| Russ Tamblyn | |
| Birth Name: | Russell Irving Tamblyn |
| Birth Date: | 30 December 1934 |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 1948–present |
| Children: | 2, including Amber Tamblyn |
| Father: | Eddie Tamblyn |
| Relatives: | David Cross (son-in-law) |
Russell Irving Tamblyn (born December 30, 1934), also known as Rusty Tamblyn, is an American film and television actor and dancer.
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.
Tamblyn was born December 30, 1934, in Los Angeles, California, to actors Sally Aileen (Triplett) and Edward Francis "Eddie" Tamblyn. His younger brother, Larry Tamblyn, was the organist for the 1960s band the Standells.[1]
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. 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.
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.[2]
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.[3] 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.
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."
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, and in What Happened to Jo Jo? (1950).
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).
MGM was impressed by Tamblyn's performance in Retreat, Hell! and signed him to a long-term contract.[4] He called this "the second big break" of his career.
His first role under the contract was as a young soldier in boot camp in Take the High Ground! (1953), directed by Richard Brooks.[5] 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). Tamblyn says the director wanted to cast a Broadway dancer but MGM insisted the filmmakers use some contract talent, leading to him and Jeff Richards being used.
Tamblyn was not a trained dancer and always considered himself an actor who danced rather than the other way around,[6] but the film was a big success and established him at MGM. He said "my career really took off" after the film.
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 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.[7] [8] 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.[1]
20th Century Fox borrowed Tamblyn to play Norman Page in Peyton Place (1957), opposite Lana Turner and Diane Varsi. For his performance he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.[1] Immediately after filming that, Tamblyn went to England to play the title role in the musical Tom Thumb (1958), made for George Pal. When he returned, MGM immediately cast him as the lead in High School Confidential (1958), which was a solid hit.
Tamblyn's career momentum was interrupted when he was drafted into the United States Army in 1958.[9] During his service he was given leave to play a prominent supporting part in Cimarron (1960).
Tamblyn's best-known musical role came as Riff, the leader of the Jets street gang in West Side Story (1961).[1] He then appeared in two MGM Cinerama movies, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, again for Pal, and How the West Was Won (both 1962).
Tamblyn played Luke Sannerson in The Haunting for Robert Wise, who had made West Side Story. Tamblyn said he originally turned down the role as he disliked the part but agreed to do it when MGM threatened to put him on suspension. He then played "Smitty" Smith in MGM's Follow the Boys (both 1963).
Tamblyn was unable to consolidate his position as a leading man, and later said he "dropped out" after his West Side Story success and devoted himself to art, refusing movie roles, as well as the role of Gilligan in the TV series Gilligan's Island.[10]
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 Days of Our Lives.
Tamblyn had the starring role in the low-budget MGM Western 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 said he became "bored" with acting around this time and more interested in art.
Tamblyn starred in the 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.[6]
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 Young's Greendale concert tour.[11] He choreographed a play, Man with Bags, in 1983.[12]
Tamblyn appeared in the TV series 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.
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);[13] his scenes in the 1992 prequel film were cut.
He appeared 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.[14] 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.
Tamblyn 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.[15] The two also worked together in the films Rebellious, Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard, and The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. 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.[16]
Tamblyn had supporting roles in Drive (2011), Django Unchained (2012), and Hits (2014). He appeared several times in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret,[17] and in the revival of Twin Peaks (2017).[18]
Tamblyn married actress Venetia Stevenson in 1956, but they divorced the next year. In 1960 he married Elizabeth Kempton, a showgirl, in Las Vegas.[19] [20] 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.[21]
In 2012, it was announced that Tamblyn was working on an autobiography, Dancing On The Edge.[22]
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.[23]
| 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 Sannerson | ||
| 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 Monks | Frank | ||
| 1990 | Aftershock | Hank Franklin | ||
| 1991 | Wizards of the Demon Sword | Ulric | ||
| 1992 | 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 |
| 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 | Police Detective | 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" | |
| 1997 | General Hospital | Nurses ball dancer | 1 episode | |
| 1998 | My Ghost Dog | Vito | Television film | |
| 1999 | Inherit the Wind | Ed Morse | Television film | |
| 2000 | General Hospital | Dr. Rose | 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" |
| 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 |