Lawrence Tierney

Infobox actor


caption = Tierney in "Born to Kill", 1947
birthdate = birth date|1919|03|15
birthplace = Brooklyn, New York
deathdate = death date and age|2002|02|26|1919|03|15
deathplace = Los Angeles, California

Lawrence Tierney (March 15, 1919 – February 26, 2002) was an American actor. Known as a gangster actor, Lawrence's most memorable parts may have been the title role in "Dillinger", and the role of Joe Cabot in Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" (1992) almost fifty years later.

Biography

Early life

Tierney was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Mary and Lawrence Tierney, a policeman. [ [http://www.what-a-character.com/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=982796343 What A Character! ] ] He earned an athletic scholarship to Manhattan College, but he dropped out and traveled around the country, bouncing from job to job. In 1943, RKO studios signed Tierney to a contract when a talent scout spotted him among members of the American-Irish Theater.

Career

Early in his career, he appeared in supporting roles in films, including "The Ghost Ship" and "The Falcon Out West". His starring role in the popular "Dillinger" led to him playing other tough-guy characters in such films such as "San Quentin", "The Devil Thumbs a Ride", and "Born to Kill." He also played the villain in Cecil B. DeMille's 1952 best-picture Oscar-winner, "The Greatest Show on Earth."

Tierney had a habit of getting into drunken fights, which earned him numerous arrests and convictions. [ [http://www.eddiemuller.com/tierney.html The Big Leak: An Uneasy Evening with the Noir Legend Lawrence Tierney ] ] His run-ins with the law took a toll on his career. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he was rarely part of movies at all, though he managed to make some television appearances such as "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour". He lived primarily in New York City and for many years worked in construction. He returned to Hollywood in late 1983 and rekindled his acting career by guest-starring on television shows such as "Remington Steele", "Fame", "Hunter", "Seinfeld", ', ' and "The Simpsons". Tierney made a number of appearances on "Hill Street Blues" and in fact uttered the last line of the last episode of the series. In 1984 he appeared in a national campaign of an Excedrin commercial playing a construction worker.

In 1985, Tierney appeared in a small speaking role as the chief of police of New York City in John Huston's film "Prizzi's Honor", and had a more substantial supporting role in Norman Mailer's movie adaptation of his novel "Tough Guys Don't Dance" (1987), playing the father of protagonist Ryan O'Neal. It is Tierney who delivers the lines that explain the title. He has been diagnosed with cancer, and is dying. The doctors have told him he needs to take up physical activity, such as dancing. "I told 'em: 'Tough guys don't dance.'" He also had a role in the Stephen King adaptation of "Silver Bullet" where he played a baseball bat-wielding bar owner.

His brother was actor Scott Brady. His nephew is film director and actor Michael Tierney. At age 82, Tierney died in Los Angeles of pneumonia. He had battled alcoholism for many years.

Experiences of Tierney's career

In 1988, Tierney played the role of a tough holodeck gangster in an episode [ [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/The_Big_Goodbye The Big Goodbye - Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki ] ] of "". In between scenes Tierney encountered the teenage Wil Wheaton on the steps outside Paramount Stage 16 [ [http://flickr.com/photos/wilwheaton/532777874/in/set-72157600317620038 Stage 16 sur Flickr : partage de photos ! ] ] and asked him if he played football. When Wheaton replied that he didn't, Tierney responded by saying "Why the hell not? What are you, some kind of sissy faggot?". When Wheaton replied that he was not strong enough to play football, Tierney said "Well, maybe you wouldn't be so weak if you played football!". [ [http://suicidegirls.com/news/geek/21532/ SuicideGirls > News > Geek > Wil Wheaton's Geek in Review: The Big Goodbye, Part Two: Journey's End ] ]

When he guest-starred on "Seinfeld" (1990) in "The Jacket" episode as Elaine's father, Alton Benes, he scared the cast so badly that they never had him back on. He stole a butcher knife from Jerry's TV kitchen and hid it under his jacket. When Seinfeld confronted him about it (much to the dismay of the entire cast), Tierney made a stabbing motion towards Jerry as in reference to the movie "Psycho" (1960). [ [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04328/415976.stm Jerry's gang is back: First three seasons of 'Seinfeld' arrive on DVD ] ]

In 1991, Quentin Tarantino cast him as Joe Cabot in the film "Reservoir Dogs". The success of the film put bookends on Lawrence's career as a gangster actor. During the film, Cabot reports that one of his henchmen was "dead as Dillinger" [ [http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Guardian/0,4029,659924,00.html Lawrence Tierney | News | Guardian Unlimited Film ] ] - a line inserted by Tarantino as an "in-joke" and reference to Tierney's first major film role. During the production of Reservoir Dogs, Tierney's off screen antics both amused and disturbed the cast and crew. Director Quentin Tarantino told that he almost got in a fight with Tierney during the filming.

In the audio commentary for "The Simpsons" episode "Marge Be Not Proud", the producers describe what happened when Tierney came in to record the voice over for his character Don Brodka. Showrunner Josh Weinstein called it "the craziest guest star experience we ever had." In addition to yelling at and intimidating employees of the show, Tierney made unreasonable requests such as abandoning his distinctive voice to do the part in a southern accent and refusing to perform lines if he did not get the jokes. After his death, the episode "The Old Man and the Key" was dedicated to him.

Filmography

*"Armageddon" (1998) (uncredited) as Harry Stamper's father
*"2 Days in the Valley" (1996) as Older Man
*"The Simpsons" episode "Marge Be Not Proud" (1995) as Det. Don Brodka, store security officer
*"Red" (1993)
*"" (1993) as the Regent ("Business As Usual")
*"Reservoir Dogs" (1992)
*"Eddie Presley" (1992) as Joe West
*"Seinfeld" episode "The Jacket" (1991) as Alton Benes, Elaine's gruff father
*"The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!" (1988)
*"Tough Guys Don't Dance" (1987)
*"" (1987) as Cyrus Redblock, a mobster in a holodeck fantasy ("The Big Goodbye")
*"Prizzi's Honor" (1985)
*"Arthur" (1981)
*"Gloria" (1980)
*"Female Jungle" (1954)
*"The Hoodlum" (1951)
*"The Devil Thumbs a Ride" (1947)
*"Born to Kill" (1947)
*"Back to Bataan" (1945)
*"Dillinger" (1945)
*"The Falcon Out West" (1944) (uncredited)

References

External links

*imdb name | id=0862937 | name=Lawrence Tierney
* [http://toddmecklem.com/tierney.html Todd Mecklem's Tierney tribute]
* [http://www.eddiemuller.com/tierney.html Essay on Tierney] by writer Eddie Muller