Rip Torn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Marsh Turner in Cross Creek.
48 Facts About Rip Torn
2.
Rip Torn won an American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Male in a Series, and two CableACE Awards for his work on the show, and for his roles as Zed in the Men in Black franchise and Patches O'Houlihan in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
3.
The nickname "Rip" is a family tradition among men in the Torn family, having been used by his father, uncle, and a cousin.
4.
Rip Torn graduated from Taylor High School in Taylor, Texas, in 1948.
5.
Rip Torn then studied at the Actors Studio in New York under Lee Strasberg, becoming a prolific stage actor, appearing in the original cast of Tennessee Williams' play Sweet Bird of Youth, and reprising the role in the film and television adaptations.
6.
Rip Torn later helped his younger cousin Sissy Spacek enroll in the Actors Studio.
7.
Rip Torn appeared in the first production of his friend James Baldwin's Blues For Mister Charlie.
8.
Rip Torn had an uncredited role in A Face in the Crowd as Barry Mills.
9.
In 1957, Rip Torn portrayed Jody in an early episode of The Restless Gun.
10.
In 1964, Rip Torn appeared as Eddie Sanderson in the episode "The Secret in the Stone" in The Eleventh Hour and in the premiere of The Reporter.
11.
On television that year, Rip Torn portrayed Colonel Royce in the episode "The Lorelei" of Twelve O'Clock High.
12.
In 1972, Rip Torn won rave reviews for his portrayal of a country and western singer in the cult film Payday.
13.
Rip Torn co-starred with singer David Bowie in the 1976 science-fiction film, The Man Who Fell to Earth.
14.
Rip Torn portrayed a Southern senator in 1979's The Seduction of Joe Tynan, opposite Alan Alda and Meryl Streep, and a music producer in Paul Simon's 1980 film One-Trick Pony.
15.
In 1982, Rip Torn played a role as a black magic cult leader in the sword-and-sorcery movie The Beastmaster.
16.
Rip Torn played a sheriff opposite Treat Williams and Kris Kristofferson in the 1984 thriller Flashpoint.
17.
Rip Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in 1983's Cross Creek as a poor neighbor of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings in the orange groves of Florida.
18.
Rip Torn was nominated for the CableACE Award for his portrayal of Big Daddy in the 1984 Showtime production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
19.
Rip Torn co-starred with John Candy as a man who helps a tourist win a sailboat race in the 1985 comedy Summer Rental.
20.
Rip Torn had a brief role as Sheriff Hank Pearson in Extreme Prejudice.
21.
Rip Torn was a jeweler who murdered his own nephew to steal a winning lottery ticket in an episode of Columbo that year on TV, "Death Hits the Jackpot".
22.
In 1993, Rip Torn portrayed the OCP CEO in RoboCop 3 and starred opposite Tantoo Cardinal in Where the Rivers Flow North.
23.
Rip Torn was a naval officer presiding over a wargame in the Kelsey Grammer submarine comedy Down Periscope in 1996.
24.
In 1997, Rip Torn appeared in the Disney film Hercules, in which he voiced the god Zeus.
25.
Rip Torn played MIB agency boss Zed in the 1997 hit film Men in Black, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, a role he reprised in the 2002 sequel Men in Black II.
26.
In 2001, Rip Torn portrayed James "Jim" Brody in the comedy film Freddy Got Fingered.
27.
Rip Torn returned next in 1962 in the play Daughter of Silence as Carlo, following that with a role in the 1963 production of Strange Interlude.
28.
For 13 years, Rip Torn was absent from Broadway, but returned in 1993 to portray Chris Christopherson in Anna Christie.
29.
Rip Torn made his feature off-Broadway acting debut as Eben Cabot in the play Desire Under the Elms, followed by Peter in The Kitchen at the 81st Street Theatre.
30.
Rip Torn performed at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the play Dream of a Blacklisted Actor, and later at the Joseph Papp Public Theater's Anspacher Theater as William McLeod in Barbary Shore.
31.
Rip Torn last acted off-Broadway at the American Place Theatre as Henry Hackamore in Sam Shepard's 1979 play Seduced: a Play in Two Acts.
32.
From 1992 to 1998, Rip Torn portrayed Artie in The Larry Sanders Show.
33.
Rip Torn was the only actor in the series who won an Emmy Award for his work.
34.
Rip Torn was known for his voice work and did voice-overs for many animated films.
35.
Rip Torn was nominated for an Emmy Award in the category for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, but lost to Tim Conway, who guest-starred in the same sitcom.
36.
Rip Torn's character was reportedly killed off as a direct result of his 2010 arrest, though Tina Fey denied this in a DVD commentary.
37.
Rip Torn voiced the character of Hephaestus in the 2010 video game, God of War III.
38.
Rip Torn appears in the music video for the They Might Be Giants song "Can't Keep Johnny Down", from their 2011 album Join Us.
39.
Rip Torn was married three times, and had six children and four grandchildren.
40.
In 1963, Rip Torn married Geraldine Page, and they remained married until her death in 1987.
41.
Rip Torn apparently delighted in the fact that the doorbell of their New York townhouse read Rip Torn Page.
42.
On January 29,2010, Rip Torn was arrested after breaking into a Litchfield Bancorp branch office in Lakeville, Connecticut.
43.
Rip Torn was charged with carrying a firearm without a permit, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, first-degree burglary, second-degree criminal trespassing, and third-degree criminal mischief.
44.
The Connecticut State Police said Rip Torn, who lived in Lakeville, broke into the bank thinking it was his home.
45.
Hopper claimed that Rip Torn pulled a knife on him during pre-production of the film Easy Rider.
46.
Rip Torn claimed in his lawsuit that Hopper pulled the knife on him.
47.
Rip Torn died on July 9,2019, at his home in Lakeville, Connecticut, at the age of 88 due to complications from Alzheimer's disease.
48.
Rip Torn is buried at the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery in Poughkeepsie, New York.