Robert Ryan

Robert Ryan

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.
    Known for
    Acting
    Place of birth
    Chicago, Illinois, USA
    Birthday
    11/11/1909
The Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch
7.6
The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen
7.6
Billy Budd
Billy Budd
7.3
House of Bamboo
House of Bamboo
6.1
The Naked Spur
The Naked Spur
6.9
Clash by Night
Clash by Night
6.6
The Professionals
The Professionals
7.1
On Dangerous Ground
On Dangerous Ground
6.5
Hour of the Gun
Hour of the Gun
6.4
The Racket
The Racket
6.3
Odds Against Tomorrow
Odds Against Tomorrow
6.7
The Longest Day
The Longest Day
7.6
Act of Violence
Act of Violence
6.9
The Outfit
The Outfit
6.8
A New Dimension in Noir: Filming Inferno in 3D
0
The Woman on Pier 13
The Woman on Pier 13
5.3
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
6.9
Crossfire
Crossfire
6.6
Anzio
Anzio
5.8
The Iceman Cometh
The Iceman Cometh
6
Executive Action
Executive Action
6.3
Berlin Express
Berlin Express
6.1
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
0
King of Kings
King of Kings
7.1
Bad Day at Black Rock
Bad Day at Black Rock
7.3
The Busy Body
The Busy Body
7.1
Lawman
Lawman
6.6
The Woman on the Beach
The Woman on the Beach
6
God's Little Acre
God's Little Acre
6.1
Horizons West
Horizons West
5.7
The Tall Men
The Tall Men
6.3
Born to Be Bad
Born to Be Bad
5.8
Caught
Caught
6.5
Beware, My Lovely
Beware, My Lovely
6
The Iron Major
The Iron Major
5.8
Inferno
Inferno
6.2
Day of the Outlaw
Day of the Outlaw
6.8
The Sky's the Limit
The Sky's the Limit
6.1
The Boy with Green Hair
The Boy with Green Hair
6.2
Men in War
Men in War
6.8
Bombardier
Bombardier
5.4
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
0
Back from Eternity
Back from Eternity
6.6
Ice Palace
Ice Palace
5.8
Flying Leathernecks
Flying Leathernecks
5.9
The Set-Up
The Set-Up
7.3
City Beneath the Sea
City Beneath the Sea
5.1
A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die
A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die
6.1
The Secret Fury
The Secret Fury
5.4
Captain Nemo and the Underwater City
Captain Nemo and the Underwater City
5.2
And Hope to Die
And Hope to Die
6.3
The Inheritance
The Inheritance
0
A Regular Bouquet: Mississippi Summer
0
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller
5.8
Lonelyhearts
Lonelyhearts
6.1
Tender Comrade
Tender Comrade
6.2
Gangway for Tomorrow
Gangway for Tomorrow
5.3
Trail Street
Trail Street
6.4
Escape to Burma
Escape to Burma
5.8
About Mrs. Leslie
About Mrs. Leslie
7
The Proud Ones
The Proud Ones
6.4
Best of the Badmen
Best of the Badmen
6.8
Alaska Seas
Alaska Seas
6.2
Lolly-Madonna XXX
Lolly-Madonna XXX
6.1
Her Twelve Men
Her Twelve Men
5.7
Return of the Bad Men
Return of the Bad Men
6.3
The Crooked Road
The Crooked Road
5
The Dirty Game
The Dirty Game
5.8
Behind the Rising Sun
Behind the Rising Sun
5.7
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
7.5
Marine Raiders
Marine Raiders
6.8
The Man Without a Country
The Man Without a Country
6.5
The Canadians
The Canadians
6.5
The Texas Rangers Ride Again
The Texas Rangers Ride Again
5.5
The Reason Why
The Reason Why
0
The Love Machine
The Love Machine
4.2
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
7
Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves
5
The Ghost Breakers
The Ghost Breakers
6.5
The Notorious Lone Wolf
The Notorious Lone Wolf
5.5
North West Mounted Police
North West Mounted Police
6.3
Lincoln's Doctor's Dog
0
Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire
Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire
5.7
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
8
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
0
Custer of the West
Custer of the West
5.8
The House Without a Name
The House Without a Name
0
Hard, Fast and Beautiful
Hard, Fast and Beautiful
5.9
Queen of the Mob
Queen of the Mob
4.5
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
7.3
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