Richard Farnsworth
Biography
Credits
Television
(year/title/character)
1956 Zane Grey Theater Stars Over Texas.....Trooper
1958 Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok Jingles on The Jail Road.....Butler
1959 State Trooper Lonely Valley.....No Character Info
The Rebel Yellow hair.....Trooper
1960 Wanted: Dead or Alive To The Victor.....Hal
Wanted: Dead or Alive The Partners.....Rance Henry
1965 The Big Valley The Odyssey of Jubal Tanner.....Bolin
1967 The Big Valley Image of Yesterday.....Businessman
Cimarron Strip Jounrey to a Hanging.....Dusty Rhodes
Cimarron Strip The Battleground.....Benefiel
1970 The High Chaparral The Long Shadow.....Lloyd
1971 Bonanza Top Hand.....Sourdough
1972 Bonanza The Saddle Stiff.....Tate
Bonanza He Was Only Seven.....Troy
1974 Honky Tonk.....No Character Info
1975 Strange New World.....Elder
1977 Little House on The Prairie: A New Begining Quarantine.....Wall
Roots.....Slave Catcher
1981 The Texas Rangers.....Ranger J.W. Stevens
A Few Days in Weasel Creek.....Jason Stayvey
The Cherokee Trail.....Ridge Fenton
1983 Travis McGee.....Van Harder
Ghost Dancing.....Russ Ward
1985 Wild Horses.....Chuck Reese
Chase.....Judge Grand Pettitt
Anne of Green Gables.....Matthew Cuthbert
1987 Highway to Heaven A Dream of Wild Horses.....Grandpa Jet Sanders
1989 Desperado: The Outlaw Wars.....Sheriff Campbell, Bisby Arizona
Red Earth, White Earth.....Helmer
1992 The Boys of Twilight.....Cody McPherson
1993 The Fire Next Time.....Frank Morgan
1998 Best Friends For Life.....Will Harper
Film
(year/title/character)
1939 Gone With The Wind.....Soldier
1943 This is The Army.....Soldier
1948 Red River.....Dunston Rider
1953 Arena.....Cowboy
1956 The Ten Commandments.....Chariot Driver
1963 The Jolly Genie.....Thug
1966 Duel at Diablo.....Wagon Driver #1
Texas Across The River.....Comanche Medicine Man
1970 Monte Walsh.....Cowboy
1972 The Cowboys.....Henry Williams
Pocket Money.....Man
Ulzana's Raid.....Trooper
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean.....Outlaw
1973 The Soul of Nigger Charley.....Walker
Papillon.....Manhunter
1974 Blazing Saddles.....Sheriff
1975 Rooster Cogburn (his scenes were deleted).....Rooster's Deputy
1976 The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox.....Stagecoach Driver
The Outlaw Josey Wales.....Comanchero
1977 Another Man, Another Chance.....Stagecoach Driver
1978 Comes a Horseman.....Dodger
1980 Tom Horn.....John C. Coble
Resurrection.....Esco Brown
1981 Rucus.....Sheriff Jethro Pough
The Legend of The Lone Ranger.....Wild Bill Hickok
1982 Waltz Across Texas.....Frank Walker
The Grey Fox.....Bill Miner/George Edwards
1983 Indepenence Day.....Evan
1984 The Natural.....Red Blow
Rhinestone.....Noah, Jake's Father
1985 Space Rage.....Colonel
Into The Night.....Jake Caper
Sylvester.....Foster
1990 The Two jakes.....Earl Rawley
Misery.....Sheriff John T. 'Buster' McCain
Havana.....Professor
1992 Highway to Hell.....Sam
1994 The Getaway.....Slim
Lassie.....Len Collins
1999 The Straight Story.....Alvin Straight
Radio/Voice Work
(year/title/character)
1993 The Wild West.....Teddy Blue Abbott
Awards
(year/award/result)
1979 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.....Nominated
1983 Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor.....Won
1986 Gemini Award for Best Performance by a Supporting Actor.....Won
1999 Academy Award for Best Actor.....Nominated
Stunt Work
(year/title/character)
1937 A Day At The Races
The Californian
Wells Fargo
1938 The Adventures of Marco Polo
Under Western Stars
1939 Gunga Din
Gone With The Wind
1943 The Outlaw
Five Graves in Cairo
This is The Army
1945 Utah
1946 Galloping Thunder
Duel in the Sun
California
1947 Over The Santa Fe Trail
Angle and The Badman
Stallion Road
1948 Fort Apache
Silver River
The Man From Colorado
Red River
1949 Mighty Joe Young
Lawless Code
1950 The Kid From Gower Gulch
1951 The Adventures of Kit Carson (TV)
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (TV)
1952 The Cimarron Kid
The Story of Will Rogers
Horizons West
The Lusty Men
1953 The Lawless Breed
The Desert Song
Law and Order
Pony Express
Arrowhead
The Man From The Alamo
War Arrow
The Wild One
1954 The Caine Mutiny
1955 Man Without a Star
Chief Crazy Horse
Gunsmoke (TV)
Desert Sands
The Indian Fighter
1956 Raw Edge
Red Sundown
Pardners
