Overview (4)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (3)

Trivia (34)



On March 14, 1997, it was reported that he won a $475,000 defamation suit against Dennis Hopper . The lawsuit came about after remarks made by Hopper on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) on 31 May 1994.



Was nominated for Broadway's 1960 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for "Sweet Bird of Youth," a performance he recreated in the film version with the same title, Süßer Vogel Jugend (1962).



Was a close friend from boyhood of actor Larry Blyden . As boys, friends would refer to the two as "Torn and Bleedin'," Bleiden being the original spelling of the latter's name.



In 1997, he appeared in Men in Black (1997) and Hercules (1997). In "Men in Black" he plays "Zed", head of MIB. Also in that film, Tommy Lee Jones ' character, "Kay", is swallowed by a giant cockroach, and escapes by blowing the creature up from the inside. In "Hercules", Torn plays "Zeus", head of the Olympian gods. In that film, Hercules is swallowed by the Hydra and escapes by cutting the creature's head off from inside.

Attended the Republican National Convention in New York in 2004.



Grew up in Texas. He attended Texas A & M College, graduating in 1952. Later, studied acting at the University of Texas, where he joined Sigma Chi Fraternity.



Was the league commissioner of GSN's Extreme Dodgeball.





In 1970 a bullet was fired through the window of his home after he spoke out against the Vietnam War on Dick Cavett Show (1968).

Served as a U.S. Army military police officer after college.



On January 29, 2010, Torn was arrested in Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, after police found him passed out, holding a loaded gun, on the floor of a bank that had just been broken into. Torn was drunk and thought the bank was his home. He was charged with criminal trespass, carrying a firearm without a permit, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, burglary and criminal mischief. He later entered a plea of guilty and was given a suspended 2.5-year prison sentence, three years of probation during which time he was forbidden from carrying a firearm and agreed to be subject to random drug and alcohol testing.



Torn was born to a father of German, Austrian, and Bohemian (Czech), descent, and a mother of Moravian (Czech) and German ancestry. He grew up in Taylor, Texas, a farming community 30 miles northeast of Austin. His parents are buried in Taylor's local cemetery. As a graduate of Taylor High School, home of the Taylor Ducks, he was a member of the inaugural group inducted into the Duck Hall of Fame. He attended the ceremonies personally where he visited with many former classmates.





Best remembered by the public for his starring role as the producer - "Artie" on Die Larry Sanders Show (1992).

At age 25, Torn moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1956, to become an actor.





Bore a slight resemblance to Richard Karn

His uncle (on his father's side), Roland Sarrazin "Rip" Torn, passed away on August 13, 1999. He lived to be 82.



His birthplace, Temple, Texas, is 27 miles east of Kileen, Texas.



Graduated from Taylor High School, in Taylor, Texas, in 1948, at only 17 years of age.



Had appeared in the music video for the They Might Be Giants song "Can't Keep Johnny Down".



His aunt (on his father's side), Leonita O. Torn Cobb, died on June 11, 1993, almost 7 months before Torn's mother. The most coincidental thing is they were both 85.



His aunt (on his mother's side), Rose Mae Spacek Byrd, died on June 7, 2012. She lived almost to be 96.



Throughout his six decade career, he received 1 Academy Award nomination, 2 American Comedy Awards nominations, 9 Emmy Award nominations and 7 CableACE nominations. He won the Emmy Award, once, the American Comedy Award, once and the CableACE award, 3 times.



Upon his death, he was interred at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery in Poughkeepsie, New York.



His uncle (on his mother's side), Edwin Arnold "Ed" Spacek, Sr., died on January 7, 2001. He lived to be 90.





Best remembered for having taken Wallace Langham under his wing, when he was 27. Their friendship lasted for 27 years, until Torn's death in 2019.



Her daughter Angelica Page has a birthday, 11 days after her father.



After his guest-starring role on TripTank: #InsideRoy (2016), he retired from acting at age 85. He would die a few years later, on July, 2019, at age 88.

His mother, Thelma Mary Spacek Torn, died on December 28, 1993. She lived to be 85.



Before he was a successful actor, he was also a member of the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets.



Personal Quotes (18)



[about being called volatile] What do they say about all the guys that are tremendous actors? Don't they say they have a volatile temper and emotions? Yeah, sure they do! They're not saying they like a nice, mild guy. Look at Sean Penn

[on receiving his first Oscar nomination] People are finally realizing I'm one of the few actors who has never missed a performance. I've worked with broken legs, arms, ankles. I once passed a kidney stone during the opening night of a show.



Never think you're better than anyone else, but don't let anyone treat you like you're worse than they are.



I honor religion except when it gets into shedding blood.





I used to be friends with Miles Davis . He didn't like many folks. I lived across the street from him.

If you're lucky enough to have a pretty girl love you and share herself and sleep with you, make that your secret. The best way to spoil love is by talking to too many people about it.



If I could just get a piece of lemon, it'd be great.



You can never turn your back on the ocean.



Don't ever humiliate a man. If you're gonna have to dress him out, you take him aside and do it that way. That's the one thing I don't like about Hollywood: They go in for public humiliation. You shouldn't do that to a man.



Be your own politics, grow your own garden, and maybe you can help out more.



When I grew up people said, "You'll never be the man your dad was". And I said, "Gee, I hope not".



I've got two old Volvos, two old Subarus and an old Ford Ranger. If you've got an old car, you've gotta have at least several old cars, 'cause one's always gonna be in the garage.



Let the other guys do the crybaby stuff. Go for the laughs.



I think most actors are shy. I really do. The greatest actors can disappear. I had friends call me the Blend-In Man.



I've never hit anybody who hasn't clocked me two or three times.



Anything new is always considered the devil's tool.



Everybody says, "You impress me as a guy who never wanted to be a movie star". I say, "Everybody in the world wants to be a movie star".



There's always some kind of blacklist throughout history. But the difference is, in America they usually let you live.



Salary (1)