Ned Beatty facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ned Beatty
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Beatty in 2006
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Ned Thomas Beatty
July 6, 1937 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
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| Died | June 13, 2021 (aged 83) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Transylvania University (no degree) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1956–2013 |
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| Children | 8 |
Ned Thomas Beatty (born July 6, 1937 – died June 13, 2021) was a famous American actor. He acted in over 160 movies and TV shows during his career, which lasted for five decades. People often called him "the busiest actor in Hollywood" because he worked so much!
Ned Beatty was known for playing many different characters. Some of his most well-known roles were in movies like Deliverance (1972), Network (1976), Superman (1978), and Toy Story 3 (2010). He was even nominated for an Academy Award and won a Drama Desk Award for his acting.
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Early Life and First Steps in Acting
Ned Beatty was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on July 6, 1937. His parents were Margaret and Charles William Beatty. When he was about 10 years old, in 1947, Ned started singing. He sang in gospel groups and barbershop quartets in his hometown and at church.
He even got a special scholarship to sing in a choir at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. He went to college there but did not finish his degree.
In 1956, when Ned was 19, he started acting on stage. His first play was called Wilderness Road. For the next ten years, he worked in different theaters, including the State Theatre of Virginia. Later, he returned to Kentucky and acted in plays in the Louisville area. One of his important early roles was playing Willy Loman in the play Death of a Salesman in 1966.
A Busy Career in Hollywood
Ned Beatty often played supporting roles, meaning he wasn't always the main character. He didn't mind this at all! He once said that being a main star was "more trouble than they're worth." He felt sorry for actors who were big stars because it seemed "unnatural" to him.
Starting in the 1970s
Ned Beatty made his first movie in 1972. It was called Deliverance, and he played a character named Bobby Trippe. This movie was very popular and was one of the highest-earning films that year. He also appeared in a western movie with Paul Newman called The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean.
In 1973, Ned acted in several more movies, including White Lightning, where he worked again with his Deliverance co-star Burt Reynolds. He also started appearing on TV shows like The Waltons and the pilot movie for the series Kojak.
By 1975, he was in the movie Nashville and a famous TV show called M*A*S*H. He also appeared in a TV movie about the Ku Klux Klan.
Nominated for an Oscar
In 1976, Ned Beatty received his only Academy Award nomination. This was for his role in the movie Network. He played a powerful TV executive named Arthur Jensen. Even though he didn't win, the movie won many other acting awards. That same year, he was also in All the President's Men, which won an Oscar for another actor.
Ned continued to be busy, appearing in movies like Silver Streak and Exorcist II: The Heretic. From 1977 to 1978, he even starred in his own short-lived TV show called Szysznyk.
In 1978, he played Otis, the clumsy helper of the villain Lex Luthor, in the movie Superman: The Movie. He played this role again in the sequel, Superman II (1980). He also got his first Emmy Award nomination for the TV movie Friendly Fire in 1979.
Working Through the 1980s
In the 1980s, Ned Beatty kept acting in many different kinds of movies. He was in the comedy Hopscotch (1980) and the science fiction comedy The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981). He worked with Richard Pryor in The Toy and with Burt Reynolds again in Stroker Ace (1983).
He appeared in the comedy Restless Natives (1985) and played a college dean in Back to School (1986) with Rodney Dangerfield. He also played a corrupt police officer in The Big Easy (1987) and a general in the spy movie The Fourth Protocol (1987).
In 1988, he was in Switching Channels, which was his fifth movie with Burt Reynolds. He also played a kind grandfather in Purple People Eater. Towards the end of the decade, he had a recurring role as the father of John Goodman's character on the popular TV show Roseanne from 1989 to 1994.
The 1990s and Beyond
In the 1990s, Ned Beatty received another Emmy Award nomination for the TV movie Last Train Home (1990). A year later, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his role in the British film Hear My Song (1991), where he played a real-life singer named Josef Locke.
He appeared in a spoof movie called Repossessed (1990) and a superhero film, Captain America (1990). In 1993, he was in the inspiring true story movie Rudy, playing the father of a young man who dreams of playing football. He also starred as Detective Stanley Bolander in the TV series Homicide: Life on the Street for three seasons (1993–1995).
Ned continued acting in movies like the thriller Just Cause (1995) with Sean Connery. He also played Judge Roy Bean in the TV miniseries Streets of Laredo (1995). In 1998, he was in the sports drama He Got Game, directed by Spike Lee.
The 2000s and His Final Roles
In the early 2000s, Ned Beatty returned to his role as Detective Stanley Bolander in Homicide: The Movie (2000). He also appeared in the family film Thunderpants (2002) and Where the Red Fern Grows (2003).
Ned was also a talented stage actor. He won a Drama Desk Award for his role as Big Daddy in the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 2004.
Later in the 2000s, he played a corrupt U.S. Senator in the movie Shooter (2007) and a U.S. Congressman in the true story Charlie Wilson's War (2007) with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.
In 2010, Ned Beatty voiced the character of Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear (Lotso) in the popular Disney/Pixar animated movie Toy Story 3. He was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for this role. In 2011, he voiced Tortoise John in the animated film Rango. His last TV appearance was in the sitcom Go On in 2013.
His final movie roles were in The Big Ask (2013), which was directed by his son Thomas Beatty, and Baggage Claim (2013). After these films, Ned Beatty retired from acting.
Personal Life and Passing
Ned Beatty was married four times and had eight children. His last wife was Sandra Johnson, whom he married in 1999. They lived in Los Angeles, California, and also had a home in Karlstad, Minnesota.
Many people wondered if Ned Beatty was related to the famous actor Warren Beatty. Ned would often joke that Warren was his "illegitimate uncle," meaning they were not actually related.
In 2012, Ned attended a special event celebrating 40 years since his movie Deliverance was released. He was there with his co-stars Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox, and Jon Voight.
Ned Beatty passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles on June 13, 2021. He was 83 years old.
See also
In Spanish: Ned Beatty para niños
- List of people from the Louisville metropolitan area