The Ten Commandments
1957 The Tin Star
The Hard Man
1958 Wanted: Dead or Alive (TV)
Cimarron City (TV)
Texas John Slaughter (TV)
1959 The Rebel (TV)
1960 Spartacus
1962 Six Black Horses
How The West Was Won
1963 Savage Sam
The Outer Limits (TV)
1965 Major Dundee
Cat Ballou
The Great Race
The Big Valley (TV)
The War Lord
1966 Duel at Diablo
Mission Impossible (TV)
Chamber of Horrors
1967 The War Wagon
Cimarron Strip (TV)
The High Chaparral (TV)
1968 Never A Dull Moment
The Stalking Moon
1969 Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
Paint Your Wagon
The Good Guys and The Bad Guys
1971 Support Your Local Gunfighter
The Omega Man
Shoot Out
Skin Game
1973 High Plains Drifter
1974 Blazing Saddles
The Front Page
1975 The Master Gun Fighter
Misc
Quotes
"I think it's going to be a blockbuster. This will be a movie you'll be proud to take children to see. That's important to me. I don't think there's a four-letter word in the entire movie. People are going to like it."
When asked: How did David Lynch lure you away from your ranch?
In An Interview With Guardian Unlimited
"Oh, I'll tell you, I'm not much of a rancher. I have a little bit of livestock, some longhorn cattle and some horses. I throw some feed to 'em and go watch TV all morning. That's the kind of rancher I am. When David called, I had to tell him that I don't get around that well and that I needed a cane. He said that was OK because Alvin Straight had weak hips and needed two canes. Then, once I read the script I knew I was right for it. Alvin was a great old character." &nsbp;"Canada's been good to me. Because I won both my awards in Canada, a lot of people in the industry think I'm Canadian. But I'm an L.A. kid."
Random & Misc
Others on Richard
"My film hangs on his performance. There's nobody that could do it like he did it. He has a quality, which is in all the films he's been in, that just makes you instantly want to like this guy. And, you know, he is so much like Alvin. He wears a cowboy hat, as Alvin did, and they're both from the rodeo. Richard's a stuntman who came into acting and he doesn't consider himself an actor, which is completely absurd to me because he really makes the thing come alive. So much comes out in every word and every look from this man. He's just open, like a child. It's amazing what he does.
"It was very physically demanding for him, and he's going to have a hip operation shortly. It was really hard for him to sit in Alvin's chair and get up out of it. But he's a cowboy, you know. He kept going and never complained once."
"This is a story about old age. And it's a story about a man's life. Richard Farnsworth is one of the most special people I've ever met. So much comes through from way deep inside. I've never seen anything like it. And it's a beautiful thing to see his face. His face says so much and in the script you learn about a regular man's life."
"Richard was a cowboy with a heart of gold who had to have something powerful in his spirit, because he seemed to get younger as the (Straight Story) shoot progressed. He felt increasingly good about his work – that buoyed him up."
&nsbp;It's a thing coming through him that I think is unique. He's kind of an amazing person. He's smart but he's innocent and he's an adult but he's childlike. He feels what he says; and as he says what he says you see exactly what he's saying......You can see how things strike him a certain way. Richard could really identify with this character and this dialogue beyond what people usually say; this is one of the most perfect marriages of material and actor that I can think of.
&nsbp;Farnsworth, now 80, gives new meaning to the phrase "face value": Entire silent epics pour out of his eyes.
&nsbp;" 'Taciturn' is one word to describe Farnsworth -- the star he most admired and emulated was Henry Fonda, because, he said, ''Hank ... was real laid back.'' ''Polite'' is another (Farnsworth turned down any and all film roles that involved swearing). But ''generous'' may be the best, because in all his films you sense that he's actively interested in what other people have to say -- that other people are, in fact, what make this world interesting and alive and worthwhile. Think of any other actor you can say that about and you'll begin to recognize what made this one special."
