Russ Tamblyn

Russell Irving Tamblyn (born December 30, 1934) is an American film and television actor and dancer.

Russ Tamblyn
Tamblyn in 1955
Born	Russell Irving Tamblyn December 30, 1934 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor dancer
Years active	1948–present
Spouse(s)	Venetia Stevenson ​ ​ (m. 1956; div. 1957)​ Elizabeth Kempton ​ ​ (m. 1960; div. 1979)​ Bonnie Murray ​ (m. 1981)​
Children	2, including Amber Tamblyn
Parent(s)	Eddie Tamblyn (father)
Website	www.russtamblyn.com

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tamblyn was trained as a gymnast in his youth. He began his career as a child actor for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Tamblyn appeared in the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). He subsequently portrayed Norman Page in the drama Peyton Place (1957), for which he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. This led to Tamblyn being cast in leading roles, such as in the crime film High School Confidential (1958), and in the title role of Tom Thumb (1958).

Tamblyn's gymnastic and acrobatic talents were showcased in several other musicals, including West Side Story (1961), in which he portrayed Riff, the leader of the Jets gang. The success of West Side Story led to additional leading roles, including parts in the horror film The Haunting (1963), directed by Robert Wise, and the Japanese science fiction film The War of the Gargantuas (1966).

Throughout the 1970s, Tamblyn appeared in several exploitation films and worked as a choreographer in the 1980s. In 1990, he starred as Dr. Lawrence Jacoby in David Lynch's television drama Twin Peaks, reprising the role during its 2017 revival.

Early life

Tamblyn was born December 30, 1934 in Los Angeles, California,[1] to actors Sally Aileen (Triplett) and Edward Francis "Eddie" Tamblyn.[2] He has one younger brother, Larry Tamblyn, who was the organist for the 1960s band, the Standells.[3] Tamblyn was a hyperactive child and had a penchant for gymnastics and performing. As a child, he would take the stage during intermissions at the local movie theater and do tumbling performances.[4]

Career

1948–1952: Child acting

Tamblyn wanted to be a circus performer and was skilled in acrobatics and dancing as a child. He developed a musical act that involved singing, dancing, juggling and comedy.[5]

Discovered at the age of 10 by actor Lloyd Bridges after acting in a play, Tamblyn first appeared on film in a small non-speaking role in The Boy With Green Hair (1948), after which he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Tamblyn was given a role in The Kid from Cleveland (1949), billed third (as "Rusty Tamblyn") under stars George Brent and Lynn Bari.[4] The movie was not a success but it established Tamblyn as a film actor. He appeared in Reign of Terror (1949), Cecil B. DeMille's 1949 version of Samson and Delilah where he played young Saul, and What Happened to Jo Jo? (1950).[4]

Tamblyn played the younger Bart Tare (played as an adult by John Dall) in the film noir Gun Crazy (1950) and Elizabeth Taylor's younger brother in Father of the Bride (also 1950) and its sequel, Father's Little Dividend (1951). Tamblyn appeared in Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1950), The Gangster We Made (1950), As Young as You Feel (1951), Cave of Outlaws (1951), Retreat, Hell! (1952), and The Winning Team (1952).

1953–1962: MGM and leading roles

Tamblyn and Gia Scala in Don't Go Near the Water (1957)

MGM had been impressed by Tamblyn's performance in Retreat, Hell! and signed him to a long term contract.[6] His first role under the new contract was as a young soldier in boot camp in Take the High Ground! (1953), directed by Richard Brooks.[7] His training as a gymnast in high school, and abilities as an acrobat, prepared him for his breakout role as Gideon, the youngest brother, in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954).[8]

He was not a trained dancer and always considered himself an actor who danced rather than the other way around[8] but the film was a big success and established him at MGM. Tamblyn was one of many studio contract players in the musical Deep in My Heart (1954). He played Eleanor Parker's brother in the Western Many Rivers to Cross (1955), and was one of several young MGM actors (others included Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds) in the musical Hit the Deck (1955).

