Lawrence Tierney Overview:

Character actor, Lawrence Tierney, was born on Mar 15, 1919 in Brooklyn, NY. Tierney died at the age of 83 on Feb 26, 2002 in Los Angeles, CA .

MINI BIO:

Light-haired American "tough guy" actor, brother of Scott Brady. The title role in Dillinger was his biggest break, and he infused it with menace and sub-surface violence. But Tierney was unable to follow through to all-round stardom. He worked for minor studios, and still played small parts, bald but as threatening as ever, even in old age.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Film Character Actors: an Illustrated Directory).

HONORS and AWARDS:

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BlogHub Articles:

The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947): Starring

By 4 Star Film Fan on Nov 23, 2021 From 4 Star Films

Felix Feist is a relatively obscure figure today and the only reason I’ve come to him has to do with two B films he was attached to, The Devil Thumbs a Ride and The Threat released?two years later. As a Southern Californian, I might obtain more glee out of name recognition than other viewers. ... Read full article


Day 7 of Noirvember: The Fall and Rise of

By shadowsandsatin on Nov 8, 2015 From Shadows and Satin

was once likened to the renowned fictional character Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde. ?When he?s sober, he serious, thoughtful, ambitious,? the 1951 newspaper account revealed. ?When he?s drunk, he?s close to crazy.? With his portrayal of Depression-era gangster John Dillinger in the late 1940s... Read full article


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Lawrence Tierney Quotes:

Eileen: You handle the truth carelessly, don't you, Vincent?
Vincent Lubeck: That's what I like about you - class! Never come out and call a man a liar.


Sam Wild: I've got a dame on my mind - and she's dead. That's plenty for me.


Mrs. Lubeck: Take a breath, Vincent. Go ahead. Smell! You can smell fresh air here. Not like where we used to live by the city dump. Every time the wind changed... my!... the smell! And Papa running around all day yelling, 'Keep the windows closed! Keep the windows... '
Vincent Lubeck: Stop it, Ma! Keep the windows closed? What was the use? The stink came through them anyhow into all the corners of your lungs... your skin! Even if you took a bath every day, the stink would still stink! Our playground, where we picked up a few pieces of junk to get spending money. A rotten stink! Even now we're not too far away from it! But you wait! I've got ideas. I'll get plenty of money! Yeah, dough! That's the only thing that'll ever cover up the stink of the city dump!


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Lawrence Tierney Facts
Was offered the role of Charlie "The Gent" Malloy, the mob lawyer, in Elia Kazan's classic On the Waterfront (1954). Tierney lost out on the part when he demanded more money than was offered. Subsequently, Rod Steiger played Charlie, and won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Accepting the part likely would have revitalized Tierney's career, at least in the short-term.

Off-screen, the actor's arrests for drunken brawls at bars and Hollywood parties took a heavy toll on his once-promising Hollywood career in the 1950s. Booze was always at the root of his misbehavior, which included tearing a public phone off the wall, hitting a waiter in the face with a sugar bowl, breaking a college student's jaw and attempting to choke a cab driver.

Was a brawler up until the end of his career, provoking almost all of the younger actors he worked with on Reservoir Dogs (1992) and actually having nearly come to blows with director Quentin Tarantino.

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