🌠 Star Profile: Richard Widmark

"He was a damn good actor."-Karl Malden on his close friend Richard Weedt Widmark.

Widmark was born on this day in 1914 in Sunrise Township, Minnesota.

I have always been intrigued by Widmark's incredible talent as an actor since I first saw him with Marilyn Monroe in the 1952 film noir, Don't Bother to Knock. I might have had a little crush on him back then, and I still feel that way! Later, I watched his iconic film, Kiss of Death from 1947. His skill in transforming into various roles, whether as a villain or a hero, highlights his amazing ability. What really attracts me to Widmark is his captivating presence on screen and his natural charm, similar to that of his favorite actor, Spencer Tracy.

Through his 74-film career spanning six decades, he brought authenticity to every role, whether playing a conniving pickpocket or a distinguished sea captain. Like a master craftsman, Widmark elevated every film he appeared in, making him one of Hollywood's most reliable and talented performers.

“I learned more from watching Tracy than from any acting school, ’cause I saw everything he did from the time he started. He was amazing—hard to match. He was just as good when he was young as he was when he got older.” 

What makes Widmark particularly remarkable is his chameleon ability to disappear into his characters. Whether in westerns, film noir, comedies, thrillers or dramatic pieces, he demonstrated an extraordinary range that few actors could match.

 

Born to Swedish, English, and Scottish parents, he developed a love for storytelling and performance. A childhood mastoid surgery caused hearing loss in his left ear, leading to his rejection from military service in World War II due to a perforated eardrum.

Richard, Mother Ethel Mae and brother Donnie

with little brother Donnie

Widmark excelled academically and athletically, eventually teaching speech and drama at Lake Forest College. His fascination with movies began at a very early age. His grandmother Mary Barr, who cared for him daily, would take him to the cinema at least three times every week starting at the age of three years old.

High Schooler

"I always loved westerns. I was a movie nut from a very early age.. I had a wee Scottish grandmother who started taking me to movies at age 3! I wanted so badly to be in them. When I was doing radio in New York, I would sneak off to see a movie whenever I had some spare time at night.”

His distinctive voice, led to his success in radio, where he captivated audiences. 

Widmark's Broadway performances caught the attention of 20th Century Fox, resulting in a seven-year contract and his rise to stardom.

 "When I finally came to Hollywood I thought I was in seventh heaven."

Widmark's entrance into the film industry in the movie Kiss of Death (1947) remains a significant highlight in the history of film noir. 

 

Victor Mature and Coleen Gray find themselves intimidated by Widmark in Kiss of Death (1947).

This debut is especially remarkable, as it was defined by a memorable scene shot on the very first day of filming. Portraying the role of the psychotic gangster Udo, Widmark's maniacal laughter echoed through the scene as he pushed an elderly woman, played by Millie Dunnock, down the stairs. 

 

Whoops, down you go!

This act shocked audiences with its raw violence and sadistic glee. Despite director Henry Hathaway's initial doubts about his clean-cut appearance, producer Darryl Zanuck saw potential in Widmark's intense demeanor. 

Upon receiving the script to portray Tommy Duo, the psychopathic gangster, he reflected on the experience,

"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 was doing 'Inner Sanctum' on radio at the same time, and I remember reading the 'Kiss of Death' script to some of the guys and saying, 'Hey, get a load of this!' and I'd laugh, it was so funny."

"I wouldn't give you the skin off a grape."

He recalls his first experience with Hathaway, 

“Henry didn’t want me in the worst way. It was a very small part—I only worked for a few days. The first week I was working—oh, he was giving me a terrible time. On the set, he was very inarticulate. Part of it was frustration—he couldn’t get over what he wanted from the actors, and he’d go crazy, even with old friends, like Cooper in Garden of Evil—he’d scream at him. Anyway, Henry embarrassed the hell out of me in front of a lot of my friends who were doing extra work and so forth. And I said, To hell with this. So I pushed everyone aside and I left. It was lunchtime. I was walking down the street, and I was going to take the train home to Bronxville—I’d had enough of the movies. Henry’s assistant came running after me, and he said, Come have lunch with Henry. And I said, I don’t want to do anything like this. I’m out. But I went to lunch with Henry and his assistant and I sat there, and nobody said anything. It was just a quiet lunch. And we went back and picked up where we left off.  After that, Henry left me alone. As most bullies do, when the time comes, they see that it doesn’t work. Henry and I became fast friends. We made six pictures together, and I was a pallbearer at his funeral.”

 

 

His portrayal shattered postwar cinematic norms, merging explosive brutality with psychological complexity. But off-screen, he was a gentleman of the old school, proving that his malevolent performance was sheer acting brilliance. 

