Rip Torn

Rip Torn was born Elmore Rual Torn Jr. on February 6, 1931 in Temple, Texas, the son of Thelma Mary (Spacek) and Elmore Rudolph Torn, who was an agriculturalist and economist, credited with popularizing the custom of eating black-eyes peas on New Year's Day. "Rip" is a family name, taken by generations of Torn men and bestowed on Elmore by his father, who was also called "Rip. " He was of German, Austrian, Bohemian, and Moravian descent. His mother was an elder sister of actress Sissy Spacek's father, Edwin Spacek. Torn attended Texas A&M and the University of Texas, , where he joined Sigma Chi Fraternity. He majored in animal husbandry. Extremely naïf when he was young, Torn hitchhiked to Hollywood with the idea of becoming a movie star; he wanted to make enough money in order to buy a ranch. Success did not come overnight, as he had hoped, and Torn had to work many odd jobs while occasionally being cast in television roles.

Graduated from Taylor High School, in Taylor, Texas, in 1948, at only 17 years of age.

Grew up in Texas. He attended Texas A & M College, graduating in 1952. Later, studied acting at the University of Texas, where he joined Sigma Chi Fraternity.

He made his feature film debut in Elia Kazan's Baby Doll (1956) in a small part. Serious about learning his craft, he moved to New York City where he studied under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Torn also studied dance with Martha Graham.

Torn was married to actress Ann Wedgeworth from 1956-61, whom he divorced to marry Geraldine Page.

His serious acting career began on the small screen, where he made a name for himself in the Golden Age of Television; between 1957 and 1960, he appeared regularly on such prestigious live shows as Omnibus (1952) and Days Of Wine & Roses - Cliff Robertson & Piper Laurie, "Playhouse 90" Original TV Version (1956).

Torn made his Broadway debut in Kazan's staging of Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth" on March 10, 1959, in support of Paul Newman, Sidney Blackmer and Geraldine Page, who would become his second wife.

The play was a hit, closing on January 30, 1960 after 375 performances.

He won a 1960 Tony Award nomination as Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Theater World award for his role as "Tom, Jr.

", a role he recreated in the 1962 film. (Torn also starred as "Boss Finley" in a later television adaptation of the play). Torn earned a reputation as an actor's actor on stage, both Broadway and off-Broadway, as well as on screen. He continued to work in the New York theater despite his demanding TV and movie schedule as both an actor and director.

He won two Obie awards for his work off-Broadway, for Distinguished Performance in Norman Mailer's "The Deer Park" (for the 1966-67 season), and for Distinguished Direction for "The Beard" (1967-68). He had his own stage company, and directed his daughter Angelica Page (by Geraldine Page) in John Paul Alexander's "Strangers in the Land of Canaan" at the Actors Studio.

In 1970 a bullet was fired through the window of his home after he spoke out against the Vietnam War on The Dick Cavett Show (1968).

Arguably his best performance on film came in Payday (1973), and he was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for Cross Creek (1983). Most of Torn's roles were in drama, though he was adept at comedy.

Torn and his first wife had a daughter, Danae Torn. He and second wife Geraldine Page had a daughter and twin sons (Angelica Page, Tony Torn and John Torn). Although he and Page never divorced, their relationship deteriorated and Torn began a relationship with Amy Wright in 1976. Wright became his third wife, bearing him two more children.

Starred in two unrelated movies focusing on The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977) (playing Dwight Webb) and J. Edgar Hoover (1987) (playing Lyndon Johnson).

They remained married until her death in 1987. He was married to Amy Wright until his death. Torn helped his first cousin, Oscar-winner Sissy Spacek, to make her way as an actress, seeing to it that she was accepted by the Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio and then the Lee Strasberg Institute.

Torn made his feature film directorial debut with The Telephone (1988). He was constantly in demand as a character actor, in supporting, second lead and occasional lead roles.

His role in Albert Brooks' comedy Defending Your Life (1991) led to his being cast in The Larry Sanders Show (1992), on which he played talk show producer "Artie.

Best remembered by the public for his starring role as the producer - "Artie" on The Larry Sanders Show (1992).

His aunt (on his father's side), Leonita O. Torn Cobb, died on June 11, 1993, almost 7 months before Torn's mother. The most coincidental thing is they were both 85.

On March 14, 1997, it was reported that he won a $475,000 defamation suit against Dennis Hopper. The lawsuit came about after remarks made by Hopper on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) on 31 May 1994.

" Torn won six consecutive Emmy nominations for the role, winning once for Best Supporting Actor in a comedy series in 1996.

In 1997, he appeared in Men In Black (1997) and Hercules (1997). In "Men in Black" he plays "Zed", head of MIB. Also in that film, Tommy Lee Jones' character, "Kay", is swallowed by a giant cockroach, and escapes by blowing the creature up from the inside. In "Hercules", Torn plays "Zeus", head of the Olympian gods. In that film, Hercules is swallowed by the Hydra and escapes by cutting the creature's head off from inside.

His uncle (on his father's side), Roland Sarrazin "Rip" Torn, passed away on August 13, 1999. He lived to be 82.

His uncle (on his mother's side), Edwin Arnold "Ed" Spacek, Sr., died on January 7, 2001. He lived to be 90.

Attended the Republican National Convention in New York in 2004.

On January 29, 2010, Torn was arrested in Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, after police found him passed out, holding a loaded gun, on the floor of a bank that had just been broken into. Torn was drunk and thought the bank was his home. He was charged with criminal trespass, carrying a firearm without a permit, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, burglary and criminal mischief. He later entered a plea of guilty and was given a suspended 2.5-year prison sentence, three years of probation during which time he was forbidden from carrying a firearm and agreed to be subject to random drug and alcohol testing.

His aunt (on his mother's side), Rose Mae Spacek Byrd, died on June 7, 2012. She lived almost to be 96.

After his guest-starring role on TripTank: #InsideRoy (2016), he retired from acting at age 85. He would die a few years later, on July, 2019, at age 88.

Rip Torn passed away on July 9, 2019, at age 88, and on the same day as Ross Perot (who was aged 89), and within six months of other people, who were also born in 1931, either 87 or 88: Ram Dass, Gene Wolfe, Toni Morrison and Rip Taylor.