EMMY winner Rip Torn, whose tempestuous nature made him a compelling character actor on the screen and stage but sometimes caused him trouble on the set and in private life, died Tuesday at the age of 88, media reports said. Torn, whose late-career resurgence included a key role on U.S. television’s “The Larry Sanders Show” and in the movies “Men in Black” and “Dodgeball,” died peacefully at his home, his family told the Hollywood Reporter and other media. The cause was not disclosed, but he was surrounded by his wife, actress Amy Wright, known for “Stardust Memories” and “The Accidental Tourist,” and his daughters, media reports said. Torn showed great range in his career but with a crooked grin, gruff voice and devilish glint in his eyes, he was especially well suited to playing bad boys and unpredictable characters. He often made headlines because of his volatility. He blamed his dismissal from a production of “Macbeth” on “friends” of the administration of President Richard Nixon, who Torn would later portray in the television mini-series “Blind Ambition.” Later in life came alcohol-related incidents, including an arrest in 2010 for breaking into a closed bank that he had mistaken for his home in Salisbury, Connecticut. (SD-Agencies) |