Richard Farnsworth
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2013) |
Richard Farnsworth | |
|---|---|
 Farnsworth in The Straight Story, his final role. | |
| Born | September 1, 1920 |
| Died | October 6, 2000 (aged 80) Lincoln, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Los Angeles, California 34°08′42″N 118°19′12″E / 34.145°N 118.320°E |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1937–99 |
| Known for | |
| Spouse | Margaret Hill (1947–85; her death) |
| Children |
|
Richard W. Farnsworth (September 1, 1920 – October 6, 2000) was an American actor and stuntman. His film career began in 1937; however, he achieved his greatest success for his performances in The Grey Fox (1982) and The Straight Story (1999), for which he received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Early life
Farnsworth was born in Los Angeles, California, to a housewife mother and an engineer father.[1] He was raised during the Great Depression. He lived with his aunt, mother, and two sisters in downtown Los Angeles after his father died when he was seven years old.
Career
He was working as a stable hand at a polo field in Los Angeles for six dollars a week when he was offered a chance to make seven dollars a day plus a box lunch as a stuntman. In 1937, when he was sixteen, he started by riding horses in films such as The Adventures of Marco Polo with Gary Cooper. He performed several horse-riding stunts in such films as the Marx Brothers' A Day at the Races (1937) and Gunga Din (1939).
What differentiated Farnsworth from other western actors was his gradual transition into acting from stunt work. He made uncredited appearances in numerous films, including Gone with the Wind (1939), Red River (1948), The Wild One (1953), and The Ten Commandments (1956). He was on the set of Spartacus (1960) for eleven months. He laughed when he said he did not look like a gladiator but drove a chariot. However, it was not until 1963 that he finally received his first acting credit.
Farnsworth's acting career largely consisted of western films, although he did appear in a number of television shows. He was in 1977 television miniseries Roots, he won a Gemini Award for his performance as Matthew Cuthbert in the 1985 Canadian miniseries Anne of Green Gables and he co-starred with Wilford Brimley in the short-lived but critically acclaimed 1992 summer replacement The Boys of Twilight. In 1979, Farnsworth was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Comes a Horseman. However, his breakthrough came when he played stagecoach robber Bill Miner in the 1982 Canadian film The Grey Fox, for which he won a Genie Award. He appeared as a baseball coach in The Natural in 1984, and . Another of his prominent roles was as a suspicious sheriff in the film version of Stephen King's Misery (1990), a character that was created exclusively for the movie.
Farnsworth became well known in the Pacific Northwest for portraying the groundskeeper who saw the mythical "Artesians" in the 1980s Olympia Beer ad campaign.
In 1999, Farnsworth was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for The Straight Story. When director David Lynch offered him the role, Farnsworth had no idea who he was. Farnsworth did not like violence or swearing, and Lynch assured him that there would be none of that in the movie. The lead role was a rarity for a man his age.
Farnsworth has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street. In 1997, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Personal life and death
Farnsworth was married to Margaret "Maggie" Hill (who died in 1985) for 38 years. They had two children, Diamond and Missy. He moved to Lincoln, New Mexico, where he owned a 60-acre (240,000 m2) ranch and was involved in the community and was well-liked.[citation needed]
Toward the end of his life, he met Jewely Van Valin, a stewardess 35 years his junior. Farnsworth and Van Valin started riding horses together, and later became engaged.[citation needed] Farnsworth was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer in the early 1990s. He was eventually diagnosed with terminal bone cancer, which left him partially paralyzed and unable to walk. On October 6, 2000, Farnsworth committed suicide by shooting himself at his ranch.[2] He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California in the Columbarium of Purity, N-63294 alongside his wife, Margaret Hill Farnsworth (1919-1985).[3][4]
