Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American actor and activist. He became known for his roles in films noir and Westerns, gaining fame for his portrayals of both hardened anti-heroes and ruthless villains.Robert Ryan's Quiet Furies: [Arts and Leisure Desk] Manohla Dargis. New York Times 7 Aug 2011: AR.10. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Crossfire (1947), and a BAFTA Award for his performance in Billy Budd (1962). He was also an accomplished stage actor, winning a Drama Desk Award for a 1971 revival of Long Day's Journey into Night.
Though he never achieved the A-list stardom of some of his Hollywood peers, Ryan nonetheless remained a popular performer, well-regarded by both critics and his peers. Critic Manohla Dargis wrote, "[Ryan] was the type of next-level star and B-movie stalwart that helped make old Hollywood great" and "born to play beautifully tortured, angry souls."
Early years Ryan was born in Chicago, the first child of Mabel Arbutus (née Bushnell), a secretary, and Timothy Aloysius Ryan, who was from a wealthy family who owned a real estate firm. He was of Irish (his paternal grandparents were from Thurles) and English descent. Ryan was raised Catholic and educated at Loyola Academy.Jones, J.R. The Lives of Robert Ryan Wesleyan University Press, 11 May 2015
Ryan graduated from Dartmouth College in 1932, where he held the school's heavyweight boxing title for all four years of his attendance, along with lettering in football and track. After graduation, Ryan found employment as a stoker on a ship that traveled to Africa, a WPA worker, a ranch hand in Montana, and other odd jobs.
Ryan returned home in 1936 when his father died; after a brief stint modeling clothes for a department store, he decided to become an actor.From Chicago Sandhog to Hollywood Star: Robert Ryan: Acting Career Has Beginning in Night School Zylstra, Freida. Chicago Daily Tribune 19 July 1950: a1.
Career Early appearances In 1937 Ryan joined a little theater group in Chicago. The following year he enrolled in the Max Reinhardt Workshop in Hollywood. His role in the 1939 play Too Many Husbands brought an offer from Paramount. Although he had done a screen test for them in 1938 and been turned down as "not the right type", the studio offered him a $75 a week contract.
Paramount In November 1939, Paramount signed Ryan to a six-month contract and announced he would play the lead in Golden Gloves (1940), citing his boxing experience at Dartmouth.SCREEN NEWS HERE AND IN HOLLYWOOD: Paramount Signs Robert Ryan, Former Dartmouth Boxer, for 'Golden Gloves' RKO PLANS 'LITTLE ORVIE' Seeks John Barrymore 2d for Title Role--Mary Boland Gets Part in 'New Moon' RKO Signs Edmund O'Brien By DOUGLAS W. CHURCHILL Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES 4 Nov 1939: 11. However, after a screen test with Gloves director Edward Dmytryk, the lead went to Richard Denning and Ryan was cast in a minor, but important role as a boxing "ringer". He had his first credited role, while making a lasting association with the director in which they would make several films together.
In the same year, Ryan had small parts in The Ghost Breakers (1940) and Queen of the Mob (1940) as well as small roles in North West Mounted Police (1941) and Texas Rangers Ride Again (1941). Then Paramount dropped him.
He went to Broadway, where he was cast in a production of Clifford Odets' Clash by Night (1941–42), directed by Lee Strasberg and produced by Billy Rose starring Tallulah Bankhead and Lee J. Cobb. It had a run of 49 performances, but was high-profile and led to his being signed to a long-term contract by RKO.The Life Story of ROBERT RYAN Picture Show; London Vol. 56, Iss. 1454, (Feb 10, 1951): 10.
RKO Ryan appeared in Bombardier (1943), starring Pat O'Brien, and was fourth-billed in the Fred Astaire musical The Sky's the Limit (1943), playing a friend of Astaire. Both films were popular.