Credits
Television
(year/title/character)
1956 Zane Grey Theater Stars Over Texas.....Trooper
1958 Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok Jingles on The Jail Road.....Butler
1959 State Trooper Lonely Valley.....No Character Info
The Rebel Yellow hair.....Trooper
1960 Wanted: Dead or Alive To The Victor.....Hal
Wanted: Dead or Alive The Partners.....Rance Henry
1965 The Big Valley The Odyssey of Jubal Tanner.....Bolin
1967 The Big Valley Image of Yesterday.....Businessman
Cimarron Strip Jounrey to a Hanging.....Dusty Rhodes
Cimarron Strip The Battleground.....Benefiel
1970 The High Chaparral The Long Shadow.....Lloyd
1971 Bonanza Top Hand.....Sourdough
1972 Bonanza The Saddle Stiff.....Tate
Bonanza He Was Only Seven.....Troy
1974 Honky Tonk.....No Character Info
1975 Strange New World.....Elder
1977 Little House on The Prairie: A New Begining Quarantine.....Wall
Roots.....Slave Catcher
1981 The Texas Rangers.....Ranger J.W. Stevens
A Few Days in Weasel Creek.....Jason Stayvey
The Cherokee Trail.....Ridge Fenton
1983 Travis McGee.....Van Harder
Ghost Dancing.....Russ Ward
1985 Wild Horses.....Chuck Reese
Chase.....Judge Grand Pettitt
Anne of Green Gables.....Matthew Cuthbert
1987 Highway to Heaven A Dream of Wild Horses.....Grandpa Jet Sanders
1989 Desperado: The Outlaw Wars.....Sheriff Campbell, Bisby Arizona
Red Earth, White Earth.....Helmer
1992 The Boys of Twilight.....Cody McPherson
1993 The Fire Next Time.....Frank Morgan
1998 Best Friends For Life.....Will Harper
Film
(year/title/character)
1939 Gone With The Wind.....Soldier
1943 This is The Army.....Soldier
1948 Red River.....Dunston Rider
1953 Arena.....Cowboy
1956 The Ten Commandments.....Chariot Driver
1963 The Jolly Genie.....Thug
1966 Duel at Diablo.....Wagon Driver #1
Texas Across The River.....Comanche Medicine Man
1970 Monte Walsh.....Cowboy
1972 The Cowboys.....Henry Williams
Pocket Money.....Man
Ulzana's Raid.....Trooper
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean.....Outlaw
1973 The Soul of Nigger Charley.....Walker
Papillon.....Manhunter
1974 Blazing Saddles.....Sheriff
1975 Rooster Cogburn (his scenes were deleted).....Rooster's Deputy
1976 The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox.....Stagecoach Driver
The Outlaw Josey Wales.....Comanchero
1977 Another Man, Another Chance.....Stagecoach Driver
1978 Comes a Horseman.....Dodger
1980 Tom Horn.....John C. Coble
Resurrection.....Esco Brown
1981 Rucus.....Sheriff Jethro Pough
The Legend of The Lone Ranger.....Wild Bill Hickok
1982 Waltz Across Texas.....Frank Walker
The Grey Fox.....Bill Miner/George Edwards
1983 Indepenence Day.....Evan
1984 The Natural.....Red Blow
Rhinestone.....Noah, Jake's Father
1985 Space Rage.....Colonel
Into The Night.....Jake Caper
Sylvester.....Foster
1990 The Two jakes.....Earl Rawley
Misery.....Sheriff John T. 'Buster' McCain
Havana.....Professor
1992 Highway to Hell.....Sam
1994 The Getaway.....Slim
Lassie.....Len Collins
1999 The Straight Story.....Alvin Straight
Radio/Voice Work
(year/title/character)
1993 The Wild West.....Teddy Blue Abbott
Awards
(year/award/result)
1979 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.....Nominated
1983 Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor.....Won
1986 Gemini Award for Best Performance by a Supporting Actor.....Won
1999 Academy Award for Best Actor.....Nominated
Stunt Work
(year/title/character)
1937 A Day At The Races
The Californian
Wells Fargo
1938 The Adventures of Marco Polo
Under Western Stars
1939 Gunga Din
Gone With The Wind
1943 The Outlaw
Five Graves in Cairo
This is The Army
1945 Utah
1946 Galloping Thunder
Duel in the Sun
California
1947 Over The Santa Fe Trail
Angle and The Badman
Stallion Road
1948 Fort Apache
Silver River
The Man From Colorado
Red River
1949 Mighty Joe Young
Lawless Code
1950 The Kid From Gower Gulch
1951 The Adventures of Kit Carson (TV)
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (TV)
1952 The Cimarron Kid
The Story of Will Rogers
Horizons West
The Lusty Men
1953 The Lawless Breed
The Desert Song
Law and Order
Pony Express
Arrowhead
The Man From The Alamo
War Arrow
The Wild One
1954 The Caine Mutiny
1955 Man Without a Star
Chief Crazy Horse
Gunsmoke (TV)
Desert Sands
The Indian Fighter
1956 Raw Edge
Red Sundown
Pardners
The Ten Commandments
1957 The Tin Star
The Hard Man
1958 Wanted: Dead or Alive (TV)
Cimarron City (TV)
Texas John Slaughter (TV)
1959 The Rebel (TV)
1960 Spartacus
1962 Six Black Horses
How The West Was Won
1963 Savage Sam
The Outer Limits (TV)
1965 Major Dundee
Cat Ballou
The Great Race
The Big Valley (TV)
The War Lord
1966 Duel at Diablo
Mission Impossible (TV)
Chamber of Horrors
1967 The War Wagon
Cimarron Strip (TV)
The High Chaparral (TV)
1968 Never A Dull Moment
The Stalking Moon
1969 Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
Paint Your Wagon
The Good Guys and The Bad Guys
1971 Support Your Local Gunfighter
The Omega Man
Shoot Out
Skin Game
1973 High Plains Drifter
1974 Blazing Saddles
The Front Page
1975 The Master Gun Fighter
Misc
Quotes
"I think it's going to be a blockbuster. This will be a movie you'll be proud to take children to see. That's important to me. I don't think there's a four-letter word in the entire movie. People are going to like it."
