RR
Robert Ryan
Actor
Died July 11, 1973 (63 years)
Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains.
Ryan was born in Chicago, Illinois, the first child of Timothy Ryan and his wife Mabel Bushnell Ryan. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1932, having held the school's heavyweight boxing title all four years of his attendance. After graduation, the 6'4" Ryan found employment as a stoker on a ship, a WPA worker, and a ranch hand in Montana.
Ryan attempted to make a career in show business as a playwright, but had to turn to acting to support himself. He studied acting in Hollywood and appeared on stage and in small film parts during the early 1940s.
In January 1944, after securing a contract guarantee from RKO Radio Pictures, Ryan enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served as a drill instructor at Camp Pendleton, in San Diego, California. At Camp Pendleton, he befriended writer and future director Richard Brooks, whose novel, The Brick Foxhole, he greatly admired. He also took up painting.
Ryan's breakthrough film role was as an anti-Semitic killer in Crossfire (1947), a film noir based on Brooks's novel. The role won Ryan his sole career Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor. From then on, Ryan's specialty was tough/tender roles, finding particular expression in the films of directors such as Nicholas Ray, Robert Wise and Sam Fuller. In Ray's On Dangerous Ground (1951) he portrayed a burnt-out city cop finding redemption while solving a rural murder. In Wise's The Set-Up (1949), he played an over-the-hill boxer who is brutally punished for refusing to take a dive. Other important films were Anthony Mann's western The Naked Spur, Sam Fuller's uproarious Japanese set gangland thriller House of Bamboo, Bad Day at Black Rock, and the socially conscious heist movie Odds Against Tomorrow. He also appeared in several all-star war films, including The Longest Day (1962) and Battle of the Bulge (1965), and The Dirty Dozen. He also played John the Baptist in MGM's Technicolor epic King of Kings (1961) and was the villainous Claggart in Peter Ustinov's adaptation of Billy Budd (1962).
In his later years, Ryan continued playing significant roles in major films. Most notable of these were The Dirty Dozen, The Professionals (1966) and Sam Peckinpah's highly influential brutal western The Wild Bunch (1969).
Ryan appeared several times on the Broadway stage. His credits there include Clash by Night, Mr. President and The Front Page, the comedy drama about newspapermen.
He appeared in many television series as a guest star, including the role of Franklin Hoppy-Hopp in the 1964 episode "Who Chopped Down the Cherry Tree?" on the NBC medical drama about psychiatry, The Eleventh Hour. Similarly, he guest starred as Lloyd Osment in the 1964 episode "Better Than a Dead Lion" in the ABC psychiatric series, Breaking Point. In 1964, Ryan appeared with Warren Oates in the episode "No Comment" of CBS's short-lived drama about newspapers, The Reporter, starring Harry Guardino in the title role of journalist Danny Taylor. Ryan appeared five times (1956–1959) on CBS's Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater and twice (1959 and 1961) on the Zane Grey spin-off Frontier Justice. He appeared three times (1962–1964) on the western Wagon Train.
Ryan was born in Chicago, Illinois, the first child of Timothy Ryan and his wife Mabel Bushnell Ryan. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1932, having held the school's heavyweight boxing title all four years of his attendance. After graduation, the 6'4" Ryan found employment as a stoker on a ship, a WPA worker, and a ranch hand in Montana.
Ryan attempted to make a career in show business as a playwright, but had to turn to acting to support himself. He studied acting in Hollywood and appeared on stage and in small film parts during the early 1940s.
In January 1944, after securing a contract guarantee from RKO Radio Pictures, Ryan enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served as a drill instructor at Camp Pendleton, in San Diego, California. At Camp Pendleton, he befriended writer and future director Richard Brooks, whose novel, The Brick Foxhole, he greatly admired. He also took up painting.
