Russ Tamblyn

Married three times; all his wives were involved in show business. Venetia Stevenson was a film actress, British Elizabeth Kempton (born 1935) was a Vegas showgirl and present wife, Bonnie Tamblyn, is a folk singer.

Was a gymnast at North Hollywood High School. A buoyant dancer and tumbler, Tamblyn began acting in films in 1948. His abilities as an acrobat and gymnast led to his being cast in such spectacular and dynamic dance films as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) among others.

Appears in six Oscar Best Picture nominees: Father of the Bride (1950), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Peyton Place (1957), West Side Story (1961), How the West Was Won (1962) and Django Unchained (2012). West Side Story is the only winner.

Russ wasn't discovered, he discovered show business at the age of 5 when. . . with other youngsters at Inglewood, California. . . he went to Saturday matinees at the Granada Theatre. One afternoon while waiting for the show to start he got on the stage and did an impromptu dance which the kids loved. He repeated it the following week and became so popular that when he didn't appear there was almost a riot. The theater manager spoke to his parents and his mother let him take dancing lessons. Once started on a career he expanded his talents to take in singing and acrobatics performing his first back flip at 10. He later added juggling, a magic act, piano, and drums to his talents which made him a regular performer at local clubs. He made his stage debut with a small theater group directed by Lloyd Bridges which in turn led to his film debut in 'The Boy With Green Hair' followed by a part in 'Samson and Delilah' and the title role in 'The Kid From Cleveland. ' He had an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor for 'Peyton Place' receiving high praise from both director Mark Robson and choreographer Michael Kidd who was a close friend of Jerome Robbins who'd worked with Russ on 'Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. ' Summoned for both a dancing and acting screen test with Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins he was cast as Riff the leader of 'The Jets' in the Oscar winning film 'West Side Story. ' In his films up to 1952 he was credited as Rusty Tamblyn and Russ Tamblyn after that.

His standout dance sequence while performing the role of Eric in The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) duplicated some of his dance moves from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and, in fact, added some athletics that went beyond those original moves.

Co-starred with Richard Beymer in West Side Story (1961) and Twin Peaks (1990).

Appeared in both Cinerama movies of 1962: The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962) and How the West Was Won (1962).

Was friends with Dennis Hopper, who introduced him to David Lynch. He expressed an interest in working with Lynch, which led to his role on 'Twin Peaks (1990)(TV)'.

In 1997, he made a one-shot guest appearance on General Hospital (1963) in a song-and-dance sketch that featured his daughter, Amber Tamblyn.

Lives in Santa Monica, California and manages daughter Amber's career. [April 2002]

Appeared in three episodes of Joan of Arcadia (2003) on which his daughter Amber Tamblyn starred: "Night without Stars", "Do the Math" and "Friday Night".

In July 2006, he was a guest at the Western Film Fair in Charlotte, North Carolina along with Ben Murphy, Roger Davis, Steve Kanaly, Marjorie Lord, Coleen Gray, Mark Goddard, Ronnie Schell, Tom Reese and Cheryl Rogers.

Currently writing his autobiography "Dancing On The Edge". [November 2011]