Richard Widmark

Richard Widmark just died at the age of 93. A leading man who appeared in over 50 movies and a fair amount of TV as well, he'll probably be best remembered for heels, villains and psychotics.

While he was known to be a gentleman off screen, his first movie role was in Kiss Of Death (1947) as Tommy Udo, who ushered in a new era of cruelty as he maniacally laughs while pushing an old lady in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs. The part got Widmark an Oscar nomination and made him a star.

He continued playing nasty, flawed characters, and stars in two of my favorite dark films from the 50s, Night And The City (1950), where he's a dishonest and doomed wrestling promoter in London, and Sam Fuller's Pickup On South Street (1953), where he's a pickpocket who gets unintentionally gets involved in communist intrigue.

As his career continued he became more associated with Westerns, and often played the good guy. But even then there tended to be an edge.

Starting in the 70s, he became a regular presence on TV, even adapting his title-role detective from Madigan (1968) to the small screen. He kept working into the early 90s, retiring when we was almost 80.

He's not as well remembered as some of his contemporaries, but as long as there are fans of film noir, Westerns, or just Sam Fuller, he won't be forgotten.