In 1948, he received a nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Kiss of Death (1947). Although he won the Golden Globe Award for the role, he ultimately lost the Oscar to Edmund Gwenn for his work in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). 

From the outset, he infused his characters with a sense of ambiguous tension, portraying minds that were constantly grappling with complex dilemmas. 

Widmark enthralled audiences with his portrayal of various characters. Here are some of the roles he has played.

In Road House (1948), he played a murderously jealous café owner, and in  Slattery's Hurricane (1949), he was a daredevil pilot navigating a storm. His role as a racist punk in No Way Out (1950) saw him spewing vile epithets.That same year, he portrayed a doctor combating bubonic plague in Elia Kazan's Panic in the Streets and one of my other favorite performances is his powerful role as a small-time criminal in London's underworld in Night and the City.

with Ida Lupino in Road House (1948)

 

with Linda Darnell, Veronica Lake & John Russell in Slattery's Hurricane (1949)

with Barbara Bel Geddes in Panic in the Streets (1950)

with Sidney Poitier in No Way Out (1950)

with Gene Tierney in Night and the City (1950)

Night and the City (1950)

 

He portrayed numerous villains early in his screen career, making it challenging for audiences to differentiate between his real persona and the vile characters he played.

"It's weird the effect actors have on an audience. With the roles I played in those early movies, I found that quite a few people wanted to have a go at me. I remember walking down the street in a small town and this lady coming up and slapping me. 'Here, take that, you little squirt,' she said. Another time I was having dinner in a restaurant when this big guy came over and knocked me right out of my chair."

His dynamic range extended to playing a troubled man entangled with Marilyn Monroe’s crazed babysitter in Don't Bother to Knock (1952) and a loyal pickpocket in Pickup on South Street (1953). In The Cobweb (1955), he led a psychiatric clinic where the staff's emotional disturbances rivaled those of the patients. His search for answers drove him in Backlash (1956), a film-noir western.

with Marilyn Monroe in Don't Bother to Knock (1952)

 

with Jean Peters in Pickup at South Street (1953)

with Gloria Grahame in The Cobweb (1955)

with Donna Reed in Backlash (1956)

My original vintage, theatrical French movie poster from 1956 for Backlash.

 

He also tried his hand at television when he made his debut as himself in the episode “The Tour” of I Love Lucy on April 14, 1955. In this episode, Lucy and Ethel go on a bus tour of Hollywood homes and decide to stop in front of Richard Widmark’s house to pick up a souvenir grapefruit, but she ends up falling into his yard! Lucy finds several spots to hide in his house.

 

 

 

 “There are three guys I would work with at the drop of a hat – Spencer Tracy, James Stewart and Henry Fonda.”

 

 

After his Fox contract ended, Widmark sought creative independence, founding Heath Productions. Through this, he produced and starred in Karl Malden directed Time Limit (1957), a Cold War thriller The Secret Ways (1961), and The Bedford Incident, showcasing his commitment to artistic control and diverse storytelling.

 

He captivated audiences as the Dauphin in Saint Joan (1957), where he supported Joan Seberg's portrayal of Joan of Arc.  

 

 

 

Demonstrated his comedic prowess opposite Doris Day in The Tunnel of Love (1959).

He took on the historical figure Jim Bowie in John Wayne's epic The Alamo (1960).

On his first meeting with John Wayne at a party at the home of the legendary cowboy star Harry Carey,

"Wayne had a bit to drink, and I had just finished a film where I did a lot of laughing. He looked over and said, ‘Well, here comes that laughing sonofabitch.’ That’s how our relationship began. We worked well together as colleagues, but we weren’t really close friends. He had different political views, and I was from New York. He didn’t like people from New York. But I always admired Duke as the definitive westerner – he just is the western. We never socialized but, professionally, we got along great.”

 

His role as an American army colonel prosecuting German war criminals in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) highlighted his ability to tackle complex, intense characters. 

with Maximilian Schell in Judgment in Nuremberg (1961)

Teaming up with Jimmy Stewart, Widmark excelled in John Ford's Two Rode Together (1961).

He portrayed an army captain in the revisionist western Cheyenne Autumn (1964), in which he risked his career to support the Indians.

Transitioning seamlessly between genres, he played an FBI agent in Rollercoaster (1977).

with George Segal in Rollercoaster (1977)

And he played a villainous anesthesiologist in Coma (1978). 

with Geneviève Bujold in Coma (1978)

He had a defining role in Madigan (1968), which inspired the TV series Madigan (1972-1973). 

