Jack Warden Biography

Born John LebzelterSeptember 181920in NewarkNJ; died July 19, 2006in New YorkNY. Actor. For more than 50 yearsJack Warden was a staple in the cinema world. A well-known character actorWarden appeared in more than 100 filmsearned an Emmy Award and garnered two Academy Award nominations. One of his most brilliant performances came in the 1971 made-for-TV movie Brian's Song which recounted the real-life friendship of Chicago Bears teammates Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo as the latter faces death; Warden played Bears coach George Halas. Over the course of his careerWarden also performed on Broadway and appeared on countless television showsincluding classics such as Bonanza and The Twilight Zone .

Warden's given name was John Lebzelter. The redhead was born September 181920in NewarkNew Jerseythough he spent his childhood in Kentucky. Warden's family struggled through the Depressionso he took up boxing to earn money. At 17Warden was a ranked professional middleweight boxer. He fought under the name Johnny Costello—his mother's maiden name. Warden left high school to join the Navy and spent time in China as a watchman on the Yangtze River. After being discharged in 1941he found work scooping coal on the tugboats that zipped along New York's East River. NextWarden joined the U.S. Merchant Marinea contingent of merchant vessels that served as an auxiliary to the U.S. military. As a Merchant MarineWarden was assigned to work in the engine room of a freighter. He became unnerved when the ship was attacked by German bombs. Worried he might get trapped below deck on a sinking shiphe demanded a different job but was denied. He quit and joined the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Divisiontrading work on the sea for work in the sky.

During paratrooper trainingWarden jumped from a plane and broke his leg when his parachute failed to open properly. Doctors fixed the leg with a steel platebut the healing process involved a long hospital stay. To pass the timeWarden read plays at the suggestion of a friend. Warden finally returned to service just in time for the highly deadly World War II campaign known as the Battle of the Bulge.

After his dischargeWarden headed to the East Coasthoping to launch an acting career. According to the Los Angeles Times Warden once remarked"That year in the hospital was the turning point in my life." It was during that time that Warden decided he wanted to become an actor. Warden landed in New York Citytook acting classesand relied on odd jobs to support himself. In 1946while working as a hotel lifeguardhe befriended Margo Jonesmanager of the Dallas-based Alley Theatre. She invited Warden to join the company and he spent the next several years honing his craft onstage.

Warden's television debut came in a 1950 NBC-TV production of Ann Rutledge which was about the woman who allegedly was President Abraham Lincoln's first love. AfterwardWarden was offered roles in many live television drama anthologies. Another break came in 1955 when playwright Arthur Miller cast Warden in the inaugural Broadway production of A View From the Bridge . Warden played an Italian illegal immigrant named Marco who moves to Brooklyn to seek the American dream.

SoonHollywood came knocking and Warden began appearing on the big screen with regularity. Because of his gruff on-screen persona and physical presenceWarden was often offered roles in Westerns and in films involving crimethe militaryor politics. He played Corporal Buckley in the 1953 war film From Here to Eternity . The movie won several Oscars and helped advance his careeras well as the careers of his co-stars—Frank SinatraBurt Lancasterand Deborah Kerr.

Warden's first standout film performance came in 1957's 12 Angry Men . In this filmWarden played a sports-obsessed juror who is eager to reach a verdict so he can get to a ballgame. Warden took on the role of an outlaw in 1973's The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing and portrayed a cabbie in 1974's The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz . In 1976he played hard-driving Washington Post news editor Harry Rosenfeld in All the President's Men which depicted the Post's coverage of the Watergate scandal, which brought down President Richard Nixon. Warden then played the U.S. president in the 1979 Peter Sellers tragic-comedy Being There . In 1982Warden starred in the courtroom drama The Verdict playing a mentor to Paul Newman's attorney character.

Over the yearsWarden appeared alongside such movie stars as Clark Gable, John Wayneand Robin Williams. He also appeared in three Woody Allen filmsincluding 1987's September 1994's Bullets Over Broadway and 1995's Mighty Aphrodite . He continued working through the 1990sappearing in 1992's Toys and 1995's While You Were Sleeping playing Sandra Bullock's grandfather. One of his last movie appearances was the 2000 football film The Replacements .

Though Warden never won an Academy Awardhe received two nominations for best supporting actor—for 1975's Shampoo where he played a rich businessmanand 1978's Heaven Can Wait where he starred as a good-heartedyet often flustered football coach. Both movies featured Warren Beatty. Warden did win one Emmy Awardfor best supporting actorfor his role in Brian's Song .

Warden's television appearances included roles on NBC's Mr. Peepers (1952–55)ABC's N.Y.P.D. (1967–69)where he played a detective; NBC's Jigsaw John (1976)and CBS' Crazy Like a Fox (1984–86). His Broadway appearances included 1952's Golden Boy by Clifford Odets and 1969's The Man in the Glass Booth . It was a different Odets play that Warden read while hospitalized that turned him onto theater in the first place.

Warden died on July 192006at a New York City hospital; he was 85. He had been in ill health for several months. Survivors include his wife, French actress Vanda Duprewhom he married in 1958 and separated from in the 1970sthough they never officially divorced. Warden is also survived by his sonChristophertwo grandchildren and a companionMarucha Hinds.

Sources:

Los Angeles Times July 222006p. B14; New York Times July 222006p. B10; Times (London)July 242006p. 53; Washington Post July 222006p. B6.