Richard on The Straight Story
When asked: How did David Lynch lure you away from your ranch?
In An Interview With Guardian Unlimited
"Oh, I'll tell you, I'm not much of a rancher. I have a little bit of livestock, some longhorn cattle and some horses. I throw some feed to 'em and go watch TV all morning. That's the kind of rancher I am. When David called, I had to tell him that I don't get around that well and that I needed a cane. He said that was OK because Alvin Straight had weak hips and needed two canes. Then, once I read the script I knew I was right for it. Alvin was a great old character." &nsbp;"Canada's been good to me. Because I won both my awards in Canada, a lot of people in the industry think I'm Canadian. But I'm an L.A. kid."
Random & Misc
Others on Richard
"My film hangs on his performance. There's nobody that could do it like he did it. He has a quality, which is in all the films he's been in, that just makes you instantly want to like this guy. And, you know, he is so much like Alvin. He wears a cowboy hat, as Alvin did, and they're both from the rodeo. Richard's a stuntman who came into acting and he doesn't consider himself an actor, which is completely absurd to me because he really makes the thing come alive. So much comes out in every word and every look from this man. He's just open, like a child. It's amazing what he does.
"It was very physically demanding for him, and he's going to have a hip operation shortly. It was really hard for him to sit in Alvin's chair and get up out of it. But he's a cowboy, you know. He kept going and never complained once."
David Lynch, Director of The Straight Story
Irish Times, 1999
Irish Times, 1999
"This is a story about old age. And it's a story about a man's life. Richard Farnsworth is one of the most special people I've ever met. So much comes through from way deep inside. I've never seen anything like it. And it's a beautiful thing to see his face. His face says so much and in the script you learn about a regular man's life."
David Lynch
"Richard was a cowboy with a heart of gold who had to have something powerful in his spirit, because he seemed to get younger as the (Straight Story) shoot progressed. He felt increasingly good about his work – that buoyed him up."
David Lynch
&nsbp;It's a thing coming through him that I think is unique. He's kind of an amazing person. He's smart but he's innocent and he's an adult but he's childlike. He feels what he says; and as he says what he says you see exactly what he's saying......You can see how things strike him a certain way. Richard could really identify with this character and this dialogue beyond what people usually say; this is one of the most perfect marriages of material and actor that I can think of.
David Lynch
&nsbp;Farnsworth, now 80, gives new meaning to the phrase "face value": Entire silent epics pour out of his eyes.
Michael Sragow
&nsbp;" 'Taciturn' is one word to describe Farnsworth -- the star he most admired and emulated was Henry Fonda, because, he said, ''Hank ... was real laid back.'' ''Polite'' is another (Farnsworth turned down any and all film roles that involved swearing). But ''generous'' may be the best, because in all his films you sense that he's actively interested in what other people have to say -- that other people are, in fact, what make this world interesting and alive and worthwhile. Think of any other actor you can say that about and you'll begin to recognize what made this one special."
Ty Burr
Photo Page (this will take you to another page)
LinksRichard Farnsworth's Internet Movie Database Listing
Richard Farnsworth's TV.COM Page
Richard Farnworth's Current American TV Schedual
Canoe JAM! Article
Interview From The Guardian Unlimited
Good Night, Cowboy
A 1999 Article From The Independent on Sunday (London)
Interview At MovieCrazed.com
Site About The Film The Straight Story (Includes Interviews With & Pictures of Richard Farnsworth)
BBC Interview with Richard in 2000
Richard Farnsworth's TV.COM Page
Richard Farnworth's Current American TV Schedual
Canoe JAM! Article
Interview From The Guardian Unlimited
Good Night, Cowboy
A 1999 Article From The Independent on Sunday (London)
Interview At MovieCrazed.com
Site About The Film The Straight Story (Includes Interviews With & Pictures of Richard Farnsworth)
BBC Interview with Richard in 2000
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