 

 

TNT's Cold Sassy Tree (1989) was his last television appearance, where he received critical acclaim for his portrayal of an elderly general-store owner who stuns his small Southern community by revealing his marriage to a significantly younger woman. His last role was in the drama True Colors in 1991.

with Faye Dunaway in Cold Sassy Tree (1989)

 

 

with Imogen Stubbs & Dina Merrill in True Colors (1991)

 

Although he portrayed ruthless characters in films, he was a strong opponent of violence and gun use in real life. He once expressed regret after catching a trout while fishing, reflecting on the life he took. During the filming of No Way Out (1950), he sincerely apologized to Sidney Poitier for delivering racist lines, which he found distasteful.

“I was playing this horrible part. I didn’t didn’t want to play it because the character was an awful racist. But I’m glad I did it because I met Sidney Poitier.”

He had a love for literature, nature, and history, and his peers often considered him a true gentleman who valued professionalism and friendship. He was dedicated to his work but also focused on maintaining a balanced life outside the limelight.

 

“I don’t care how well known an actor is - he can still live a normal life, if he wants to. I still believe it. That’s the trouble with actors. If they’re not recognized, they think it’s all over.”

"I guess I’ve always been the kind of a guy they call a ‘loner.’ Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been that way. It’s hard for me to let people get inside me. I always try to hold them off at a distance. The first person I ever let see my inner self was my wife. She was the only one I ever felt at ease with. And still, I went with her for seven years before we got married. As long as I can remember I’ve never been able to break down and reveal myself to other people. How did I get this way? Maybe I need a head doctor. I suppose somewhere along the line I was hurt by somebody, and ever since then I’ve been wary of people. I’m not the kind of guy who can slap people on the back and be buddies with them right off, and I distrust people who can. I suppose it’s partly inherited too. My father’s family is Swedish and Swedes are traditionally stand-offish until they get to know you.”-Motion Picture And TV Magazine, September, 1954

 

 

with his wife screenwriter Ora Jean Hazlewood

He shared with New York Times reporter Aljean Harmetz that he had never been unfaithful, stating, 

“I happen to like my wife a lot.”

 

He lost his passion for acting after the passing of his high school sweetheart and wife of 55 years, screenwriter Ora Jean Hazlewood, who wrote the screenplay for his directorial debut, The Secret Ways. She succumbed to Alzheimer's disease in March 1997. They had a daughter, Anne, who was married to Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax.

 

 

Two and a half years later, he married Susan Blanchard, a longtime friend and the ex-wife of Henry Fonda, in 1999. In his later years, he split his time between a ranch in Hidden Valley, California, and a farm in Connecticut.

 "A lot of actors don't know what to do with themselves when they retire; they have no other life. Me, I love just living. I read a lot, play tennis, work outside, see friends."

His favorite movies were Lost Horizon, To Be Or Not To Be, and Some Like It Hot and anything by Alfred Hitchcock. When someone asked him which movie director he wished he could have worked with, but never got the opportunity.

“Hitchcock. Yeah, I would have liked to have made a movie with Hitchcock, and I never did.”

 

 

Widmark collaborated with actor Sidney Poitier in three films. They first crossed paths during the making of No Way Out. As Poitier was finding his footing in Hollywood, Widmark made a special effort to extend warmth and hospitality. 

“He was the first person in this town to invite me to dinner. I was always grateful for that…He chose to let me know that I was welcome.”

Years later, when Widmark received the prestigious D.W. Griffith Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990, Poitier made the journey from New York City to California specifically to honor him with the presentation. 

Speaking about Richard, he remarked that “the generosity of spirit that lights his way will also warm your heart.”

Poitier replied: “For you I would have walked.”

with Sidney Poitier

During interviews in his later life, he was frequently asked about his first role in Kiss of Death, 

"It's a bit rough priding oneself that one isn't too bad an actor and then finding one's only remembered for a giggle."

In his final years, his health worsened due to a fall in 2007. He died on March 24, 2008, in Roxbury, Connecticut, at the age of 93.

Poitier's statement about his passing,

"He left his mark as a very fine actor. His creative work is indelible on film and will be there to remind us of what he was as an artist and a human being."

Karl Malden, who first met Widmark in New York when they were both hustling for radio work in the early 1940s and later appeared in five movies with him, said, 

"He knew what he was doing, he could do it well, and he hated anyone he worked with who wasn't prepared because he came ready to go. I lost a dear friend, and there are no other friends like him."

Widmark with Karl Malden in Take the High Ground! (1953)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Widmark’s talent for playing complex characters has inspired many actors, like Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. His detailed performances in film noir set a high bar for the genre, shaping its development over time. Directors such as Martin Scorsese have mentioned Widmark’s work as a major influence on their stories and character creation.

 

Because of his contributions to movies, Widmark has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2002, he was added to the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

 

 
"I always wanted to make movies. I have no regrets. 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."