), and aBAFTA Award for his performance inBilly Budd (1962). He was also an accomplished stage actor, winning aDrama Desk Award for a 1971 revival ofLong Day's Journey into Night.
Though he never achieved the A-list stardom of some of his Hollywood peers, Ryan nonetheless remained a popular performer, well-regarded by both critics and his peers. CriticManohla Dargis wrote, "[Ryan] was the type of next-level star andB-movie stalwart that helped make old Hollywood great" and "born to play beautifully tortured, angry souls."[1]
Ryan was born in Chicago, the first child of Mabel Arbutus (née Bushnell), a secretary, and Timothy Aloysius Ryan, who was from a wealthy family who owned a real estate firm.[2] He was of Irish (his paternal grandparents were fromThurles) and English descent. Ryan was raisedCatholic[3] and educated atLoyola Academy.[4]
Ryan graduated fromDartmouth College in 1932, where he held the school'sheavyweight boxing title for all four years of his attendance, along withlettering infootball andtrack.[5] After graduation, Ryan found employment as a stoker on a ship that traveled to Africa, aWPA worker, a ranch hand in Montana, and other odd jobs.[6]
Ryan returned home in 1936 when his father died; after a brief stint modeling clothes for a department store, he decided to become an actor.[6][7][8]
In 1937 Ryan joined a little theater group in Chicago. The following year he enrolled in theMax Reinhardt Workshop in Hollywood.[9] His role in the 1939 playToo Many Husbands brought an offer from Paramount. Although he had done a screen test for them in 1938 and been turned down as "not the right type", the studio offered him a $75 a week contract.[10]
In November 1939,Paramount signed Ryan to a six-month contract and announced he would play the lead inGolden Gloves (1940), citing his boxing experience at Dartmouth.[11] However, after a screen test withGloves directorEdward Dmytryk, the lead went toRichard Denning and Ryan was cast in a minor, but important role as a boxing "ringer".[12] He had his first credited role, while making a lasting association with the director in which they would make several films together.
In the same year, Ryan had small parts inThe Ghost Breakers (1940) andQueen of the Mob (1940) as well as small roles inNorth West Mounted Police (1941) andTexas Rangers Ride Again (1941). Then Paramount dropped him.[9]
He went to Broadway, where he was cast in a production ofClifford Odets'Clash by Night (1941–42), directed byLee Strasberg and produced byBilly Rose starringTallulah Bankhead andLee J. Cobb. It had a run of 49 performances, but was high-profile and led to him being signed to a long-term contract byRKO.[13]
Ryan appeared inBombardier (1943), starringPat O'Brien, and was fourth-billed in the Fred Astaire musicalThe Sky's the Limit (1943), playing a friend of Astaire. Both films were popular.[14]
He was fourth-billed inBehind the Rising Sun (1943), directed by Edward Dmytryk, which was a huge box-office success then third-billed inThe Iron Major (1943), with O'Brien, andGangway for Tomorrow (1943).[15]
RKO promoted him to star status inTender Comrade (1943), where he wasGinger Rogers' leading man, directed for the third time by Dmytryk. It was a big hit. Also popular wasMarine Raiders (1944), in which Ryan co-starred again alongside O'Brien.
Ryan enlisted in theUnited States Marine Corps and served as adrill instructor from January 1944 to November 1945 atCamp Pendleton, inSouthern California.[9] There he befriended a fellow Marine, the writer and future film directorRichard Brooks. He also took up painting.
When Ryan was discharged from the Marine Corps, he returned to RKO. They immediately cast Ryan in theRandolph Scott western,Trail Street (1947), which was very popular. However, his next film made with Joan Bennett,The Woman on the Beach (1947) directed byJean Renoir, lost money.[15][16]
Ryan's breakthrough role was as ananti-Semitic killer in the Dmytryk-directed film noirCrossfire (1947), co-starring Robert Young,Robert Mitchum, andGloria Grahame. The film was based on Richard Brooks's novelThe Brick Foxhole, which reflected the tensions of barracks life during the war—something familiar to both Brooks and Ryan from their Pendleton experience.Crossfire was highly successful at the box office[17] and received several Academy Award nominations including aBest Supporting Actor for Ryan's performance.
Ryan co-starred withMerle Oberon inBerlin Express (1948) for directorJacques Tourneur. He was reunited with Scott inReturn of the Bad Men (1948), and with O'Brien inThe Boy with Green Hair (1948). The latter film was directed byJoseph Losey and produced byDore Schary, who was head of production at RKO.[18]
MGM borrowed him to makeAct of Violence (1948) forFred Zinnemann. He stayed at that studio to makeCaught (1949) forMax Ophuls with James Mason.
