Men in Black and Larry Sanders star, Rip Torn dies at 88: According to his publicist Rick Miramontez, Rip Torn who is an Emmy Award-winning actor and is famous for “Men in Black” and HBO’s “The Larry Sanders Show,” has died at the age of 88. Torn died Tuesday at his home in Lakeville, Connecticut with his family by his side.
Torn — born Elmore Rual Torn Jr. in Temple, Texas, and nicknamed “Rip” by his family — studied Shakespearean acting at Texas A&M University and made his film debut in the 1956 comedy-drama “Baby Doll” under the direction of Elia Kazan. He earned a Tony nomination for 1960 for playing the menacing Tom Finley Jr. in Tennessee Williams’ Sweet Bird of Youth, a role he reprised in the 1962 film version.
Rip Torn Was an Unforgettable Force on The Larry Sanders Show
Torn was nominated for nine Emmy awards and won for supporting actor in a comedy series for his portrayal of Artie in “The Larry Sanders Show” in 1996. He was nominated for an Oscar as best supporting actor for playing the hard-drinking father who meets a tragic end in the 1984 drama “Cross Creek.” He was nominated for a Tony Award for his role as the sadistic son in the 1962 Broadway production of Tennessee Williams’ play “Sweet Bird of Youth.”
The actor had a seven-decade career in film, television, and theater, with nearly 200 credits to his name. His sole Oscar nomination came for 1983 drama Cross Creek.
In 2010, he admitted drunkenly breaking into a bank in Connecticut while carrying a loaded gun. Torn is survived by his third wife, actress Amy Wright, with whom he had two children. He was previously married to the actress Geraldine Page, with whom he had three children, and Ann Wedgeworth, with whom he also had a child.
“I have certain flaws in my makeup. Something called irascibility,” Torn told Studs Terkel for his 1974 book of interviews, “Working.” “I get angry easily. I get saddened by things easily.”
Torn sometimes clashed with directors and actors on set, most notably during the production of the 1970 movie “Maidstone,” when he hit the director, Norman Mailer, on the head with a hammer.
“I’ll miss you, Rip, you were a true original,” the actor Albert Brooks, Torn’s co-star in the 1991 movie “Defending Your Life,” said on Twitter.
Fantasy writer Neil Gaiman said the actor had been the inspiration for the Mr. Wednesday character in his novel American Gods.
Alec Baldwin, who worked with Torn on TV comedy 30 Rock, said he was “a deeply committed, phenomenal actor” and “a wonderful madman”.