He was fourth-billed in Behind the Rising Sun (1943), directed by Edward Dmytryk, which was a huge box-office success then third-billed in The Iron Major (1943), with O'Brien, and Gangway for Tomorrow (1943).Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p41
RKO promoted him to star status in Tender Comrade (1943), where he was Ginger Rogers' leading man, directed for the third time by Dmytryk. It was a big hit. Also popular was Marine Raiders (1944), in which Ryan co-starred again alongside O'Brien.
World War II Ryan enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served as a drill instructor from January 1944 to November 1945 at Camp Pendleton, in Southern California. There he befriended a fellow Marine, the writer and future film director Richard Brooks. He also took up painting.
Return to acting When Ryan was discharged from the Marine Corps, he returned to RKO. They immediately cast Ryan in the Randolph Scott western, Trail Street (1947), which was very popular. However, his next film made with Joan Bennett, The Woman on the Beach (1947) directed by Jean Renoir, lost money.ROBERT RYAN GETS ROLE IN RKO FILM: Out of Marines, He Will CoStar With Joan Bennett for Studio in 'Desirable Woman' Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES 4 Jan 1946: 28.
Ryan's breakthrough role was as an anti-Semitic killer in the Dmytryk-directed film noir Crossfire (1947), co-starring Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, and Gloria Grahame. The film was based on Richard Brooks's novel The Brick Foxhole, which reflected the tensions of barracks life during the war—something familiar to both Brooks and Ryan from their Pendleton experience. Crossfire was highly successful at the box officeRobert Ryan, 'Crossfire' Hit, Gets Stardom in Boxing Film By Hedda Hopper. The Washington Post 1 July 1947: 17. and received several Academy Award nominations including a Best Supporting Actor for Ryan's performance.
Ryan co-starred with Merle Oberon in Berlin Express (1948) for director Jacques Tourneur. He was reunited with Scott in Return of the Bad Men (1948), and with O'Brien in The Boy with Green Hair (1948). The latter film was directed by Joseph Losey and produced by Dore Schary, who was head of production at RKO.RANDOM NOTES ABOUT PICTURES AND PEOPLE: Robert Ryan on 'Berlin Express' -- New Novel Acquired and Other Items By A.H. WEILER. New York Times 20 July 1947: X3.
MGM borrowed him to make Act of Violence (1948) for Fred Zinnemann. He stayed at that studio to make Caught (1949) for Max Ophuls with James Mason.
Back at RKO, Ryan had one of his best roles in The Set-Up (1949), directed by Robert Wise, as an over-the-hill boxer who is brutally punished for refusing to take a dive. The Set-Up was a favorite of Ryan's. He was top billed in The Woman on Pier 13 (1949), an anti-communist melodrama directed by Robert Stevenson, that was made at the prompting of RKO's new owner, Howard Hughes.
Ryan next appeared in several film noirs: The Secret Fury (1950) with Claudette Colbert directed by Mel Ferrer, and Born to Be Bad (1950) directed by Nicholas Ray.ROBERT RYAN GETS LEAD IN RKO FILM: To Play Opposite Joan Fontaine in 'Bed of Roses' at Studio -- Work Starts This Month By THOMAS F. BRADYS New York Times 1 June 1949: 43. In 1950, the studio bought The Miami Story as a vehicle for him.DRATTLER DRAMA IS BOUGHT BY RKO: Studio Acquires 'Miami Story' as Vehicle for Robert Ryan --Author Named Producer Of Local Origin By THOMAS F. BRADY Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES 28 Jan 1950: 10.
He then made the Western Best of the Badmen (1951), and costarred with John Wayne in Flying Leathernecks (1951), a World War II film directed by Ray. It was announced he was working on an original film story called The Alpine Slide about avalanches, but no film resulted.Drama: Robert Ryan Scripts Avalanche Outline; Gig Young Western Prepared Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 26 Jan 1951: A9.
