Richard Farnsworth | |
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![]() Farnsworth in The Straight Story, his final role | |
Born | Richard William Farnsworth September 1, 1920 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Died | October 6, 2000 Lincoln, New Mexico, U.S. | (aged 80)
Occupation(s) | Stuntman, actor |
Years active | 1937–1999 |
Spouse |
Margaret Hill
(m. 1947; died 1985) |
Children | 2 |
Richard William Farnsworth (September 1, 1920 – October 6, 2000) was an American actor and stuntman. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award: in 1978 for Best Supporting Actor for Comes a Horseman, and in 2000 for Best Actor in The Straight Story, making him the oldest nominee for the award at the time.[1][2] Farnsworth was also known for his performances in The Grey Fox (1982), for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, as well as Anne of Green Gables (1985); Sylvester (1985), and Misery (1990).
Farnsworth was born on September 1, 1920, in Los Angeles, California. His mother was a homemaker and his father was an engineer.[3]
Farnsworth gradually moved into acting in Western movies. 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). In 1960, credited as Dick Farnsworth, he appeared as a Gault ranch hand in the "Street of Hate" episode of the TV Western Laramie.
He received his first acting credit in 1963 and went on to act in Western films and television shows. He had a role in Roots (1977) and co-starred with Wilford Brimley in The Boys of Twilight (1992). His breakthrough came when he played stagecoach robber Bill Miner in the 1982 Canadian film,The Grey Fox. He appeared as a baseball coach in The Natural (1984). In 1985, he was the brother to Marilla and father figure to Anne in Anne of Green Gables and starred as a soft-spoken, sage cowboy with horse training wisdom for Melissa Gilbert in Sylvester.[4] His other prominent roles included a wealthy and ruthless oil man in The Two Jakes (1990) and the suspicious sheriff in the film version of Stephen King's Misery (1990).
Farnsworth had a long marriage and had two children. After becoming a widower, he lived on a ranch in Lincoln, New Mexico.[5]
On the night of October 6, 2000, suffering from terminal cancer that left him partially paralyzed and in great pain, Farnsworth died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his ranch in Lincoln, New Mexico.[6]
Comes a Horseman (1979)
The Grey Fox (1982)
Anne of Green Gables (1985)
Chase (1985)
The Straight Story (1999)
Note: Farnsworth was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1997. In addition, Farnsworth received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star for his contributions in the motion pictures on August 17, 1992; the star is located at 1560 Vine Street.[7][8]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1937 | A Day at the Races | Jockey | Uncredited |
1938 | The Adventures of Marco Polo | Mongol Warrior | |
1939 | Gunga Din | Bit Part | |
Gone with the Wind | Soldier | ||
1943 | This Is the Army | Soldier | |
1948 | Red River | Dunston Rider | |
The Paleface | Minor Role | ||
1949 | Mighty Joe Young | Cowboy | |
1950 | The Flame and the Arrow | Outlaw | |
1953 | Arena | Cowboy | |
Arrowhead | Cavalryman | ||
The Wild One | Unknown | ||
1954 | The Violent Men | Anchor Rider | |
1955 | A Lawless Street | Townsman | |
1956 | The Ten Commandments | Chariot Driver | |
1957 | The Tin Star | Unknown | |
The Hard Man | Posse Man | ||
1960 | Spartacus | Salt Mine Slave / Gladiator / Slave General | |
1963 | The Jolly Genie | Thug | Short film |
1966 | Duel at Diablo | Wagon Driver #1 | Uncredited |
Texas Across the River | Medicine Man | ||
