Lawrence Tierney facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lawrence Tierney
Tierney in the trailer for Dillinger (1945), his first starring role
Born	Lawrence James Tierney (1919-03-15)March 15, 1919 New York City, U.S.
Died	February 26, 2002(2002-02-26) (aged 82) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1943–1999
Children	1
Relatives	Scott Brady (brother)

Lawrence James Tierney (born March 15, 1919 – died February 26, 2002) was an American actor. He was famous for playing tough characters like mobsters in movies and on TV. His acting career lasted over 50 years. A film critic once said he was "not so much an actor as a frightening force of nature."

Early Life and Education

Lawrence James Tierney was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, on March 15, 1919. His father was a policeman. Lawrence was a great athlete at Boys' High School. He won awards for track and field sports.

After high school, he received a scholarship to Manhattan College because of his athletic skills. But he left college after two years. He worked for a while building part of the Delaware Aqueduct. This aqueduct helps supply water to New York City. Later, he traveled around the country and even worked as a model for Sears Roebuck & Company catalogs.

Acting Career Begins

Lawrence Tierney started his acting journey after a coach suggested he try the stage. He joined a theater group called Black Friars. Then he moved to the American-Irish Theatre. In 1943, a talent scout from RKO saw him there. This led to him getting a film contract in Hollywood, California.

In 1943 and 1944, Tierney appeared in several movies without being listed in the credits. These films included Gildersleeve on Broadway, Government Girl, and The Ghost Ship.

Becoming a Star in Dillinger

Tierney's big break came in 1945 when he starred as the 1930s bank robber John Dillinger. This movie was simply called Dillinger. It was made by the King Brothers and Monogram Pictures.

The movie was advertised as a story "written in bullets, blood, and blondes." Some cities, like Chicago, where Dillinger had been active, first banned the movie. Dillinger was a low-budget film, costing only $60,000 to make. But it became very popular. Tierney's performance was described as "memorably menacing."

After Dillinger became a success, RKO promoted Tierney to a starring actor. In 1946, he starred in Step by Step, a film noir where he played an ex-Marine wrongly accused of murder. He then starred as a former prison inmate in San Quentin (1946).

The next year, he played the lead in two more RKO films. These movies, The Devil Thumbs a Ride and Born to Kill, are now popular with film noir fans. Even though Born to Kill got bad reviews at first, many critics now admire Tierney's strong acting in it. It is seen as a classic example of film noir.

Tierney once said he didn't like playing such violent characters. He felt he was a "nice guy" and didn't want to do "rotten things" on screen.

After Born to Kill, Tierney sometimes played more sympathetic characters. In RKO's 1948 film Bodyguard, he played a man wrongly accused of murder.

After RKO Pictures

In 1950, Tierney starred in Kill or Be Killed. He also had a supporting role in Shakedown that year. In 1951, he returned to a starring role in The Hoodlum. He then went back to RKO for a supporting role, playing Jesse James again in Best of the Badmen (1951).

After co-starring in The Bushwhackers (1952), director Cecil B. DeMille cast him as the villain in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). This movie won an Oscar for Best Picture. Tierney's performance led to an offer from Paramount Pictures. However, the studio dropped the offer after he faced some difficulties.

More Supporting Roles and Stage Work

For the rest of the 1950s, Tierney continued to take supporting roles. He appeared in films like The Steel Cage (1954) and Singing in the Dark (1956). He also shared top billing in the film noir Female Jungle (1956). As movie offers slowed down, he returned to the stage. He played Duke Mantee in a traveling play called The Petrified Forest.

Television Appearances

During the 1950s and 1960s, Tierney had many guest roles on TV shows. These included Naked City, The Detectives, Peter Gunn, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

His film roles during this time included A Child Is Waiting (1963) and Custer of the West (1967). After working on A Child is Waiting, he moved to France for several years. When he returned to New York City, he worked as a bartender, a construction worker, and even drove a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park.

1970s and 1980s Roles

In the 1970s, Tierney found occasional film work. He appeared as a security guard in Such Good Friends (1971) and as an FBI agent in Abduction (1975). He also had small roles in Gloria (1980) and The Prowler (1981). He was also in The Kirlian Witness (1980) and Arthur (1981). In 1982, he was second-billed in the horror film Midnight.

Return to Hollywood and Later Career

In December 1983, Tierney moved back to Los Angeles. For the next 16 years, he had a successful acting career in film and television. He guest-starred on TV shows like Remington Steele, Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and The Simpsons. A producer for The Simpsons called his appearance "the craziest guest star experience we ever had."

In 1985, Tierney had a small role as a police chief in Prizzi's Honor. He also appeared on Hill Street Blues as Desk Sergeant Jenkins. He even spoke the very last line of dialogue in the series' final episode.

Tierney had a bigger supporting role as the father of the main character in Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987). He also played a bar owner in the film Silver Bullet. Tierney felt that Tough Guys Don't Dance helped restart his acting career. In 1988, he played a tough gangster character named Cyrus Redblock in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Big Goodbye". In 1991, he guest-starred as Elaine Benes's father, Alton Benes, in the Seinfeld episode "The Jacket".

Reservoir Dogs and Final Roles

In 1991, director Quentin Tarantino cast Tierney as crime boss Joe Cabot in Reservoir Dogs. This successful film brought Tierney's career of playing gangsters full circle. During filming, Tierney's behavior sometimes caused challenges for the cast and crew. At one point, Tarantino even decided to replace him. However, his co-star Harvey Keitel helped smooth things over, and filming was completed. Tierney later apologized to Tarantino.

Despite his reputation for being difficult, Tierney remained in demand as a character actor. In 1995, he had a mild stroke, which caused him to slow down his career. He had also suffered a stroke in 1982. He started doing voice-over work for animated movies and made occasional appearances in films and on TV. His health slowly declined until his death.

One of Tierney's last roles was a small, uncredited appearance as Bruce Willis's father in Armageddon (1998). This scene was later cut from the movie shown in theaters. His final acting role was a small part in the 1999 independent film Evicted. He was 80 years old when he retired from acting.

Personal Life and Passing

Lawrence Tierney chose not to marry during his life. However, he did have a daughter named Elizabeth, who was born in 1961.

Both of Tierney's younger brothers passed away before him. Edward died in 1983, and Gerard, who was also an actor known as Scott Brady, died in 1985. Lawrence Tierney passed away on February 26, 2002, at the age of 82. He died in his sleep from pneumonia in a nursing home in Los Angeles. He had been living there for about a year after another stroke.

Biography

The first book about Lawrence Tierney, called Lawrence Tierney: Hollywood's Real-Life Tough Guy, was written by Burt Kearns. It was published on December 6, 2022.

Selected Filmography

Images for kids

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  Lawrence Tierney (right) in a scene from Born to Kill (1947).

See also

• Lawrence Tierney: Hollywood's Real-Life Tough Guy