- Richard Farnsworth
Infobox Actor
image size = 200px
caption = Richard Farnsworth in "The Straight Story "
birthdate =September 1 ,1920
birthplace =Los Angeles, California
deathdate = death_date_and_age|2000|10|6|1920|9|1
deathplace =Lincoln, New Mexico
spouse = Margaret Hill (1947-1985)
academyawards =
goldenglobeawards =Richard W. Farnsworth (
September 1 ,1920 –October 6 ,2000 ) was an Oscar-nominated Americanactor and stuntman. After toiling in films beginning in 1937, he finally achieved stardom in the 1982 film "The Grey Fox ".Early life
Farnsworth was born in
Los Angeles, California to a housewife mother and anengineer father. [ [http://www.tickledorange.com/LMM/RichardFarnsworth.html Richard Farnsworth ] ] He was raised during theGreat Depression . He lived with his aunt, mother and two sisters in downtown Los Angeles after his father died when he was seven years old.Career
He was working as a stable hand at a polo field in Los Angeles for $6 a week, when he was offered a chance to make $7 a day plus a box lunch as a stuntman. When he was seventeen, he started by riding horses in films in 1937, in "
The Adventures of Marco Polo " withGary Cooper . He performed in several horse-riding stunts in such films as theMarx Brothers ' "A Day at the Races" (1937) and "Gunga Din" (1939). What differentiated Farnsworth from other western actors was his gradual transition into acting from stunt work. He made uncredited appearances in numerous films, including "Gone with the Wind" (1939), "Red River" (1948), "The Wild One " (1953), and "The Ten Commandments" (1956). He was on the set of "Spartacus" (1960) for eleven months. He laughed when he said he did not look like agladiator , but drove a chariot. However, it was not until 1963 that he finally received his first acting credit.Farnsworth's acting career was largely in
western film s, although he did appear in the 1977television miniseries "Roots".as well as in television commercials. Farnsworth became well known in the Pacific Northwest with his successful depiction portraying the grounds keeper who saw the mythical "Artesian’s" in the 1980's Olympia Beer ad campaign from theOlympia Brewing Company . In 1979, Farnsworth was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor for "Comes a Horseman ". However, his breakthrough came when he playedstagecoach robberBill Miner in the 1982 Canadian film "The Grey Fox", for which he won aGenie Award . In 1985, he appeared in the Canadian miniseries "Anne of Green Gables", winning aGemini Award for his performance as Matthew Cuthbert. Another of his prominent roles was as a suspicious sheriff in the film version ofStephen King 's "Misery" (1990).In 1999, he was nominated for Best Actor for "
The Straight Story ". When David Lynch asked to see if he wanted to be in the simple but emotional movie "The Straight Story," Farnsworth had no idea who he was. Farnsworth did not like violence or swearing, and so his agent was very careful and told him that Lynch was the director who had made "The Elephant Man". Fortunately, he liked this movie. When Farnsworth and Lynch met, he reiterated his dislikes. Lynch reassured him that there would be none of that in the movie. The role, a rarity for a man his age, showed Hollywood that "there's a lot of talent out there".Farnsworth has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street. In 1997, he was inducted into theWestern Performers Hall of Fame at theNational Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inOklahoma City, Oklahoma .Personal life and death
Farnsworth was married to Margaret "Maggie" Hill for 38 years. She is the mother of his two children, Diamond and Missy. She passed away in 1985. Toward the end of his life, he met Jewly Van Valin on the bridle trail, a stewardess 35 years his junior. Farnsworth and Van Valin started riding together, and were engaged. He was well liked and busy in his community of Lincoln, New Mexico, where he had a sixty-acre ranch, and moved after his wife's death. Farnsworth was the spokesperson for the Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium, an annual event in Ruidoso, NM. He made a video with cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell called "Buckaroo Bard". He also helped with the Last Great Cattle Drive of This Millennium in 1999. Shortly before his passing, he was presented with an award from the Governor of New Mexico for Excellence and Achievement in the Arts.
Farnsworth was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer in the early 90s. By 1999, he had been diagnosed as having terminal bone cancer. He made the movie "The Straight Story" while in considerable pain.
Farnsworth shot himself with a single bullet at his ranch in
Lincoln, New Mexico . He is interred with his wife Margaret in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery inLos Angeles, California .Partial filmography
*"A Day at the Races" (1937) (uncredited)
*"The Adventures of Marco Polo " (1938) (uncredited)
*"Gunga Din" (1939) (uncredited)
*"Gone with the Wind" (1939) (uncredited)
*"This Is the Army " (1943) (uncredited)
*"Red River" (1948) (uncredited)
*"The Wild One " (1953) (uncredited)
*"The Ten Commandments" (1956) (uncredited)
*"The Tin Star " (1957) (uncredited)
*"Spartacus" (1960) (uncredited)
*"The Jolly Genie" (1963)
*"Duel at Diablo " (1966) (uncredited)
*"Texas Across the River " (1966) (as Dick Farnsworth)
*"The Stalking Moon " (1968) (uncredited)
*"Monte Walsh " (1970) (as Dick Farnsworth)
*"The Cowboys " (1972) (as Dick Farnsworth)
*"Ulzana's Raid " (1972)
*"The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean " (1972) (as Dick Farnsworth)
*"Papillon" (1973) (uncredited)
*"Blazing Saddles " (1974) (uncredited)
*"The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox " (1976) (as Dick Farnsworth)
*"The Outlaw Josey Wales " (1976) (uncredited)
*"Comes a Horseman " (1978)
*"Tom Horn" (1980)
*"Resurrection" (1980)
*"The Legend of the Lone Ranger " (1981)
*"The Grey Fox " (1982)
*"Independence Day" (1983)
*"The Natural" (1984)
*"Rhinestone" (1984)
*"Into the Night" (1985)
*"Anne of Green Gables" (1985) (TV)
*"The Two Jakes " (1990)
*"Misery" (1990)
*"Havana" (1990)
*"The Getaway" (1994)
*"Lassie" (1994)
*"The Straight Story " (1999)References
External links
*imdb name|id=0002070|name=Richard Farnsworth
*amg name|id=2:22732
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13040 Richard Farnsworth's Gravesite]
* [http://www.nndb.com/people/865/000072649/ Richard Farnsworth] at NNDB
* [http://www.moviecrazed.com/outpast/farnsworth.html Richard Farnsworth: The Man Who Talked Straight] at Moviecrazed.com
* [http://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Kind-Darrell-Arnold/dp/0878424407 The Cowboy Kind] Farnsworth wrote the forward to this book by Darrell Arnold. Published posthumously in 2001.
* [http://www.lynchnet.com/sstory/press.html 1999 Disney Press Kit For "The Straight Story" with publicity photos]
* [http://www.lynchnet.com/sstory/ssdmr.html 1998 Des Moines Register Article]
* [http://www.lynchnet.com/sstory/ "The Straight Story" on Lynch Net] Complete Film notes, interviews, photographs, audio and trailers 1999
* [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,278109,00.html Obituary Cowboy's Way by Jeff Jensen, 2000]
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