Russ Tamblyn
Russell Irving Tamblyn (born December 30, 1934), also known as Rusty Tamblyn, is an American film and television actor and dancer.
Russ Tamblyn
- Actor
- dancer
- artist
1948–present
-
Elizabeth Kempton(m. 1960; div. 1979)
-
Bonnie Murray(m. 1981)
2, including Amber Tamblyn
- Eddie Tamblyn (father)
David Cross (son-in-law), Larry Tamblyn (brother)
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tamblyn 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. In West Side Story (1961), he portrayed Riff, the leader of the Jets gang.
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[edit]
Tamblyn was born December 30, 1934, in Los Angeles, California,[1] to actors Sally Aileen (Triplett) and Edward Francis "Eddie" Tamblyn.[2] His younger brother, Larry Tamblyn, was the organist for the 1960s band the Standells.[3]
Tamblyn was a hyperactive child with a penchant for gymnastics and performing. He took the stage during intermissions at the local movie theater and gave tumbling performances.[4] When he was 13, Tamblyn lived in North Hollywood, studied dramatics under Grace Bowman and dancing at the North Hollywood Academy, owned and operated by his parents.[5]
Career[edit]
1948–1952: Child acting[edit]
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.[6]
Tamblyn's first professional job came when he was ten years old and was cast by actor Lloyd Bridges in a play Bridges was directing called The Stone Jungle alongside Dickie Moore.[5] During the play's run Tamblyn was seen by several talent scouts and an agent, who signed him. The agent arranged for Tamblyn to audition for a role in The Boy With Green Hair (1948), and he was given a small part.[7]
He appeared as young Saul in Cecil B. DeMille's 1949 version of Samson and Delilah. "That was a big break for me", he later said. "After that I worked a lot."[8]
Tamblyn appeared in Reign of Terror, then was given a role in The Kid from Cleveland (1949), billed third (as "Rusty Tamblyn") after stars George Brent and Lynn Bari,[4] and in 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) at MGM. He 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).[9]
Personal life[edit]
Tamblyn married actress Venetia Stevenson in 1956, but they divorced the next year.[32] In 1960 he married Elizabeth Kempton, a showgirl, in Las Vegas.[33][34] In later years, Tamblyn discovered he had a daughter he did not previously know about from the 1960s with artist and spiritual practitioner Elizabeth Anne Vigil. His first daughter, China Faye Tamblyn, is an artist and heavy metal welder who lives in California. Tamblyn did not meet her until she was a teenager and only after the birth of his second child, actress and author Amber Tamblyn, who was born in 1983 to his third wife, Bonnie Murray.[35]
In 2012, it was announced that Tamblyn was working on an autobiography, Dancing On The Edge.[36]
Tamblyn underwent open heart surgery in October 2014. There were complications afterward and during his rehabilitation, but his health had reportedly improved by February 2015.[37]