Back at RKO, Ryan had one of his best roles inThe Set-Up (1949), directed byRobert Wise, as an over-the-hill boxer who is brutally punished for refusing to take a dive.The Set-Up was a favorite of Ryan's.[19] He was top billed inThe Woman on Pier 13 (1949), an anti-communist melodrama directed byRobert Stevenson, that was made at the prompting of RKO's new owner,Howard Hughes.
Ryan next appeared in several film noirs:The Secret Fury (1950) withClaudette Colbert directed byMel Ferrer, andBorn to Be Bad (1950) directed byNicholas Ray.[20] In 1950, the studio boughtThe Miami Story as a vehicle for him.[21]
He then made the WesternBest of the Badmen (1951), and costarred withJohn Wayne inFlying Leathernecks (1951), a World War II film directed by Ray. It was announced he was working on an original film story calledThe Alpine Slide about avalanches, but no film resulted.[22]
In 1951, Ryan was reunited withCrossfire costarRobert Mitchum inThe Racket, directed byJohn Cromwell; that same year, Ray again directed him in a film noir,On Dangerous Ground, withIda Lupino. Ryan then made the film adaptation ofClash by Night (1952) withBarbara Stanwyck andMarilyn Monroe underFritz Lang's direction. According to film criticDavid Thomson, "at RKO Ryan created the character of a modern neurotic such as the American screen had not dreamed of before."[23]
His last film at RKO for a number of years wasBeware, My Lovely (1952) with Lupino, made for her production company.
Ryan went to MGM where he played a villain inAnthony Mann's westernThe Naked Spur (1953), starring James Stewart. The picture was very popular.
He appeared inCity Beneath the Sea (1953) forBudd Boetticher atUniversal,Inferno (1953) at Fox, andAlaska Seas (1954) at Paramount.
He was the leading man forShirley Booth inAbout Mrs. Leslie (1954) andGreer Garson inHer Twelve Men (1954). The latter was made at MGM, now being run byDore Schary, RKO's previous studio head, who cast Ryan as the head villain inBad Day at Black Rock (1954).
He appeared in an off-Broadway production ofCoriolanus (1954) directed byJohn Houseman.
Ryan returned to RKO forEscape to Burma (1955) with Stanwyck. More widely seen wasSam Fuller'sHouse of Bamboo (1955) andRaoul Walsh'sThe Tall Men (1955), both at Fox. By now his fee was reported as $150,000 per film.[24]
He starred inThe Proud Ones (1956) at Fox,Back from Eternity (1956) at RKO, directed byJohn Farrow.[25] He appeared inMen in War (1957) for Anthony Mann, made at Mann's company Security Pictures.
Ryan made his television debut in 1955 asAbraham Lincoln in theScreen Director's Playhouse adaptation ofChristopher Morley's story "Lincoln's Doctor's Dog." As he explained to reporters, despite financial considerations, Ryan preferred to steer clear of any commitment to a TV series:
The only money in TV is in the series, and I want to stay out of those. Sure, I might make a million or so in a series, but I'd wind up being 'Sidewinder Sam' for the rest of my life.[26]
Ryan remained true to these convictions, appearing in many television series, but always as a guest star. He was inScreen Directors Playhouse,Mr. Adams and Eve,Goodyear Theatre,Alcoa Theatre,Playhouse 90 (playingThe Great Gatsby), andZane Grey Theater.
He continued to star in features, however, includingGod's Little Acre (1958) for Mann and Security Pictures,Lonelyhearts (1959) written and produced by Schary,Day of the Outlaw (1959) for Security Pictures, andOdds Against Tomorrow (1959) for Wise.
In the summer of 1960 Ryan starred oppositeKatharine Hepburn at theAmerican Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, Connecticut, playing Antony to Hepburn's Cleopatra.
Ryan remained in high demand throughout the 1960s: he appeared inIce Palace (1960) with Richard Burton; a TV version ofThe Snows of Kilimanjaro directed byJohn Frankenheimer;The Canadians (1961) forBurt Kennedy; playedJohn the Baptist inMGM's Technicolor epicKing of Kings (1961) for Nicholas Ray; was the villainous Claggart inPeter Ustinov's adaptation ofBilly Budd (1962) for which he was nominated for a BAFTA.[27]
He also appeared in the all-star war filmThe Longest Day (1962), playingJames M. Gavin.