Tamblyn on the set of Peyton Place (1957)

Tamblyn supported older actors in two Westerns: Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger in The Last Hunt (1956), a flop; and Glenn Ford and Broderick Crawford in The Fastest Gun Alive (1956), a big hit, where he performed an extraordinary "shovel" dance at a hoe-down early in the film.[9][10] He served (uncredited) as a choreographer for Elvis Presley in 1957's Jailhouse Rock. MGM loaned Tamblyn to Allied Artists for his first star role, The Young Guns (1957). Back at MGM he supported Glenn Ford and Gia Scala in Don't Go Near the Water (1957), a comedy set among members of the U.S. Navy.[3]

Tamblyn portrayed Norman Page in the film of Peyton Place (1957) at 20th Century Fox, opposite Lana Turner and Diane Varsi. For his performance in the film he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.[3] He was then given a star role at MGM, playing Tony Baker in High School Confidential (1958). The film was a solid hit. Also successful was the musical Tom Thumb (1958) made for George Pal, in which Tamblyn was cast in the title role. His career momentum was interrupted when he was drafted into the US army in 1958.[11]

Upon his return MGM gave him a prominent support part in Cimarron (1960), supporting Glenn Ford. Tamblyn's best known musical role came as Riff, the leader of the Jets street gang in West Side Story (1961).[3] He then appeared in two MGM Cinerama movies, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm and How the West Was Won (both 1962). He was seen as Luke Sanderson in The Haunting, and as Lt. "Smitty" Smith in MGM's Follow the Boys (both 1963).

1963–1976: Television and independent films

Tamblyn was unable to consolidate his position as a leading man, and he later recounted that he "dropped out" after his West Side Story success, that he devoted himself to art and turned down movie roles as well as a role in the TV series Gilligan's Island.[12]

In the 1960s he appeared in the TV series The Greatest Show on Earth ("Silent Love, Secret Love"; 1963), and Channing ("The Last Testament of Buddy Crown"; 1963).

Tamblyn played a Viking alongside Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier in The Long Ships (1965). Also in 1965 he appeared in Burke's Law ("Who Killed Rosie Sunset?"); and in Days of Our Lives.

Additionally, in 1965 he played Billy Yates, a torn man who must kill his friend to defend his principals in Gunsmoke ("He Who Steals"). In this episode, he was incorrectly named in the credits as George Lindsey (star of the Andy Griffith Show). That episode’s credits actually incorrectly name four actors who never appeared in the episode.

Tamblyn was given the starring role in a low budget Western for MGM Son of a Gunfighter (1965) and starred in the 1966 Japanese kaiju film War of the Gargantuas. He guest starred on Tarzan ("Leopard on the Loose"; 1966), and Iron Horse ("Decision at Sundown"; 1967). Tamblyn later admitted he became "bored" with acting around this time and more interested in art.[8]

Tamblyn starred in a notorious biker movie Satan's Sadists (1969) for Al Adamson. He followed it with Scream Free! (1969), The Last Movie (1971), The Female Bunch (1971) and Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) for Adamson.

He appeared on TV in Cade's County ("Ragged Edge"; 1972), Win, Place or Steal (1973), The World Through the Eyes of Children (1975), The Quest ("The Captive"; 1976), The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams ("The Skyrider"; 1978), and Nero Wolfe ("Before I Die"; 1981). He was also in Black Heat (1976).

At the same time he worked in exploitation, Tamblyn also worked in the construction industry and computer software.[8]

1978–1989: Choreography and film

Tamblyn played the supporting role in Neil Young's 1982 Human Highway while also credited for screenplay and choreography. Tamblyn is credited as director, choreographer and actor for Neil Young's Greendale concert tour.[13] He choreographed a play Man with Bags in 1983.[14]

He could be seen in Fame, Commando Squad (1987) for Fred Olen Ray, The Phantom Empire (1988), Necromancer (1988), B.O.R.N. (1988), The Bloody Monks (1988), and an episode of Quantum Leap. He was in Aftershock (1990), and Wizards of the Demon Sword (1991) for Fred Olen Ray.

