Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Richard Widmark
Richard Widmark Facts
| Sign | Capricorn |
| Born |
Dec 26, 1914 Sunrise Township, MN |
| Died |
Mar 24, 2008 Roxbury, CT |
| Age | Died at 93 |
| Total Facts | 29 |
John Wayne/Richard Widmark is the sign/countersign used by soldiers holding the Alamo in Viva Max (1969).
Activist for strengthening gun control laws in the United States.
Although 27 years old at the time, Widmark was considered for the role of the cocky young sailor eventually played by Robert Walker in Bataan (1943).
At 5' 10" he was one of the shorter leading men of his era.
Before he ever became a film actor, Widmark was busy with voice-over work on various radio programs during the 1930s and 1940s.
Born in Sunrise, Minnesota, his father, Carl, was a general store manager before becoming a traveling salesman. The family eventually settled in Princeton, Illinois, where his father owned a downstairs bakery.
Born to Carl Widmark, a salesman, and his wife Ethal Mae.
Despite playing heartless killers and bigots on film, he personally denounced all kinds of violence and the usage of guns. He admitted that once he went fishing and regretted the fact he caught a trout and took its life. He also apologized profusely to Sidney Poitier during the shoot of the movie No Way Out (1950) after filming scenes together which called for Widmark to spew out racist remarks.
Earned several awards in oratory contests while a pre-law student at Lake Forest College. He was also active in the drama department and played the lead in the play "Counselor-at-Law" as a sophomore.
Featured in "Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir" by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry (McFarland, 2003).
Good friends with Sidney Poitier. They co-starred in three films together.
He has significantly contributed to the preservation of land and nature in his adopted hometown of Roxbury, Connecticut. As one of the founding members of the Roxbury Land Trust, he has tenaciously worked to preserve the pristine character of the Litchfield County town which has been the long-time home of celebrities the likes of Arthur Miller, Marilyn Monroe, and artist Alexander Calder. Actor and Widmark's friend, Walter Matthau also owned property in bucolic Roxbury and at Widmark's urging, Matthau made a generous contribution of property to the trust shortly before his death.
He was the stepfather of Amy Fonda, daughter of Henry Fonda and Susan Blanchard.
His acting idol was Spencer Tracy.
His daughter with wife Jean Hazlewood, Anne Heath Widmark, an artist and author, married baseball legend Sandy Koufax on 1 January 1969.
His father was Swedish by descent; his mother was Scottish, English and Irish.
His sole Academy Awards nomination was for best actor in a supporting role for Kiss of Death (1947) in 1948. Though he had won the Golden Globe for the role, he lost the Oscar to Edmund Gwenn in Miracle on 34th Street (1947).
In high school he wrote for the school newspaper.
In the fall of 2007 he sustained a fractured vertebrae after a fall. He died about six months later of complications.
Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 2002.
President of his high school class.
Resided on his mansion in Roxbury, Connecticut from the 1950s until his death.
Spent his later years divided between a ranch in Hidden Valley, California, and a farm in Connecticut.
Unforgettable in his screen debut in Kiss of Death (1947) as Tommy Udo, a psychopathic mob hit-man, who giggles gleefully even as he shoves a wheelchair-bound old woman, portrayed by Mildred Dunnock, tumbling down a long stairway to her demise.
Was honored with a retrospective of his films by the Museum of Modern Art (New York, New York) in May 2001.
Was not able to see active duty during WWII due to a perforated eardrum, but did serve as an air raid warden and entertained servicemen as a member of the American Theatre Wing.
Was on the first cover of German teen magazine "Bravo" together with Marilyn Monroe (1956).
When Kiss of Death (1947) was released to theaters in 1947, 20th Century Fox's publicity department encouraged theater owners to "Sell Richard Widmark!" Fox's publicity manual advised theaters to have a local printer make up "Wanted" with Widmark's face on them to advertise the film, in which he made his debut. The part was small, but Widmark made it one of the most indelible performances in the history of cinema.
When his contract at Fox expired in 1954 after seven years, he deliberately went independent in order to have more artistic control over his films. He formed his own company, Heath Productions.