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IMDbPro

Robert Ryan(1909-1973)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Robert Ryan, 1961.
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:53
Suora toiminta (1973)
39 Videos
99+ Photos
Distinguished U.S. actor and longtime civil rights campaigner Robert Bushnell Ryan was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Mable Arbutus (Bushnell), a secretary, and Timothy Aloysius Ryan, whose wealthy family owned a real estate firm. His father was of Irish ancestry, and his mother was of English and Irish descent. Ryan served in the United States Marines as a drill sergeant (winning a boxing championship) and went on to become a key figure in post WWII American Film Noir and western productions.

Ryan grabbed critical attention for his dynamic performances as an anti-Semitic bully in the superb Oikeutettu kosto (1947), as an over-the-hill boxer who refuses to take a fall in Viimeinen isku (1949) and as a hostile & jaded cop in Pettävällä pohjalla (1951). Ryan's athletic physique, intense gaze and sharply delivered, authoritarian tones made him an ideal actor for the oily world of the Film Noir genre, and he contributed solid performances to many Film Noir features, usually as a vile villain. Ryan played a worthy opponent for bounty hunter James Stewart in the Anthony Mann directed western Teräskannus (1953), he locked horns with an intrepid investigator Spencer Tracy in the suspenseful Mies astui junasta (1955) and starred alongside Harry Belafonte in the grimy, gangster flick He pakenivat huomispäivää (1959). Plus, the inventive Ryan excelled as the ruthless "John Claggart" in Billy Budd (1962), and two different WWII US generals - first in the star-filled Atlantin valli murtuu (1962) and then in Battle of the Bulge (1965).

For the next eight years prior to his untimely death in 1973, Ryan landed some tremendous roles in a mixture of productions each aided by his high-caliber acting skills leaving strong impressions on movie audiences. He was one of the hard men hired to pursue kidnapped Claudia Cardinale in the hard boiled action of Saalistajat (1966), a by-the-book army colonel clashing with highly unorthodox army major Lee Marvin in Likainen tusina (1967), and an embittered bounty hunter (again) forced to hunt down old friend William Holden in the violent Sam Peckinpah western classic Hurja joukko (1969). Ryan's final on-screen performance was in the terrific production of The Iceman Cometh (1973) based on the Eugene O'Neill play and also starring Lee Marvin and Fredric March.

Legend has it that Sam Peckinpah clashed very heatedly with Ryan during the making of Hurja joukko (1969); however Peckinpah eventually backed down when a crew member reminded Sam of Robert Ryan's proficiency with his fists!

Primarily a man of pacifist beliefs, Ryan often found it a challenge playing sadistic and racist characters who very much were at odds with his own personal ideals. Additionally, Ryan actively campaigned for improved civil rights, restricting the growth of nuclear weapons, and he strongly opposed McCarthyism and its abuse of people who many believed were innocent. A gifted, intelligent and powerful actor, Robert Ryan passed away on July 11th, 1973 of lung cancer.
BornNovember 11, 1909
DiedJuly 11, 1973(63)
BornNovember 11, 1909
DiedJuly 11, 1973(63)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar
    • 3 wins & 4 nominations total

Photos340

Robert Ryan in Inferno (1953)
Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan in Hän möi tyttärensä (1951)
Virginia Mayo and Robert Ryan in He olivat ylpeitä (1956)
Virginia Mayo and Robert Ryan in He olivat ylpeitä (1956)
Robert Ryan in He olivat ylpeitä (1956)
Robert Ryan in He olivat ylpeitä (1956)
Jeffrey Hunter and Robert Ryan in He olivat ylpeitä (1956)
Jeffrey Hunter and Robert Ryan in He olivat ylpeitä (1956)
Virginia Mayo and Robert Ryan in He olivat ylpeitä (1956)
Virginia Mayo and Robert Ryan in He olivat ylpeitä (1956)
Robert Ryan in He olivat ylpeitä (1956)
Robert Middleton, Fay Roope, and Robert Ryan in He olivat ylpeitä (1956)

Known for:

Hurja joukko (1969)
Hurja joukko
7.9
  • Thornton
  • 1969
Likainen tusina (1967)
Likainen tusina
7.7
  • Col. Everett Dasher Breed
  • 1967
The Iceman Cometh (1973)
The Iceman Cometh
7.2
  • Larry Slade
  • 1973
Spencer Tracy, Anne Francis, and Robert Ryan in Mies astui junasta (1955)
Mies astui junasta
7.7
  • Reno Smith
  • 1955

