[Deathwatch] Lawrence Tierney, actor, 82

[Deathwatch Central]

- thanks to a reader for sending ne a notice on this. 

Actor Lawrence Tierney Dies at 82 
Thu Feb 28,10:43 AM ET 

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Veteran actor and B-movie leading man Lawrence
Tierney, whose tough-guy characters during the 1940s and '50s often
mirrored his troubled real life, has died. He was 82.

Tierney died in his sleep Tuesday at a Los Angeles nursing home.

Throughout his 80-film career, the actor perfected many gangster roles.
But he is probably best known for the title role in the 1945 B-movie
classic "Dillinger" and the leader of a group of killers in Quentin
Tarantino's 1992 crime drama "Reservoir Dogs."

Tierney's acting roles often mimicked his troubled off-screen life
during the 1950s. The actor was arrested numerous times on charges
stemming from participating in drunken brawls at bars and Hollywood
parties.

"The people who knew Larry knew that wasn't all there was to Larry,"
said Tierney's nephew, Michael Tierney, told the Los Angeles Times. "He
was a wacky, kind of quirky, comical guy, and a very nice man to a lot
of people."

Tierney was born in Brooklyn in 1919. As a star member of his high
school track team, he earned a scholarship to Manhattan College but he
dropped out after two years and ended up traveling around the country
while working numerous odd jobs.

In 1943, RKO studios signed Tierney to a contract when a talent scout
spotted him among members of the American-Irish Theater.

He soon landed supporting roles in films such as "The Ghost Ship" and
"The Falcon Out West." Stardom for Tierney came in 1945, when he played
the vicious gangster John Dillinger in "Dillinger."

That role led him to play other tough guy characters — both good and
bad — in such movies such as "San Quentin," "The Devil Thumbs a Ride,"
"Born to Kill," and "Kill or Be Killed."

He also played the bad guy who caused the train wreck in Cecil B.
DeMille's 1952 best-picture Oscar-winner, "The Greatest Show on Earth."


But Tierney's run-ins with the law in real life took a toll on his
career. Throughout the 1960s and '70s, he was only able to get small
parts in movies as his troubles followed his moves to Europe and back
to the United States.

He returned to Hollywood in late 1983 and tried to rekindle his acting
career by guest-starring on television shows such as "Star Trek: The
Next Generation," "Remington Steele," "Fame" and "Hunter." He also had
a recurring role on "Hill Street Blues."

Tierney is survived by a daughter, Elizabeth Tierney, of Park City,
Utah.