Richard Widmark Net Worth

Richard Widmark's Quotes

• [speaking in 1976] The heavies in my day were kid's stuff compared to today. Our villains had no redeeming qualities. But there's a new morality today. A villain is a guy with a frailty. Heroes are villains.
• The more takes I do, the worse I get.
• [on his giggling psychopathic killer in his debut film Kus des doods (1947)] I'd never seen myself on the screen, and when I did, I wanted to shoot myself. That damn laugh of mine! For two years after that picture, you couldn't get me to smile. I played the part the way I did because the script struck me as funny and the part I played made me laugh, the guy was such a ridiculous beast.
• I suppose I wanted to act in order to have a place in the sun. I'd always lived in small towns, and acting meant having some kind of identity.
• It's weird, the effect actors have on an audience. With the [bad guy] roles I played in those early movies, I found that quite a few people wanted to have a go at me.

Interesting Facts about Richard Widmark

1. Unforgettable in his screen debut in Kus des doods (1947) as Tommy Udo, a psychopathic mob hit man who giggles gleefully even as he shoves a wheelchair-bound old woman, portrayed by Mildred Dunnock, tumbling down a long stairway to her demise.
2. Following his death, he was interred at Roxbury Center Cemetery in Roxbury, Connecticut.
3. Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum (2002).
4. His sole Academy Award nomination was for best actor in a supporting role for Kus des doods (1947) in 1948. Though he had won the Golden Globe Award for the role, he lost the Oscar to Edmund Gwenn in Miracle on 34th Street (1947).
5. Was honored with a retrospective of his films by the Museum of Modern Art (New York, New York). [May 2001]
6. When Kus des doods (1947) was released to theaters in 1947, 20th Century Fox's publicity department encouraged theater owners to "Sell Richard Widmark!" Fox's publicity manual advised theaters to have a local printer make up "Wanted" posters with Widmark's face on them to advertise the film, in which he made his debut. The role was small, but Widmark made this one of the most indelible performances in the history of cinema.
7. His daughter with wife Jean Hazlewood, Anne Heath Widmark, an artist and author, married baseball legend Sandy Koufax on January 1, 1969. Former father-in-law of Sandy Koufax.
8. Has significantly contributed to the preservation of land and nature in his adopted hometown of Roxbury, Connecticut. As one of the founding members of the Roxbury Land Trust, he has tenaciously worked to preserve the pristine character of the Litchfield County town, which has been the longtime home of celebrities the likes of Arthur Miller, Marilyn Monroe, and artist Alexander Calder. Widmark's friend, actor Walter Matthau, also owned property in bucolic Roxbury and at Widmark's urging, Matthau made a generous contribution of property to the trust shortly before his death.
9. At 5' 10", he was one of the shorter leading men of his era.
10. His father was Swedish by descent; his mother was English, Scottish and Irish.
11. In September 1999, Widmark married Susan Blanchard, who was Henry Fonda's third wife. He was the stepfather of Amy Fonda, their adoptive daughter.
12. In fall 2007, he sustained a fractured vertebra after a fall. He died about six months later of complications.
13. After his contract at 20th Century-Fox expired in 1954 after seven years, he deliberately went independent in order to have more artistic control over his films. He formed his own company, Heath Productions.
14. Was not able to see active duty during World War II because of a perforated eardrum, but did serve as an air raid warden and entertained servicemen as a member of the American Theatre Wing.
15. Despite playing heartless killers and bigots on film, he personally denounced all kinds of violence and the usage of guns. He admitted that once he went fishing and regretted the fact he caught a trout and took its life. He also apologized profusely to Sidney Poitier during the shoot of the movie Geen uitweg (1950) after filming scenes together which called for Widmark to spew out racist remarks.
16. Earned several awards in oratory contests while a pre-law student at Lake Forest College. He was also active in the drama department and played the lead in the play "Counselor-at-Law" as a sophomore.
17. President of his high school class. He wrote for the high school newspaper.
18. Born in Sunrise, Minnesota, his father, Carl Widmark, was a general store manager before becoming a traveling salesman. The family eventually settled in Princeton, Illinois, where his father owned a downstairs bakery.
19. Spent his later years divided between a ranch in Hidden Valley, California, and a farm in Connecticut.
20. John Wayne/Richard Widmark is the sign/countersign used by soldiers holding the Alamo in Viva Max (1969).