1990–2004: Twin Peaks and other work

Tamblyn at the 1990 Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

In 1990–91, Tamblyn starred as Dr. Lawrence Jacoby on the David Lynch-created series Twin Peaks (alongside his West Side Story co-star Richard Beymer, who played Ben Horne);[15] his scenes in the 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me were cut.

He could be seen in Running Mates (1992), Little Devils: The Birth (1993), Cabin Boy (1994), Desert Steel (1995), and Babylon 5. He appeared on stage in Los Angeles in Zastrozzi.[16] His work drifted back to straight to video: Starstruck (1995), Rebellious (1995), Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold (1995) and Invisible Mom (1996) for Fred Olen Ray, Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard (1997), My Ghost Dog (1997), and Little Miss Magic (1998) for Ray.

He appeared on another soap opera, General Hospital, alongside his daughter Amber in 1997 and 2000. In 2004, he appeared with Amber again, playing God in the form of a man walking dogs, in three episodes of Joan of Arcadia.[17] The two also have worked together in the films Rebellious, Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard, and The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. And in Quentin Tarantino's film Django Unchained, they were billed respectively as "Son of a Gunfighter" and "Daughter of a Son of a Gunfighter", alluding to his leading role in the 1965 western Son of a Gunfighter.

In 2004, the Academy Film Archive preserved the mid-1960s works First Film and Rio Reel by Tamblyn.[18]

2005–present: Later roles

Tamblyn in 2019

Tamblyn has had supporting roles in Drive (2011), Django Unchained (2012), and Hits (2014). He appeared several times in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret,[19] and in the revival of Twin Peaks (2017).[20]

Personal life

Tamblyn married actress Venetia Stevenson in 1956, but the couple divorced the following year.[21] He married Elizabeth Kempton, a showgirl, in Las Vegas in 1960.[22][23] He and Kempton had one child, daughter China, before divorcing in 1979. His second child, actress Amber Tamblyn, was born in 1983 to his third wife Bonnie Murray.[14]

In 2012, it was announced that he was working on writing an autobiography, titled Dancing On The Edge.[24]