Ryan returned to Broadway in the musicalMr. President (1962–63) byLindsay and Crouse with music byIrving Berlin and directed byJoshua Logan; it ran for 263 performances.[28]
Ryan continued to appear in TV shows such asKraft Suspense Theatre,Breaking Point,The Eleventh Hour,Wagon Train,The Reporter andBob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre. Ryan's only partial concession to featuring in an entire television series was his role as Narrator in CBS's 26-episode acclaimed documentary homage toWorld War One, released in prime-time during the 1964–65 season.
Ryan was considered for a role inGene Roddenberry'sStar Trek.Norman Spinrad had written the script of the 1967 episode "The Doomsday Machine" with Ryan in mind to play Commodore Matt Decker, but Ryan had prior commitments.[29] That role went toWilliam Windom.
Ryan could be seen inThe Crooked Road (1965) andThe Secret Agents (1965), then the all-starBattle of the Bulge (1965) for Phil Yordan andThe Professionals (1966) for Brooks.
Ryan supportedSid Caesar inThe Busy Body (1967) and had a key supporting part inThe Dirty Dozen (1967) forRobert Aldrich andHour of the Gun (1967), playingIke Clanton forJohn Sturges.
Ryan played Othello (1967) in a regional production at Nottingham, England.[30]
Ryan went to Europe forA Minute to Pray, A Second to Die (1968) andAnzio (1969) for Dmytryk. Ryan had the lead inCaptain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969).
Along withWilliam Holden andErnest Borgnine, Ryan was goaded bySam Peckinpah during the making ofThe Wild Bunch (1969). After production inMexico moved fromParras toTorreón, his request to take a few days off to campaign forEugene McCarthy during the1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries was denied by Peckinpah. In his biographyGolden Boy: The Untold Story of William Holden,Bob Thomas wrote, "For ten days, Ryan reported to the set in makeup and costume. He never played a scene. Finally he grabbed Peckinpah by the shirtfront and growled, 'I'll do anything you ask me to do in front of the camera, because I'm a professional. But you open your mouth to me off the set, and I'll knock your teeth in.'"[31]
Ryan returned to the stage in a revival ofThe Front Page. It was one of the earlier productions developed by the Plumstead Playhouse (later the Plumstead Theatre Company), a Long Island-based repertory company founded by Ryan,Martha Scott andHenry Fonda;[32] the following winter, a film of the production (produced jointly byMPC and Plumstead) was broadcast nationally over the upstartHughes TV Network.[33][34][7]
Ryan supportedBurt Lancaster inLawman (1971) andJohn Phillip Law inThe Love Machine (1971). He appeared inAnd Hope to Die (1971) withJean-Louis Trintignant forRené Clément.
In April 1971, Ryan returned to the stage to playJames Tyrone inArvin Brown's critically acclaimedOff-Broadway production ofLong Day's Journey into Night.[35]
He originally refused the lead inLolly-Madonna XXX (1973) withRod Steiger because he wanted to take his wife to Europe, but she died of cancer in May 1972, and he ended up playing the part.[36][9] "Something very big is missing and I don't know what to put in its place," he said.[36]
Ryan's final roles included:The Man Without a Country (1973), a TV movie forDelbert Mann;The Outfit (1973) withRobert Duvall;Executive Action (1973) with Lancaster, from a script by Dalton Trumbo; and a version ofThe Iceman Cometh (1973) withLee Marvin and director Frankenheimer. Ryan, who died before the latter's premiere, won the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor,[37] the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor (in a tie withAl Pacino, forSerpico),[38] and a special award from theNational Society of Film Critics.[39]The Iceman Cometh andExecutive Action both were released in November 1973, after Ryan's death.
Ryan had signed to appear in a stagemusical version ofShenandoah when he died.[9]
Though Ryan served in the military, he came to share thepacifist views of his wife Jessica, who was aQuaker.
In the late 1940s, as theHouse Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) intensified its anti-Communist attacks on Hollywood, he joined the short-livedCommittee for the First Amendment. Throughout the 1950s, he donated money and services to civic and religious organizations such as theAmerican Civil Liberties Union,American Friends Service Committee, andUnited World Federalists. In September 1959, he andSteve Allen became founding co-chairs ofThe Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy's Hollywood chapter.[40]
By the mid-1960s, Ryan's political activities included efforts to fight racial discrimination. He served in the cultural division of the Committee to DefendMartin Luther King Jr., and helped organize the short-lived Artists Help All Blacks, withBill Cosby,Robert Culp,Sidney Poitier, and several other actors.[41]
Ryan often spoke about the dichotomy of his personal beliefs and his acting roles. At a screening ofOdds Against Tomorrow, he appeared before the press to discuss "the problems of an actor like me playing the kind of character that in real life he finds totally despicable."[42] Ryan's roles as cynical, prejudiced, violent characters, often ran counter to the causes he embraced. He was a pacifist who starred in war movies, westerns, and violent thrillers. He was an opponent ofMcCarthyism, but appeared in theanti-communist propaganda filmI Married a Communist, playing a nefariouscommunist agent. In socially progressive films such asCrossfire,Bad Day at Black Rock,Odds Against Tomorrow andExecutive Action, he played bigoted villains or conspirators.