In 1951, Ryan was reunited with Crossfire costar Robert Mitchum in The Racket, directed by John Cromwell; that same year, Ray again directed him in a film noir, On Dangerous Ground, with Ida Lupino. Ryan then made the film adaptation of Clash by Night (1952) with Barbara Stanwyck and Marilyn Monroe under Fritz Lang's direction. According to film critic David Thomson, "at RKO Ryan created the character of a modern neurotic such as the American screen had not dreamed of before."Ryan & Shaw Thomson, David. Film Comment; New York Vol. 30, Iss. 1, (Jan 1994): 68.
His last film at RKO for a number of years was Beware, My Lovely (1952) with Lupino, made for her production company.
Post-RKO
Ryan went to MGM where he played a villain in Anthony Mann's western The Naked Spur (1953), starring James Stewart. The picture was very popular.
He appeared in City Beneath the Sea (1953) for Budd Boetticher at Universal, Inferno (1953) at Fox, and Alaska Seas (1954) at Paramount.
He was the leading man for Shirley Booth in About Mrs. Leslie (1954) and Greer Garson in Her Twelve Men (1954). The latter was made at MGM, now being run by Dore Schary, RKO's previous studio head, who cast Ryan as the head villain in Bad Day at Black Rock (1954).
He appeared in an off-Broadway production of Coriolanus (1954) directed by John Houseman.
Ryan returned to RKO for Escape to Burma (1955) with Stanwyck. More widely seen was Sam Fuller's House of Bamboo (1955) and Raoul Walsh's The Tall Men (1955), both at Fox. By now his fee was reported as $150,000 per film.Ryan Proposes 'Lost Patrol;' Zero Mostel in 'Lunatics and Lovers' Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 30 July 1955: 15.
He starred in The Proud Ones (1956) at Fox, Back from Eternity (1956) at RKO, directed by John Farrow.Drama: Andes Flies Over Andes; Shannon Upped, to Star; Don McGuire to Produce Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times 3 Jan 1956: B7. He appeared in Men in War (1957) for Anthony Mann, made at Mann's company Security Pictures.
Television Ryan made his television debut in 1955 as Abraham Lincoln in the Screen Director's Playhouse adaptation of Christopher Morley's story "Lincoln's Doctor's Dog." As he explained to reporters, despite financial considerations, Ryan preferred to steer clear of any commitment to a TV series: The only money in TV is in the series, and I want to stay out of those. Sure, I might make a million or so in a series, but I'd wind up being 'Sidewinder Sam' for the rest of my life."Notes From Hollywood". The Ottawa Citizen. December 3, 1955. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
Ryan remained true to these convictions, appearing in many television series, but always as a guest star. He was in Screen Directors Playhouse, Mr. Adams and Eve, Goodyear Theatre, Alcoa Theatre, Playhouse 90 (playing The Great Gatsby), and Zane Grey Theater.
He continued to star in features, however, including God's Little Acre (1958) for Mann and Security Pictures, Lonelyhearts (1959) written and produced by Schary, Day of the Outlaw (1959) for Security Pictures, and Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) for Wise.
1960s In the summer of 1960 Ryan starred opposite Katharine Hepburn at the American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, Connecticut, playing Antony to Hepburn's Cleopatra.
Ryan remained in high demand throughout the 1960s: he appeared in Ice Palace (1960) with Richard Burton; a TV version of The Snows of Kilimanjaro directed by John Frankenheimer; The Canadians (1961) for Burt Kennedy; played John the Baptist in MGM's Technicolor epic King of Kings (1961) for Nicholas Ray; was the villainous Claggart in Peter Ustinov's adaptation of Billy Budd (1962) for which he was nominated for a BAFTA.2 FILM FIRMS WIN CHAPLIN CASE: Roy Export and Lopert Get U. S. Injunction Barring 'Pirated' Showings By RICHARD NASON. New York Times 24 July 1959: 14.
He also appeared in the all-star war film The Longest Day (1962), playing James M. Gavin.