Tamblyn underwent open heart surgery in October 2014. There were complications following the surgery and during the rehabilitation, although his health had reportedly improved as of February 2015.[25]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1948	The Boy with Green Hair	Classmate	Uncredited
1949	Reign of Terror	Pierre's Oldest Son	Uncredited
1949	The Kid from Cleveland	Johnny Barrows	Credited as Rusty Tamblyn
1949	Samson and Delilah	Saul
1950	Gun Crazy	Bart Tare at 14	Credited as Rusty Tamblyn
1950	Captain Carey, U.S.A.	Pietro	Credited as Rusty Tamblyn
1950	The Vicious Years	Tino
1950	Father of the Bride	Tommy Banks	Credited as Rusty Tamblyn
1951	Father's Little Dividend	Tommy Banks
1951	As Young as You Feel	Willie McKinley	Credited as Rusty Tamblyn
1951	Cave of Outlaws	Young Peter	Uncredited
1952	Retreat, Hell!	Private
1952	The Winning Team	Willie Alexander	Credited as Rusty Tamblyn
1953	Take the High Ground!	Paul Jamison
1954	Seven Brides for Seven Brothers	Gideon Pontipee
1954	Deep in My Heart	Lazar Berrison, Jr.	Uncredited
1955	Many Rivers to Cross	Shields
1955	Hit the Deck	Danny Xavier Smith
1956	The Last Hunt	Jimmy
1956	The Fastest Gun Alive	Eric Doolittle
1956	The Young Guns	Tully Rice
1957	Don't Go Near the Water	Ensign Tyson
1957	Peyton Place	Norman Page
1958	High School Confidential!	Tony Baker/Mike Wilson
1958	Tom Thumb	Tom Thumb
1960	Cimarron	The Cherokee Kid
1961	West Side Story	Riff
1962	The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm	The Woodsman ('The Dancing Princess') / Tom Thumb
1962	How the West Was Won	Confederate deserter
1963	Follow the Boys	Lt (JG) "Smitty" Smith
1963	The Haunting	Luke Sanderson
1964	The Long Ships	Orm
1965	Son of a Gunfighter	Johnny Ketchum
1966	War of the Gargantuas	Dr. Paul Stewart
1967	The Cool Ones	Whiz-Bam Dancer	Uncredited
1969	Satan's Sadists	Anchor
1969	Scream Free!	Link
1971	Dracula vs. Frankenstein	Rico
1971	The Female Bunch	Bill
1971	The Last Movie	Member of Billy's Gang
1974	Win, Place or Steal	Raymond
1975	The World Through the Eyes of Children	Devil
1976	Black Heat	Ziggy
1982	Neil Young: Human Highway	Fred Kelly	Also writer and choreographer
1985	The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal	Himself	Documentary
1987	Commando Squad	Anchor
1988	Necromancer	Charles DeLonge
1988	B.O.R.N.	Hugh
1988	The Phantom Empire	Bill	Direct-to-DVD
1989	The Bloody Monk	Frank
1990	Aftershock	Hank Franklin
1991	Wizards of the Demon Sword	Ulric
1992	Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me	Dr. Lawrence Jacoby	Scenes deleted
1993	Little Devils: The Birth	Doc Clapton
1994	Cabin Boy	Chocki
1994	Desert Steel	Tate
1995	Starstruck	Wheeler
1995	Rebellious	Old Guy
1995	Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold	Gas Attendant
1996	Invisible Mom	Dr. Woorter	Direct-to-DVD
1997	Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard	Blackmoor	Direct-to-DVD
1998	Little Miss Magic	Brenden Moran
2000	Special Envoys
2002	Cinerama Adventure	Himself	Documentary
2011	Drive	Doc
2012	Django Unchained	Son of a Gunfighter
2014	Hits	Russ
2015	Chatty Cattie	Bruce

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	The Greatest Show on Earth	Tom Tuttle	Episode: "Silent Love, Secret Love"
1963	Channing	Hal Langley	Episode: "The Last Testament of Buddy Crown"
1965	Burke's Law	Maximillian	Episode: "Who Killed Rosie Sunset?"
1965	Gunsmoke	Billy Waters	Episode: "He Who Steals"
1966	Tarzan	Bell	Episode: "Leopard on the Loose"
1967	Iron Horse	Kehoe	Episode: "Decision at Sundown"
1969	The Name of the Game	John Earl	Episode: "A Hard Case of the Blues"
1972	Cade's County	Brewster	Episode: "Ragged Edge"
1976	The Quest	Kelly	Episode: "The Captive"
1978	The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams	Milton Wright	Episode: "The Skyrider"
1981	Nero Wolfe		Episode: "Before I Die"
1986–1987	Fame	Russ / Michael Taftner	3 episodes
1987	Rags to Riches	Roger	Episode: "Vegas Rock"
1989	Quantum Leap	Bert Glasserman	Episode: "Thou Shalt Not..."
1990–1991	Twin Peaks	Dr. Lawrence Jacoby	15 episodes
1992	Running Mates	Frank Usher	Television film
1994	Babylon 5	Capt. Jack Maynard	Episode: "A Distant Star"
1997	Nash Bridges	Jim the Penman	Episode: "The Counterfeiters"
1998	My Ghost Dog	Vito	Television film
1999	Inherit the Wind	Ed Morse	Television film
2000	General Hospital	Dr. Lawrence Jacoby	2 episodes
2004	Joan of Arcadia	Dog Walker God	3 episodes
2010–2012 2016	The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret	Chuck Margaret / Billy the Cheesegrater	9 episodes
2017	Twin Peaks	Dr. Lawrence Jacoby	6 episodes
2018	The Haunting of Hill House	Dr. Montague	Episode: "The Bent-Neck Lady"

