Ned Beatty
- Category : Actor
- Type : MGE
- Profile : 6/2 - Role Model / Hermit
- Definition : Triple Split
- Incarnation Cross : LAX Individualism 1
Biography
Ned Thomas Beatty (born July 6, 1937) is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; he won a Drama Desk Award.
These nominations stemmed from his performances in films and television series like Network (1976), Friendly Fire (1979), Last Train Home (1990), Hear My Song (1991), the adaptation film Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2004) and Toy Story 3 (2010).
He has had great commercial success in memorable roles such as the executive Bobby Trippe in Deliverance (1972), Tennessee lawyer Delbert Reese in Nashville (1975), general attorney Dardis in All the President's Men (1976), Bob Sweet in Silver Streak (1976), the priest Edwards in Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), Lex Luthor's henchman Otis in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), Bates' right hand man Sydney Morehouse in The Toy (1982), Borisov and Pavel Petrovic in The Fourth Protocol (1987), TV presenter Ernest Weller in Repossessed (1990), Rudy Ruettiger's father in Rudy (1993), attorney McNair in Just Cause (1995), Dexter Wilkins in Life (1999), the simple sheriff in Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), the corrupt Senator Charles F. Meachum in Shooter (2007), United States Congressman Doc Long in Charlie Wilson's War (2007) and the voice of antagonists Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear in Toy Story 3 (2010) and Tortoise John in Rango (2011).
Early life
Beatty was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Margaret Fortney (née Lennis) and Charles William Beatty. He is not related to actor Warren Beatty. He has a sister, Mary Margaret. Before Beatty became an actor in 1947, he began singing in gospel and barbershop quartets in St. Matthews, Kentucky, and at his local church. He received a scholarship to sing in the a cappella choir at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky; he attended but did not graduate.
In 1956, he made his stage debut at age 19, appearing in Wilderness Road, an outdoor-historical pageant located in Berea, Kentucky and he worked in the Louisville area through the mid-1960s, at the Clarksville Little Theater (Indiana) and the recently founded Actors Theater of Louisville. His time at the latter included a run as Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, in 1966. However, the first ten years of Beatty's career were spent at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia, which holds the distinction of being The State Theatre of Virginia.
Career
1970s
In 1972, Beatty made his film debut with the role of Bobby Trippe in the hit thriller Deliverance (1972), starring Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds. One of the most memorable scenes of the film involved Beatty's weak-willed, flaccid character being ordered to strip at gunpoint, humiliated for being overweight and sodomized by the smaller but stronger and more aggressive mountain man.
In the same year, Beatty appeared in a western starring Paul Newman, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972). In 1973, Beatty made a comedy film based on a novel by Terrence Lore Smith The Thief Who Came to Dinner (1973); The Last American Hero (1973), opposite Jeff Bridges and White Lightning (1973). He also appeared in an episode of the TV series The Waltons that same year, as well as the TV-movie The Marcus-Nelson Murders, which served as the pilot for the series Kojak. In 1974, he appeared in the television miniseries The Execution of Private Slovik (1974), based on a novel of William Bradford Huie, directed by Lamont Johnson and starring Martin Sheen. In 1975, he made W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), once again with Burt Reynolds; Robert Altman's Nashville (1975), portraying the Tennessee lawyer Delbert Reese and he also appeared as Colonel Hollister in the 1975 M*A*S*H episode "Dear Peg".
Beatty received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor category for Network (1976). He was one of two primary actors in the film – along with William Holden – to not win an Oscar. The other three acting awards were swept by Network performers: Best Actor for Peter Finch, Best Actress for Faye Dunaway, and Best Supporting Actress for Beatrice Straight.
In 1976, he appeared in Alan J. Pakula's film All the President's Men (1976), opposite Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman; a comedy film The Big Bus (1976); Silver Streak (1976), with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor (in which his character is shot dead) and Mikey and Nicky (1976), portraying Kinney. In 1977, Beatty returned to work with John Boorman in the horror film Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), starring Linda Blair. In 1978, Beatty appeared in Gray Lady Down (1978), portraying Mickey and was cast by Richard Donner to portray Lex Luthor's henchman Otis in Superman: The Movie (1978), with Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman, as he would in the 1980 sequel, directed by Richard Lester, where we see his character being left behind in prison.
Once again, Beatty received a second nomination for Emmy Award for 'Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special' for the television series Friendly Fire (1979). By the end of the 1970s, Beatty was seen in two films, Flannery O'Connor's novel Wise Blood (1979), directed by John Huston and opposite Brad Dourif and 1941 (1979), with Dan Aykroyd and directed by Steven Spielberg.
1980s
In 1980, Beatty appeared in Ronald Neame's 1980 American film Hopscotch (1980). In 1981, Beatty appeared in the comedy/science fiction film The Incredible Shrinking Woman, directed by Joel Schumacher and starring by Lily Tomlin. In 1982, Beatty return to work with Richard Donner and Richard Pryor in the comedy The Toy (1982). In 1983, Beatty worked with Burt Reynolds again in Stroker Ace (1983).
In the middle of 1980s, Beatty appeared in the comedy film Restless Natives (1985), directed by Michael Hoffman and starring Vincent Friell.
