A Good Bad Guy
Richard Widmark died last week at the ripe old age of 93.
He was one of the last remaining stars from Hollywood's Golden Age. A successful radio actor, he first broke into movies playing murderous psycho Tommy Udo in the original version of Kiss of Death in 1947. The scene where he pushes a wheelchair-bound old woman down a flight of stairs while laughing maniacally chilled audiences.
Three years later he played a violent racist in No Way Out, Sidney Poitier's film debut. He recalled the vile things his character had to say to Sidney and recounted how he apologized to the novice actor after the cameras stopped rolling. Poitier accepted his apology, but, according to Widmark, had a fiercely cold look in his eyes that suggested he wanted to slap him. (Much was made of Don Ameche's request that the set of Trading Places be cleared of all but absolutely necessary actors and technicians for the famous scene where he said (referring to the collapse of Ralph Bellamy, who played his brother, "Fuck him!" Personally, I always wondered if he ever said anything to Eddie Murphy for the racial slur he called his character. Hmmmm.)
He also made a memorable appearance on an I Love Lucy episode when the fictional Ricardos went to Hollywood. This aside, I associated Richard Widmark with his trademark bad guy roles that when he aged and started doing character parts in movies like Against All Odds and Coma, I didn't trust him for one minute.
Offscreen, he had a reputation for being non-Hollywood, a devoted family man who lived quietly with his wife and daughter and shunning the party scene. Had his wife not predeceased him in the 1990s after a long marriage, he might have been one of those rare actors who made but one trip to the altar. (He remarried one of Henry Fonda's ex-wives in 1998.)
Here's Richard in his legendary scene. Kiss of Death was remade years later with David Caruso from NYPD Blue, but movie terror doesn't get any better than this.
Richard Widmark died last week at the ripe old age of 93.
He was one of the last remaining stars from Hollywood's Golden Age. A successful radio actor, he first broke into movies playing murderous psycho Tommy Udo in the original version of Kiss of Death in 1947. The scene where he pushes a wheelchair-bound old woman down a flight of stairs while laughing maniacally chilled audiences.
Three years later he played a violent racist in No Way Out, Sidney Poitier's film debut. He recalled the vile things his character had to say to Sidney and recounted how he apologized to the novice actor after the cameras stopped rolling. Poitier accepted his apology, but, according to Widmark, had a fiercely cold look in his eyes that suggested he wanted to slap him. (Much was made of Don Ameche's request that the set of Trading Places be cleared of all but absolutely necessary actors and technicians for the famous scene where he said (referring to the collapse of Ralph Bellamy, who played his brother, "Fuck him!" Personally, I always wondered if he ever said anything to Eddie Murphy for the racial slur he called his character. Hmmmm.)
He also made a memorable appearance on an I Love Lucy episode when the fictional Ricardos went to Hollywood. This aside, I associated Richard Widmark with his trademark bad guy roles that when he aged and started doing character parts in movies like Against All Odds and Coma, I didn't trust him for one minute.
Offscreen, he had a reputation for being non-Hollywood, a devoted family man who lived quietly with his wife and daughter and shunning the party scene. Had his wife not predeceased him in the 1990s after a long marriage, he might have been one of those rare actors who made but one trip to the altar. (He remarried one of Henry Fonda's ex-wives in 1998.)
Here's Richard in his legendary scene. Kiss of Death was remade years later with David Caruso from NYPD Blue, but movie terror doesn't get any better than this.
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2 comments:
Richard Widmark was a heck of an actor. The clip you chose of his work is still unsettling to me after all these year (that poor woman). The character was so cold hearted. Thanks for the background info on "No Way Out". What happens behind the scene is almost as interesting as the film itself.
Pjazzypar,
That clip gives me the creeps, too! That was cold. Glad you enjoyed that bit of trivia. Thanks for posting!
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