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Suora toiminta (1973)
    Suora toiminta
    6.7
    • Foster
    • 1973
  • The Iceman Cometh (1973)
    The Iceman Cometh
    7.2
    • Larry Slade
    • 1973
  • Robert Duvall, Joe Don Baker, Karen Black, and Robert Ryan in Kostaja kiven sisältä (1973)
    Kostaja kiven sisältä
    7.0
    • Mailer
    • 1973
  • Beau Bridges and Cliff Robertson in The Man Without a Country (1973)
    The Man Without a Country
    7.1
    TV Movie
    • Lt. Cmdr. Vaughan
    • 1973
  • Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973)
    Lolly-Madonna XXX
    6.4
    • Pap Gutshall
    • 1973
  • Musta perjantai (1972)
    Musta perjantai
    6.7
    • Charley Ellis
    • 1972
  • Lemmenkone (1971)
    Lemmenkone
    4.8
    • Gregory Austin
    • 1971
  • Lainvalvoja (1971)
    Lainvalvoja
    7.0
    • Sabbath Cotton Ryan
    • 1971
  • The Reason Why
    8.0
    Short
    • Roger
    • 1970
  • The Front Page
    6.7
    TV Movie
    • Walter Burns
    • 1970
  • Chuck Connors and Robert Ryan in Kapteeni Nemon vedenalainen kaupunki (1969)
    Kapteeni Nemon vedenalainen kaupunki
    5.6
    • Captain Nemo
    • 1969
  • Hurja joukko (1969)
    Hurja joukko
    7.9
    • Thornton
    • 1969
  • Lo sbarco di Anzio (1968)
    Lo sbarco di Anzio
    6.0
    • General Carson
    • 1968
  • Elävänä tai kuolleena (1967)
    Elävänä tai kuolleena
    6.3
    • New Mexico Gov. Lem Carter
    • 1967
  • Jeffrey Hunter, Robert Shaw, Ty Hardin, Lawrence Tierney, and Mary Ure in Kenraali Custer - Lännen suuri taistelija (1967)
    Kenraali Custer - Lännen suuri taistelija
    5.8
    • 'Mulligan'
    • 1967

Soundtrack

  • Greer Garson, Lee Aaker, Tim Considine, Dale Hartleben, Donald MacDonald, Robert Ryan, Stuffy Singer, David Stollery, Barry Sullivan, and Peter J. Votrian in Hänen 12 miestään (1954)
    Hänen 12 miestään
    6.3
    • performer: "Twelve Days of Christmas" (uncredited)
    • 1954
  • Ginger Rogers and Robert Ryan in Tender Comrade (1943)
    Tender Comrade
    6.2
    • Soundtrack ("You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)" (1913), uncredited)
    • 1943

Videos39

Trailer
Trailer 1:47
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Trailer 2:25
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Trailer 2:15
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Trailer 2:22
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Trailer 1:12
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Trailer 0:53
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Trailer 2:43
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Trailer 3:13
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Trailer 1:58
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Trailer 2:39
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DVD Trailer
Trailer 2:38
DVD Trailer

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 1.92 m
  • Born
    • November 11, 1909
    • Chicago, Illinois, USA
  • Died
    • July 11, 1973
    • New York City, New York, USA(lymph cancer)
  • Spouse
    • Jessica CadwaladerMarch 11, 1939 - 1972 (her death, 3 children)
  • Children
      Ryan, Cheyney
  • Parents
      Timothy Ryan
  • Other works
    Print ads: Publicity photographs for Indian motorcycles
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Print Biographies
    • 9 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Shortly before his death, Ryan moved out of his apartment (number 72) at the Dakota in New York City. Ryan leased (and then his estate later sold) the apartment to John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
  • Quotes
    [on being listed as one of the screen's all-time best heavies] I guess they never saw me in most of my pictures. Still, I've never stopped working so I can't complain.
  • Trademarks
      Often played stern authority figures, in sharp contrast to his real life persona.
  • Salaries
      The Iceman Cometh
      (1973)
      $25 .000

FAQ14

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