Ryan's breakthrough film role was as an anti-Semitic killer in Crossfire (1947), a film noir based on Brooks's novel. The role won Ryan his sole career Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor. From then on, Ryan's specialty was tough/tender roles, finding particular expression in the films of directors such as Nicholas Ray, Robert Wise and Sam Fuller. In Ray's On Dangerous Ground (1951) he portrayed a burnt-out city cop finding redemption while solving a rural murder. In Wise's The Set-Up (1949), he played an over-the-hill boxer who is brutally punished for refusing to take a dive. Other important films were Anthony Mann's western The Naked Spur, Sam Fuller's uproarious Japanese set gangland thriller House of Bamboo, Bad Day at Black Rock, and the socially conscious heist movie Odds Against Tomorrow. He also appeared in several all-star war films, including The Longest Day (1962) and Battle of the Bulge (1965), and The Dirty Dozen. He also played John the Baptist in MGM's Technicolor epic King of Kings (1961) and was the villainous Claggart in Peter Ustinov's adaptation of Billy Budd (1962).
In his later years, Ryan continued playing significant roles in major films. Most notable of these were The Dirty Dozen, The Professionals (1966) and Sam Peckinpah's highly influential brutal western The Wild Bunch (1969).
Ryan appeared several times on the Broadway stage. His credits there include Clash by Night, Mr. President and The Front Page, the comedy drama about newspapermen.
He appeared in many television series as a guest star, including the role of Franklin Hoppy-Hopp in the 1964 episode "Who Chopped Down the Cherry Tree?" on the NBC medical drama about psychiatry, The Eleventh Hour. Similarly, he guest starred as Lloyd Osment in the 1964 episode "Better Than a Dead Lion" in the ABC psychiatric series, Breaking Point. In 1964, Ryan appeared with Warren Oates in the episode "No Comment" of CBS's short-lived drama about newspapers, The Reporter, starring Harry Guardino in the title role of journalist Danny Taylor. Ryan appeared five times (1956–1959) on CBS's Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater and twice (1959 and 1961) on the Zane Grey spin-off Frontier Justice. He appeared three times (1962–1964) on the western Wagon Train.
Movies & Shows on Plex
Known For
Filmography
| 2017 | The Green Fog · as Nick Bradley |
| 2011 | These Amazing Shadows · as Thornton |
| 2009 | The Rules of Film Noir · as Jim Wilson |
| 2005 | Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That · as Brad Carlton |
| 2003 | Monster House (TV Series) |
| 2002 | The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller · as Sandy Dawson (archive Footage) (uncredited) |
| 1973 | The Iceman Cometh · as Larry Slade |
| 1973 | Executive Action · as Foster |
| 1973 | The Outfit · as Mailer |
| 1973 | The Man Without a Country · as Lt. Cmdr. Vaughan |
| 1973 | Lolly-Madonna XXX · as Pap Gutshall |
| 1972 | ...And Hope to Die · as Charley |
| 1971 | The Love Machine · as Gregory 'greg' Austin |
| 1971 | Lawman · as Sabbath Marshal Cotton Ryan |
| 1969 | Captain Nemo and the Underwater City · as Captain Nemo |
| 1969 | The Wild Bunch · as Deke Thornton |
| 1968 | Anzio · as Gen. Carson |
| 1967 | A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die · as New Mexico Gov. Lem Carter |
| 1967 | Custer of the West · as Mulligan |
| 1967 | Hour of the Gun · as Ike Clanton |
| 1967 | The Dirty Dozen · as Col. Everett Dasher Breed |
| 1967 | The Busy Body · as Charley Barker |
| 1966 | The Professionals · as Ehrengard |
