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Lawrence Tierney
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Lawrence Tierney (March 15, 1919 – February 26, 2002) was an American actor, known for his many screen portrayals of mobsters and hardened criminals, which mirrored his own frequent brushes with the law.
Commenting on the DVD release of a Tierney film in 2005, a New York Times critic observed: "The hulking Tierney was not so much an actor as a frightening force of nature."
ney was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Mary and Lawrence Tierney, a policeman.
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Encyclopedia
Lawrence Tierney (March 15, 1919 – February 26, 2002) was an American actor, known for his many screen portrayals of mobsters and hardened criminals, which mirrored his own frequent brushes with the law.
Commenting on the DVD release of a Tierney film in 2005, a New York Times critic observed: "The hulking Tierney was not so much an actor as a frightening force of nature."
Early life
Tierney was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Mary and Lawrence Tierney, a policeman. 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 performing at 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 who caused a train wreck in Cecil B. DeMille's 1952 best-picture Oscar-winner, The Greatest Show on Earth.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he appeared in only bit parts in movies, his career damaged by his frequent brushes with the law. But 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, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 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.
In 1988, Tierney played the role of a tough holodeck gangster in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. 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" - 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.
Off-screen troubles
Tierney had numerous arrests for drunken fights over the years, and served jail terms. His run-ins with the law took a toll on his career.
Between 1944 and 1951, he had been arrested a dozen times for brawling, frequently for drunkenness. His legal troubles included a 90 day jail sentence for breaking a college student's jaw with a kick.
At the time of his arrest for brawling with two policemen outside a Manhattan bar in 1958, the New York Times reported that he had been arrested six times in California and five times in New York on similar charges. In 1973 he was stabbed in a bar fight on the west side of Manhattan.
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.
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).
Personal life
Tierney's brother was actor Scott Brady. His nephew is film director and actor Michael Tierney. At age 82, Tierney died of pneumonia at a Los Angeles nursing home. He had battled alcoholism for many years. He left a daughter, Elizabeth Tierney, of Park City, Utah.
Filmography
External links
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