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Richard Widmark

Italian postcard by Rotalcolor, Rotalfoto, no. 140.

Slight, blonde Richard Widmark (1914-2008) suddenly established himself as an icon of American cinema with his debut as a giggling psychopath in Kiss of Death (1947). He was one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood for a good three decades and appeared in 75 films.

Richard Weedt Widmark was born in Sunrise County, Minnesota, in 1914. His parents were Carl Henry Widmark, a Swedish immigrant and travelling salesman, and his wife Ethel Mae Barr. Widmark could already read before he went to school and studied law after graduation to become a lawyer. He also became enthusiastic about acting at an early age. In 1938 Widmark moved to New York with his future wife Jean Hazlewood, a screenwriter he had met as a colleague in Lake Forrest, and married her in 1942. Their only child, Anne Heath Widmark, was born in 1945. In 1943 Widmark made his Broadway debut in George Abbott's theatrical production of 'Kiss and Tell'. Widmark worked as a radio announcer for ten years before making his film acting debut. Widmark made his breakthrough with his debut role as Tommy Udo in the Film Noir Kiss of Death (Henry Hathaway, 1947) starring Victor Maure. Udo is a criminal who cold-heartedly pushes a paraplegic old woman down a flight of stairs in her wheelchair in the film's most famous scene. For this role, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Male Supporting Actor. Widmark received a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox. After his successful debut, Widmark was initially confined to the role of the villain for years. He brought a new kind of deeply troubled or corrupt character to the screen: a hard-boiled type who does not actively court the sympathy of the audience. In the 1950s the actor managed to get away from this type and establish himself as a versatile leading man in all genres. Elia Kazan cast Widmark in his thriller Panick in the Streets (1950), not as the heavy but as the physician who tracks down Jack Palance, who has the plague, in tandem with detective Paul Douglas. He went on to play notable roles as the penny-ante hustler Harry Fabian in the Film Noir Night and the City (Jules Dassin, 1950) with Gene Tierney, and an airline pilot who pursues a babysitter in his hotel (Marilyn Monroe) and gradually realises she's dangerous in Don't Bother to Knock (Roy Ward Baker, 1952). He later played in the Western The Alamo (John Wayne, 1960), the drama Judgment at Nuremberg (Stanley Kramer, 1961) starring Spencer Tracy, and the epic Western How the West Was Won (John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, 1962).

During the 1970s and 1980s, Richard Widmark advanced over the years to become a sought-after character actor. He starred in such well-known films as the Agatha Christie adaptation Murder on the Orient Express (Sidney Lumet, 1974), the disaster thriller Rollercoaster (James Goldstone, 1977), the thriller Coma (Michael Crichton, 1978) starring Genevieve Bujold and Michael Douglas, and the Neo Noir Against All Odds (Taylor Hackford, 1984) with Jeff Bridges. In 1987 he appeared with Louis Gossett jr. in Volker Schlöndorff's film A Gathering of Old Men, based on the novel 'A Gathering of Old Men' by Ernest J. Gaines. In 1991 Richard Widmark appeared in front of the film camera for the last time in the political thriller True Colors (Herbert Ross, 1991) starring John Cusack. His last work was a voice-over for the television film Lincoln (Peter W. Kunhardt, James A. Edgar, 1992). Widmark spent his retirement in seclusion on his farm in Connecticut. Widmark was first married to Jean Hazlewood from 1952 until her death in 1997. A daughter was born to Hazlewood. He married Susan Blanchard, who had previously been married to Henry Fonda, in 1999 and remained with her until his death. In 2008, Richard Widmark died at home in Roxbury, Connecticut, at the age of 93. His death followed a fall in 2007, which he did not recover from.

Sources: Martin Lewison and Jon C. Hopwood (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch and German) and IMDb.

For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Taken on: August 25, 2022

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Sets appears in: • Rotalfoto, Italy • Classic Hollywood (1930s - 1960s)

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