By the end of the 1980s, Beatty appeared in another comedy film, as the academic dean Martin in Back to School (1986). In 1987, Beatty appeared in the 1987 American neo-noir crime film The Big Easy (1987) directed by Jim McBride and starring by Dennis Quaid and continued with The Fourth Protocol (1987), opposite Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan. In 1988, Beatty appeared with the main character Thelonious Pitt in Shadows in the Storm (1988), returned to work with Burt Reynolds and Christopher Reeve; in 1988 comedy film Switching Channels (1988) and Purple People Eater (1988), portraying a simple grandfather. In 1989, Beatty made Chattahoochee (1989), portraying Dr. Harwood, and also had a recurring role as Dan Conner's father on Roseanne (1989–1994), with John Goodman.
1990s
Entering in the 1990s, Beatty got the third nomination for an Emmy Award for 'Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special' category in Last Train Home (1990) and appeared in the 1991 British film, Hear My Song (1991), which he portrayed Irish tenor Josef Locke, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture.
In 1990, Beatty worked again with Linda Blair in Repossessed (1990) and appeared in the Marvel Comics American hero Captain America (1990). In 1992, he portrayed Dr. Boyle in Prelude to a Kiss (1992); opposite Meg Ryan and Alec Baldwin. In 1993, Beatty appeared in the 1993 biopic Rudy (1994); portraying Rudy Reuttiger's father, with Sean Astin. Beatty starred in the television series Homicide: Life on the Street as Detective Stanley Bolander for its first three seasons (1993–1995).
By the middle of the 1990s, Beatty made the 1994 science fiction film Replikator (1994), directed by Philip Jackson and Radioland Murders (1994), portraying General Walt Whalen. In 1995, Beatty worked with Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne in the thriller Just Cause (1995). He appeared as Judge Roy Bean in the TV miniseries adaptation of Larry McMurtrys novel Streets of Laredo (1995).
And in the end of 1990s, Beatty appeared in the 1998 sports-drama film written and directed by Spike Lee and starring by Denzel Washington, He Got Game (1998). In 1999, Beatty returned to work with director Robert Altman in Cookie's Fortune (1999), with Glenn Close, Julianne Moore and Liv Tyler; and continues with Life (1999); opposite Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence and Spring Forward (1999), with Liev Schreiber.
2000s
In the beginning of 2000s, Beatty was a member of the original cast of the television police drama reunion film Homicide: The Movie (2000), reprising his role of Detective Stanley Bolander. In 2002, he appeared in Peter Hewitt's film Thunderpants (2002), and in 2003, Beatty portrayed a simple sheriff in Where the Red Fern Grows (2003).
Beatty has also had a career as a stage actor, including a run in the London production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Brendan Fraser and Frances O'Connor, which won a Drama Desk Award.
In the middle of 2000s, Beatty appeared in the television film The Wool Cap (2004), with William H. Macy, and in 2005, an American independent film directed and written by Ali Selim, Sweet Land (2005).
In March 2006, Beatty received the RiverRun International Film Festival's "Master of Cinema" Award (the highest honor of the festival), in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
By the end of the 2000s, Beatty appeared in the film version of Stephen Hunter's novel Point of Impact retitled Shooter (2007), directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Mark Wahlberg, Michael Peña and Danny Glover; the 2007 drama film that was written and directed by Paul Schrader The Walker (2007); the U.S. Congressman Doc Long in the film Charlie Wilson's War (2007), with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts and worked with Tommy Lee Jones in the thriller In the Electric Mist (2009).
2010s
In 2010, Beatty starred in the thriller The Killer Inside Me (2010), which was part of the Sundance Film Festival, and voiced the main antagonist Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear in Toy Story 3 (2010). In 2011, Beatty worked with actor Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski in the computer-animated film Rango (2011), again, playing the role of the antagonist. He appeared briefly in the film Funny Guy and in the film Rampart (2011), opposite Woody Harrelson, which is set in 1999 Los Angeles. Beatty also appeared at the sitcom television series Go On (2013), opposite Matthew Perry, portraying Coach Spence in episode 16.
Beatty's next film is Teddy Bears (2013), a dark comedy about three couples who head to the desert to help their friend heal after the death of his mother. The film will feature Gillian Jacobs, Zachary Knighton, David Krumholtz, Melanie Lynskey, Ahna O'Reilly and Jason Ritter, and will be directed by his son Thomas Beatty and Rebecca Fishman. His other next movie is Baggage Claim (2013), an American comedy film directed by David E. Talbert and written by Talbert based on his book of the same name, opposite Paula Patton, Adam Brody, Djimon Hounsou, Taye Diggs, Christina Milian and Derek Luke.
Personal life
Beatty has been married four times. His first wife was Walta Chandler; they were married from 1959 until 1968 (before Beatty became an actor) and had four children: Douglas Beatty (born 1960), Charles Beatty (born 1961), Lennis Beatty (born 1963), and Walter Beatty (born 1966). His second wife was the actress Belinda Rowley; they were married from 1971 and had two children: John Beatty and Blossom Beatty. His third wife was Dorothy Adams "Tinker" Lindsey; they were married from June 28, 1979 to March 1998 and had two children: Thomas Beatty in 1980 and Dorothy Beatty in 1983. His fourth wife is Sandra Johnson; they married November 20, 1999, and reside in California. They also maintain a residence in Karlstad, Minnesota, Johnson's hometown.
In October 27, 2003, Beatty attended the Youth AIDS Annual Benefit Gala 2003 at Capitale with actress Ashley Judd.
In June 29, 2012, Beatty appeared at a 40th anniversary screening of Deliverance in June 2012 at Warner Bros., together with Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Jon Voight.