Episodes 30 & 31 Guest Star: Rip Torn (1931-2019)

- August 02, 2019

Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor and voice actor. Torn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his part as Marsh Turner in Cross Creek (1984). His work includes the role of Artie the producer on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated for six Emmy Awards, winning in 1996. He also won an American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Male in a Series and two CableACE Awards for his work on the show; he was nominated for a Satellite Award in 1997 for his role as Chief Zed in Men in Black (1997).

Torn was born in Temple, Texas, on February 6, 1931, the son of Elmore Rual "Tiger" Torn Sr. and Thelma Mary Torn (née Spacek). The senior Elmore (1906–1971) was an agriculturalist and economist who worked to promote the consumption of black-eyed peas, particularly as a custom on New Year's Day. Thelma was an aunt of actress Sissy Spacek. The family is of German, Austrian, and Czech/Moravian ancestry. The nickname "Rip" is a family tradition among men in the Torn family. Torn graduated from Taylor High School in Taylor, Texas, in 1948.

Torn was a member of the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets, although he graduated from the University of Texas where he studied acting under the Shakespeare professor B. Iden Payne, and was a member of the Alpha Nu chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity. After graduation, he served in the Military Police in the United States Army.

After moving to Hollywood, Torn made his film debut in the 1956 film Baby Doll. Torn then studied at the Actors Studio in New York under Lee Strasberg, becoming a prolific stage actor, appearing in the original cast of Tennessee Williams' play Sweet Bird of Youth, and reprising the role in the film and television adaptations. While in New York, Torn introduced his cousin Sissy Spacek to the entertainment business, and helped her enroll in the Actors Studio.

One of Torn's earliest roles was in Pork Chop Hill, portraying the brother-in-law of Gregory Peck's character. He also had an uncredited role in A Face in the Crowd as Barry Mills. In 1957, Torn portrayed Jody in an early episode of The Restless Gun. In 1957, he starred as incarcerated Steve Morgan in the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "Number Twenty-Two," and on the same series in 1961 he played a recently released prisoner, Ernie Walters, in the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "The Kiss-Off." In 1997, Torn appeared in the Disney film Hercules, in which he voiced the god Zeus.

Torn played MIB agency boss Zed in the 1997 hit film Men in Black, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, a role he reprised in the 2002 sequel Men in Black II. In 2001, Torn memorably portrayed James "Jim" Brody in the comedy film Freddy Got Fingered. In 2004, Torn played the iconic wrench-tossing coach Patches O'Houlihan in DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story.

Torn was married three times, had six children and four grandchildren. Torn died on July 9, 2019, at his home in Lakeville, Connecticut, at the age of 88.

You'll find much more about UNCLE in