Filmography
Television appearances
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | The Adventures of Kit Carson | Henchman (uncredited) | Episode: "Fury at Red Gulch" Episode: "The Desperate Sheriff" |
| 1954 | The Adventures of Kit Carson | Army Wagon Driver | Episode: "The Gatling Gun" |
| 1955 | Soldiers of Fortune | Gaucho (uncredited) | Episode: "The General" |
| 1956 | Zane Grey Theater | Trooper | Episode: "Star Over Texas" |
| 1958 | Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok | Butler | Episode: "Jingles on the Jailroad" |
| Cimarron City | Ira Youngman | Episode: "Twelve Guns", uncredited | |
| 1959 | State Trooper | Caleb Smith | Episode: "Lonely Valley" |
| The Rebel | Trooper | Episode: "Yellow Hair" | |
| 1960 | Wanted: Dead or Alive | Rance Hal |
Episode: "The Partners" Episode: "To the Victor" |
| Laramie | Gault Ranch Hand Manley (uncredited) |
Episode: "Street of Hate" Episode: "Ride into Darkness" | |
| 1961 | Laramie | Hank | Episode: "The Tumbleweed Wagon" |
| 1965 | The Big Valley | Bolin | Episode: "The Odyssey of Jubal Tanner" |
| 1966 | The Big Valley | Businessman | Episode: "Image of Yesterday" |
| 1967 | Cimarron Strip | Dusty Rhodes Benefiel |
Episode: "Journey to a Hanging" Episode: "The Battleground" |
| 1970 | The High Chaparral | Lloyd | Episode: "The Long Shadow" |
| 1971 | Bonanza | Sourdough | Episode: "Top Hand" |
| 1972 | Bonanza | Tate Troy |
Episode: "The Saddle Stiff" Episode: "He Was Only Seven" |
| 1974 | Honky Tonk | Driver | TV movie |
| 1975 | Strange New World | Elder | TV movie |
| 1977 | Roots | Slave Catcher | TV miniseries |
| Little House on the Prairie | Wall | Episode: "Quarantine" | |
| 1981 | The Texas Rangers | Ranger J.W. Stevens | TV movie |
| A Few Days in Weasel Creek | Jason Stayvey | TV movie | |
| The Cherokee Trail | Ridge Fenton | TV movie | |
| 1983 | Travis McGee | Van Harder | TV movie |
| Ghost Dancing | Russ Ward | TV movie | |
| 1985 | Wild Horses | Chuck Reese | TV movie |
| Chase | Judge Grand Pettitt | TV movie Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | |
| Anne of Green Gables | Matthew Cuthbert | TV movie Gemini Award for Best Performance by a Supporting Actor | |
| 1987 | CBS Summer Playhouse | Carl | Episode: "Travelin' Man" |
| Highway to Heaven | Grandpa Jet Sanders | Episode: "A Dream of Wild Horses" | |
| 1989 | Red Earth, White Earth | Helmer | TV movie |
| Desperado: The Outlaw Wars | Sheriff Campbell, Bisby Arizona | TV movie | |
| 1992 | The Boys of Twilight | Cody McPherson | TV series |
| 1993 | The Fire Next Time | Frank Morgan | TV movie |
| 1998 | Best Friends for Life | Will Harper | TV movie |
References
- ^ An L.M Montgomery Resource Page. "Richard Farnsworth". Tickledorange.com. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ^ Silverman, Stephen M. (July 16, 1998). "Richard Farnsworth: Suicide". People.
- ^ "Richard Farnsworth (1920 - 2000) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
- ^ "Margaret Hill Farnsworth (1919 - 1985) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
- "Richard Farnsworth". The Times. October 9, 2000. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
- "Richard Farnsworth, Stunt Man And 2-Time Oscar Nominee, 80". The New York Times. October 8, 2000. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
- "Actor Richard Farnsworth dies". BBC News. October 7, 2000. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
External links
- Richard Farnsworth at IMDb
- Richard Farnsworth at AllMovie
- Richard Farnsworth at Find a Grave
- Richard Farnsworth at NNDB
- Richard Farnsworth: The Man Who Talked Straight at Moviecrazed.com
- The Cowboy Kind Farnsworth wrote the foreword to this book by Darrell Arnold. Published posthumously in 2001.
- 1999 Disney Press Kit For The Straight Story with publicity photos
- 1998 Des Moines Register Article
- The Straight Story on Lynch Net Complete Film notes, interviews, photographs, audio and trailers 1999
- Obituary Cowboy's Way by Jeff Jensen, 2000
- 1920 births
- 2000 deaths
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
- American male actors who committed suicide
- Suicides by firearm in New Mexico
- Genie Award winners for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor
- Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead winners
- Male actors from Los Angeles, California
- Male Western (genre) film actors
- American stunt performers
- 20th-century American male actors