FACTBOX: Hollywood actor Richard Widmark

Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:58pm EDT
 
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(Reuters) - Actor Richard Widmark, who starred in such films as "Kiss of Death" and "Panic in the Streets," has died at 93, an official in his home state of Connecticut said on Wednesday.

Following are some facts about Widmark.

* Works with "kiss" in the title were meaningful for Widmark. He made his Broadway debut in "Kiss and Tell," was praised by drama critics for "Kiss Them for Me" and was nominated for an Oscar for his first movie, "Kiss of Death."

* Despite his slender build, Widmark played football at Lake Forest College in Illinois.

* After his first wife died, Widmark married actor Henry Fonda's ex-wife.

* Widmark told The New York Times he based his "right-wing nutball" character in "The Bedford Incident," the story of a U.S. Navy destroyer in a confrontation with a Soviet submarine, on former Arizona Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater, who was running for president at the time in 1964.

* Widmark felt so bad about the racist comments his character said to Sidney Poitier in "No Way Out" that he would apologize to Poitier between takes.

(Writing by Bill Trott; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

 

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