On March 11, 1939, he married Jessica Cadwalader. They had three children: Timothy (b. 1946); Cheyney (b. 1948), a research fellow atOxford University, co-chair of the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights, and anemeritus professor ofphilosophy and law at theUniversity of Oregon,[43] and Lisa (b. 1951).[44][45][46] They lived inthe Dakota at 72nd andCentral Park West in Manhattan and eventually sub-let and later sold the apartment toJohn Lennon andYoko Ono where Lennon was shot and killed in the courtyard entryway in 1980.[45]
In the fall of 1951, the progressiveOakwood School was opened in Jessica and Robert Ryan's backyard in Los Angeles; founded by a small group of parents, created and based on their educational and child-rearing views. Three years later, the parents, including the Ryans,Sidney Harmon, Elizabeth Schappert, Wendy and Ross Cabeen, and Charles and Emilie Haas, bought and built the elementary school campus on Moorpark Street in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley.
In 1970 Ryan, a heavy smoker, discovered he had inoperable cancer of the lymph glands. He decided to keep working, and said, "I've had a good shot at life."[36]
Ryan died of lung cancer inNew York City on 11 July 1973, aged 63. He was predeceased by a year by his wife, also of cancer.[47]
"I've been lucky as hell with my career and my family," he said shortly before he died.[47]
According to a profile of him written byManohla Dargis after his death:
Born to play beautifully tortured, angry souls... Ryan was a familiar movie face for more than two decades in Hollywood's classical years, his studio ups and downs, independent detours and outlier adventures paralleling the arc of American cinema as it went from a national pastime to near collapse. A little prettier and he might have been one of the golden boys of the golden age. But there could be something a touch menacing about his face (something open and sweet too), which bunched as tight as a fist, and his towering height (he stood 6 foot 4) at times loomed like a threat. The rage boiled up in him so quickly. It made him seem dangerous. He was known for his villains, and it was the complexity of these characters, their emotional and psychological kinks, that elevated even his lesser roles. He never achieved the supernova stardom of a Gable or Bogart, and these days Ryan's glower may be more familiar than his name. Yet he was the type of next-level star and B-movie stalwart that helped make old Hollywood great.[48]
Jeff Bridges, who co-starred with Ryan inThe Iceman Cometh, has cited him as an inspiration.[49]Kris Kristofferson referred to him as one of his favorite actors.[50]
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | Too Many Husbands | Max Reinhardt Workshop, Los Angeles | [51] | ||
| 1941–42 | Clash by Night | Joe W. Doyle | Belasco Theatre, New York | Broadway debut | [52] |
| 1949 | Petticoat Fever | La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego | [52] | ||
| 1950 | Born Yesterday | [52] | |||
| 1960 | Antony and Cleopatra | Mark Antony | American Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford | [52] | |
| 1962–63 | Mr. President | Pres. Stephen Decatur Henderson | St. James Theatre, New York | [52] | |
| 1968 | Our Town | Mr. Charles Webb | Mineola Playhouse,Long Island | [52] | |
| The Front Page | Walter Burns | [52] | |||
| 1969–70 | Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York | [52] | |||
| 1971 | Long Day's Journey into Night | James Tyrone | Promenade Theatre, New York | [52] |
| Award | Year | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Award | 1948 | Best Supporting Actor[53] | Crossfire | Nominated |
| British Academy Film Award | 1963 | Best Foreign Actor[54] | Billy Budd | Nominated |
| Drama Desk Award | 1971 | Vernon Rice Award[52] | Long Day's Journey into Night | Won |
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award | 1973 | Best Supporting Actor | The Iceman Cometh | Won (posthumously) |
| National Board of Review Award | 1973 | Best Actor[55] | Won (posthumously) | |
| National Society of Film Critics Award | 1974 | Special Award | Won (posthumously) | |
| Best Actor | 2nd Place (posthumously) |
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