Lawrence Tierney
Lawrence James Tierney (born March 15, 1919 in Brooklyn , † February 26, 2002 in Los Angeles ) was an American actor . He was best known as a gangster actor and often came into conflict with the law himself.
biography
Lawrence Tierney was born five years before his brothers Gerard Kenneth Tierney and Edward Tierney in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City . His parents were Lawrence (police officer) and Mary Tierney (died by suicide). He was a good student who attended Boy's High School in Brooklyn and received a scholarship to Manhattan College. Tierney left college to work as a migrant worker. So he got a job as a catalog model. In the early 1940s Tierney began to work as a theater actor and then received a contract with the film company RKO . He initially got supporting roles in films such as Val Lewton's The Ghost Ship from 1943 or the teenage drama Youth Runs Wild . Tierney became famous for his role as gangster Dillinger in the film of the same name, Hunting for Dillinger . Due to his success in this film, he got numerous roles from RKO as a tough guy or criminal, including twice as outlaw Jesse James in the western Badman's Territory ( Land of the Bandits ) and Best of the Badmen ( The Avenger ). He also played the murderer in the film noir Born to Kill , a sociopath in The Devil Thumbs a Ride and a professional criminal in The Hoodlum .
Tierney starred in Cecil B. DeMille's Oscar- winning film The Greatest Show on Earth in 1952 . As in his film roles, he tended to consume copious amounts of alcohol and physical violence, and so he frequently came into conflict with the law and was a regular visitor to Los Angeles prison . His colleague Robert Mitchum , who was imprisoned there for illegal drug possession in 1948, told the guards: "We're keeping Lawrence Tierney's cell warm for ya." ("We'll keep Lawrence Tierney's cell warm for you.")
In the mid-1950s Tierney got less and less roles and only smaller roles. After his participation in the drama A Child Is Waiting by John Cassavetes , Tierney moved to Europe, where he again got into trouble with the law. In the late 1960s, when he returned to New York, he kept afloat doing odd jobs, such as bartending. In 1973 he was involved in a brawl and in 1975 he was questioned by police in connection with a woman's suicide.
Nevertheless, Tierney managed to prove his acting qualities in other films. He was in 1971 in Otto Preminger's film as good friends (Such Good Friends) , 1977 Andy Warhol's Bad or 1981 in the comedy Arthur to see. After rehab, he returned to Hollywood in 1983 to seriously revive his career and worked regularly for television and cinema productions.
In addition to his role in the NBC production Hill Street Police Station , Tierney also appeared in Starship Enterprise: The Next Century and played a sheriff in the 1991 television movie Dillinger . He was also the mastermind “Joe Cabot” in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs - Wilde Dogs to see.
Tierney died in February 2002 of pneumonia. He had two younger brothers Gerald and Edward Tierney, both also actors. His nephew is the film director and actor Michael Tierney . He had three children, including a daughter, Elizabeth.
Filmography (selection)
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Web links
- Lawrence Tierney in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Lawrence Tierney Filmography on ofdb.de
- Official website on lawrencetierney.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gerard Kenneth Tierney (1924–1985, known as an actor under the name Scott Brady )
- ↑ Edward Tierney (1928–1985, known as an actor under the name Ed Tracy )
- ↑ Lawrence Tierney in the Notable Names Database (English)
- ↑ a b c d biography on lawrencetierney.com, accessed November 27, 2012.
- ↑ Michael Tierney (* 1965, son of Edward Tierney) on imdb.com, accessed on November 27, 2012.
- ↑ Ronald Bergan: Obituary on guardian.co.uk, accessed November 27, 2012.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Tierney, Lawrence |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Tierney, Lawrence James |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | US-American actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 15, 1919 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brooklyn , New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 26, 2002 |
| Place of death | los Angeles |