| 1965 | Battle of the Bulge · as General Grey |
| 1965 | The Secret Agents · as General Bruce |
| 1965 | The Crooked Road · as Richard Ashley |
| 1964 | World War One (TV Series) · as Narrator |
| 1963 | Kraft Suspense Theatre (TV Series) · as Thomas Bollington |
| 1963 | Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theatre (TV Series) |
| 1963 | Breaking Point (TV Series) · as Lloyd Osment |
| 1962 | The Eleventh Hour (TV Series) · as Franklin 'hoppy' Hopp |
| 1962 | The Longest Day · as Brig. Gen. James M. Gavin |
| 1962 | Billy Budd · as John Claggart, Master Of Arms |
| 1961 | King of Kings · as John The Baptist |
| 1961 | The Canadians · as Inspector William Gannon |
| 1960 | Ice Palace · as Thor Storm |
| 1959 | Odds Against Tomorrow · as Earle Slater |
| 1959 | Day of the Outlaw · as Blaise Starrett |
| 1958 | Lonelyhearts · as William Shrike |
| 1958 | God's Little Acre · as Ty Ty Walden |
| 1957 | Alcoa Theatre (TV Series) · as Mike Ripetti |
| 1957 | Goodyear Theatre (TV Series) · as Frank Berry |
| 1957 | Wagon Train (TV Series) · as Bob Stuart |
| 1957 | Men in War · as Lt. Benson |
| 1957 | Mr. Adams and Eve (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1956 | Zane Grey Theater (TV Series) · as Matt Jessop |
| 1956 | Playhouse 90 (TV Series) · as Jay Gatsby |
| 1956 | Back from Eternity · as Bill Lonagan |
| 1956 | The Proud Ones · as Marshal Cass Silver |
| 1955 | The Tall Men · as Nathan Stark |
| 1955 | Screen Directors Playhouse (TV Series) · as President Abraham Lincoln |
| 1955 | House of Bamboo · as Sandy Dawson |
| 1955 | Escape to Burma · as Jim Brecan |
| 1955 | Bad Day at Black Rock · as Reno Smith |
| 1954 | Her Twelve Men · as Joe Hargrave |
| 1954 | About Mrs. Leslie · as George Leslie |
| 1954 | Alaska Seas · as Matt Kelly |
| 1953 | Inferno · as Donald Whitley Carson Iii |
| 1953 | City Beneath the Sea · as Brad Carlton |
| 1953 | The Naked Spur · as Ben Vandergroat |
| 1952 | Horizons West · as Dan Hammond |
| 1952 | Beware, My Lovely · as Howard Wilton |
| 1952 | Clash by Night · as Earl Pfeiffer |
| 1951 | On Dangerous Ground · as Jim Wilson |
| 1951 | The Racket · as Nick Scanlon |
| 1951 | Flying Leathernecks · as Capt. Carl 'griff' Griffin |
| 1951 | Best of the Badmen · as Jeff Clanton |
| 1951 | Hard, Fast and Beautiful! · as Seabright Tennis Match Spectator (uncredited) |
| 1950 | Born to Be Bad · as Nick Bradley |
| 1950 | The Secret Fury · as David Mclean |
| 1949 | The Woman on Pier 13 · as Bradley Collins / Frank Johnson |
| 1949 | The Set-Up · as Stoker |
| 1949 | Caught · as Smith Ohlrig |
| 1948 | Act of Violence · as Joe Parkson |
| 1948 | The Boy with Green Hair · as Dr. Evans |
| 1948 | Return of the Bad Men · as Sundance Kid |
| 1948 | Berlin Express · as Robert Lindley |
| 1947 | Crossfire · as Montgomery |
| 1947 | The Woman on the Beach · as Scott Burnett |
| 1947 | Trail Street · as Allen Harper |
| 1946 | The Notorious Lone Wolf · as Plainclothesman (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Marine Raiders · as Capt. Dan Craig |
| 1943 | Tender Comrade · as Chris Jones |
| 1943 | Gangway for Tomorrow · as Joe Dunham |
| 1943 | The Iron Major · as Father Timothy 'tim' Donovan |
| 1943 | Behind the Rising Sun · as Lefty O'doyle |
| 1943 | The Sky's the Limit · as Reginald Fenton |
| 1943 | Bombardier · as Joe Connors |
| 1940 | Texas Rangers Ride Again · as Eddie (uncredited) |
| 1940 | North West Mounted Police · as Constable Dumont |
| 1940 | Golden Gloves · as Pete Wells |
| 1940 | Queen of the Mob · as Jim |
| 1940 | The Ghost Breakers · as Intern (uncredited) |