Rip Torn has passed away

Rip Torn has died aged 88. Rick Miramontez, Torn’s publicist, confirmed Torn died Tuesday afternoon at his home with his wife, actor Amy Wright, and daughters Katie Torn and Angelica Page by his side. No cause of death was given.

After serving as a military policeman during the Korean War, Torn moved to Hollywood.

He made his film debut in the 1956 film Baby Doll. Torn then studied at the Actors Studio in New York. Torn helped his cousin Sissy Spacek enrol in the Actors Studio.

He was famously replaced by Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider for allegedly pulling a knife on lead star Dennis Hopper.

“I wouldn’t say that I was blacklisted,” he told The Associated Press in 1984, “but the word got around that I was difficult and unreliable. Unreliable! In all my years in the theatre I have never missed a performance.”

His career spanned more than six decades. He appeared in 10 Broadway plays and directed one, more than 80 feature films – including Men in Black, Beastmaster, Defending Your Life, DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, Wonder Boys, Robocop 3, Flashpoint – and dozens of television appearances.

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.