Rip torn dies.

[1563621]

I did a show with him and geraldine page in the 70s, He was a scotch inhaler, she was very nice! RIP. He was married to ger. page, but was having an affair with a girl in the cast.

[S.A. Boggs]

Never could understand the name.
Sam

[Allen]

Never could understand the name.
Sam

Me either. Rip Cord maybe. Sill better than Elmore I suppose (Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr.).

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I did a show with him and geraldine page in the 70s, He was a scotch inhaler, she was very nice! RIP

I think you may have our curiosity up now. What involvement did you have with them?

[1563621]

I was a union stagehand for 34 years. Worked mostly live theater for 10+ years. Worked with Mickey rooney, ann miller, ginger roges, jerry lewis, dustin hoffman. Have a list on people. Last couple years worked rock concerts, bruce, kenny chesney, kid rock, tommy lee, rod stewart. Hurt on job in 08, forced retirement. Local 21 IATSE, Int. alliance of theater & stage employees.

[Art]

Never could understand the name.
Sam

Elmore Ruel Torn. Unlike a lot of folks he only had to make up one stage name. He made some darn fine movies. I think the earliest thing I saw him in was Pork Chop hill which had a bunch of future big time actors in the supporting cast and some veteran character actors like Bob Steele. I believe the last movie I saw him in was "Dodgeball" which was a hoot. the old boy died in harness. He worked right up to the end.

Being a "scotch inhaler" may have had something to do with his reputation as a serious crank. Since he was close to 90 when he died, it goes to show that temperance doesn't always translate to longevity.

Adultery seems to be a lot more common in hollywierd even among actors whose marriages last decades.

[dryheat]

I'm sure I've seen him in lots of movies but I don't remember a thing except MIB. I never got the name either. I thought it was a joke. The worst Hollywood names: There are a few. Rock Hudson. I'm sure it was supposed to imply tough guy. Ahh, no. Was there anyone in Hollywood in the early days that used their real name? Leaving Marion behind was probably a good choice. If your real name was Abram Kabinski you had no other choice. Paul McCartneys brother's name is Mike. But he didn't want to be linked to his famous brother. So, to make his way in the sixties rock business he changed his name to Mike McGear. Now, if you recall back then the Brits used to use the word gear to denote something really cool. That word is lost in the fog of time. A bad choice for young Mike. He has since ditched that and any attempt at music. Don't look; he doesn't look anything like Paul. Whatever you do, don't name your kid Mike.

[gpb]

The only role I remember Rip Torn in is the coach in "Dodge Ball".

"If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1meNEIv_Ac

[Clark Howard]

He was implicated in the communist conspiracy in Hollywood in the 1950s. As I remember, he refused to testify, which caused him some career problems over the years.

[Art]

Since we're sharing movie clips, here is a clip from "Pork Chop Hill." Rip Torn Is the Lt. standing to the left of the picture next to Gregory Peck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFtBcsNr9Go

Pork Chop hill, in my opinion, is one of the best war movies ever made accurately capturing most of the events, including the dithering and incompetence, related to the battle. Unlike most movies it uses the actual names of nearly all of the major American participants. It does get a bit overly dramatic at the end when Clemon's unit is relieved. The Chinese and North Koreans did later permanently occupy the hill but that isn't important to the story told in the movie.

Torn worked steadily for many years in movies T.V. and stage accumulating long and sometimes distinguished list of credits. It's good to be a character actor if you're any good. Age doesn't stop you and there always seems to be another part.

Torn helped one of his cousins break into the movie business...Sissy Spacek.

He was nominated for several awards, the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in "Cross Creek" and a half dozen Emmys but never won. Some of the more memorable movies he appeared in, besides "Dodge Ball" and "Pork Chop Hill" include "A Face in the Crowd," "Baby Doll," "King of Kings," "Sweet Bird of Youth," "Tropic of Cancer," "The Man Who Fell to Earth," and "Down Periscope."

He was a Temple Texas boy.

[1563621]

If I remember correctly in about 1974-5. He was in little foxes with his wife at the time geraldine page. She was a nice one & he was a prick. Would get nasty after drinking on a matinee. He would cook a steak on a hibachi in the dressing room. eat it drinking out of a bottle of scotch. Fire alarms were always going off.