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations

Award	Category	Year	Title of work	Result
Academy Award	Best Actor in a Supporting Role	1957	Peyton Place	Nominated
Golden Globe Award	Most Promising Newcomer - Male	1956	Hit the Deck	Won (shared with Ray Danton)
Golden Laurel Award	Top Male Musical Performance	1959	Tom Thumb	Nominated

References

1. Willis & Monush 2010, p. 405.
2. Cullen, Hackman & McNeilly 2006, p. 1085.
3. "Russ Tamblyn Biography". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
4. Lamparski 1985, p. 172.
5. "The Life Story of RUSS TAMBLYN". Picture Show (64): 12. June 18, 1955. ProQuest 1879618880.
6. Hopper, Hedda (October 23, 1955). "Russ tamblyn rose fast the slow way". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 166841115.
7. Schallert, E. (June 26, 1953). "Norman corwin to script 'Holy Grail'; Tamblyn captures star chance". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 166501763.
8. Wheelock, J. (February 20, 1983). "DANCEWATCHING". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 153380686.
9. Hopper, Hedda (April 9, 1955). "Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds to Co-Star in 'Tender Trap'". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 12.
10. By, R. N. (February 29, 1956). "Dancer? tumbler? actor?". The Christian Science Monitor. ProQuest 509367110.
11. Hopper, Hedda (September 21, 1958). "HE'S IN THE ARMY NOW!". Chicago Daily Tribune. ProQuest 182140007.
12. Hughes, Mike (2 August 1990). "Russ Tamblyn Has 'Peak' Performance". Lansing State Journal. p. 74. Retrieved 29 September 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Russ Tamblyn's Official Site: Welcome Retrieved September 16, 2007
14. Brown, Joe (August 3, 1983). "Tumblin' Tamblyn". The Washington Post.
15. Wheelock, Julie (6 April 1990). "'Twin Peaks' Stars Tamblyn, Beymer Share Twin Experience : Television: Actors at work on ABC series share a common bond . . . their roles in 'West Side Story' almost 30 years ago". LA Times. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
16. Stayton, Richard (September 17, 1993). "Savvy cast can't shed light on 'Zastrozzi'". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 1851816795.
17. Tribune, M. S. (September 9, 2000). "Russ Tamblyn Joins Daughter on 'GH'". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 419235985.
18. "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.
19. Ferguson, LaToya (14 January 2016). "Todd Margaret is forever doomed if he does, doomed if he doesn't". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
20. "Who's who in Twin Peaks Season 3: The Return? A character guide for the confused". Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
21. Lamparski 1985, p. 165.
22. "People: Marriages". The Cincinnati Enquirer. May 10, 1960. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
23. "Milestones". Time. May 23, 1960. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
24. Beck, Kim (October 28, 2012). "'West Side Story' Star Russ Tamblyn". American Profile. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
25. "David Lynch And Mark Frost Want Russ Tamblyn Back As Dr. Jacoby In The New Twin Peaks!". February 24, 2015.

Works cited

• Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; McNeilly, Donald (2006). Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performances in America. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-93853-2.
• Lamparski, Richard (1985). Whatever Became Of ... ? (9th ed.). Crown. ISBN 978-0-517-55540-8.
• Willis, John; Monush, Barry, eds. (2010). Screen World 2007. 58. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-1-557-83729-5.
• Williams, Sharon Lind (June–July 1991). "Russ Tamblyn". Filmfax. No. 27. p. 68.

External links

• Official website
• Russ Tamblyn at IMDb