1968 | The Stalking Moon | Unknown | Uncredited |
1970 | Monte Walsh | Cowboy | |
1971 | Skin Game | Man In Saloon Fight | Uncredited |
1972 | The Cowboys | Henry Williams | |
Pocket Money | Man | Uncredited | |
Ulzana's Raid | Trooper | ||
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean | Outlaw | ||
1973 | The Soul of Nigger Charley | ||
Papillon | Manhunter #1 | Uncredited | |
1974 | Blazing Saddles | Sheriff | |
1975 | The Apple Dumpling Gang | Mover | |
1976 | The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox | Stagecoach Driver | |
The Outlaw Josey Wales | Comanchero | Uncredited | |
1977 | Another Man, Another Chance | Stagecoach Driver | |
1978 | Comes a Horseman | Dodger | |
1980 | Tom Horn | John C. Coble | |
Ruckus | Sheriff Jethro Pough | ||
Resurrection | Esco | ||
1981 | The Legend of the Lone Ranger | 'Wild Bill' Hickok | |
1982 | The Grey Fox | Bill Miner | |
Waltz Across Texas | Frank Walker | ||
1983 | Independence Day | Evan | |
1984 | The Natural | 'Red' Blow | |
Rhinestone | Noah Farris | ||
1985 | Into the Night | Jack Caper | |
Sylvester | Foster | ||
Space Rage | Colonel | ||
1988 | The River Pirates | Percy | |
1990 | The Two Jakes | Earl Rawley | |
Misery | Sheriff Buster | ||
Havana | Professor | ||
1991 | Highway to Hell | Sam | |
1994 | The Getaway | 'Slim' | |
Lassie | Len Collins | ||
1999 | The Straight Story | Alvin Straight | final film |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1951 | The Adventures of Kit Carson | Henchman (uncredited) | Episode: "Fury at Red Gulch" Episode: "The Desperate Sheriff" |
1954 | Army Wagon Driver | Episode: "The Gatling Gun" | |
1955 | Soldiers of Fortune | 'Gaucho' (uncredited) | Episode: "The General" |
1956 | Zane Grey Theatre | Trooper | Episode: "Star Over Texas" |
1958 | Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok | Butler | Episode: "Jingles on the Jailroad" |
Cimarron City | Ira Youngman | Episode: "Twelve Guns", uncredited | |
1959 | State Trooper | Caleb Smith | Episode: "Lonely Valley" |
The Rebel | Trooper | Episode: "Yellow Hair" | |
1960 | Wanted: Dead or Alive | Rance / Hal | Episodes: "The Partners" & "To the Victor" |
Laramie | Gault Ranch Hand / Manley (uncredited) | Episodes: "Street of Hate" & "Ride into Darkness" | |
1961 | Laramie | Hank | Episode: "The Tumbleweed Wagon" |
1965 | The Big Valley | Bolin | Episode: "The Odyssey of Jubal Tanner" |
1966 | Businessman | Episode: "Image of Yesterday" | |
1967 | Cimarron Strip | Dusty Rhodes / Benefiel | Episodes: "Journey to a Hanging" & "The Battleground" |
1970 | The High Chaparral | Lloyd | Episode: "The Long Shadow" |
1971 | Bonanza | Sourdough | Episode: "Top Hand" |
1972 | Tate / Troy | Episodes: "The Saddle Stiff" & "He Was Only Seven" | |
1974 | Honky Tonk | Driver | TV movie |
1975 | Strange New World | Elder | |
1977 | Roots | Trumbull | TV miniseries |
Little House on the Prairie | Wall | Episode: "Quarantine" | |
1981 | The Texas Rangers | Ranger J.W. Stevens | TV movie |
A Few Days in Weasel Creek | Jason Stayvey | ||
The Cherokee Trail | Ridge Fenton | ||
1983 | Travis McGee | Van Harder | |
Ghost Dancing | Russ Ward | ||
1985 | Wild Horses | Chuck Reese | |
Chase | Judge Grand Pettitt | ||
Anne of Green Gables | Matthew Cuthbert | ||
1987 | CBS Summer Playhouse | Carl | Episode: "Travelin' Man" |
Highway to Heaven | Grandpa Jet Sanders | Episode: "A Dream of Wild Horses" | |
1989 | Red Earth, White Earth | Helmer | TV movie |
Desperado: The Outlaw Wars | Sheriff Campbell / Bisby Arizona | ||
1992 | The Boys of Twilight | Sheriff Cody McPherson | |
1993 | The Fire Next Time | Frank Morgan | TV movie |
1998 | Best Friends for Life | Will Harper |