Jack Warden

Jack Warden (September 18, 1920 – July 19, 2006) was an American character actor.

Early life

Warden was born John H. Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey,^[1] the son of Laura M. (née Costello) and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician.^[2] His father was Jewish and his mother was Irish American.^{[citation needed][3]} Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, he was expelled from high school for fighting and eventually fought as a professional boxer under the name Johnny Costello. He had 13 welterweight bouts but earned little money.^[4]

World War II

He worked as a nightclub bouncer, tugboat deckhand and lifeguard before joining the United States Navy in 1938. He was stationed in China for three years with the Yangtze River Patrol.^[4]

In 1941, he joined the United States Merchant Marine but, quickly tiring of the long convoy runs, he switched to the United States Army in 1942 where he served as a paratrooper in the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, with the elite 101st Airborne Division during World War II.

In 1944, on the eve of the D-Day invasion (during which many of his friends died), Staff Sergeant (Lebzelter) Warden shattered his leg by landing on a fence during a night-time practice jump in England. After almost a year in the hospital (during which time he read a Clifford Odets play and decided to become an actor after the end of the war), he recovered enough to participate in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. Ironically in That Kind of Woman (1959) Warden played a paratrooper from the 101st's rivals: the 82nd Airborne Division.^[5][6]

After leaving the military with the rank of sergeant, he moved to New York City and pursued an acting career on the G.I. Bill. He joined the company of the Dallas Alley Theater and performed on stage for five years. In 1948 he made his television debut on The Philco Television Playhouse and Studio One. He made an uncredited film debut in 1951 in You're in the Navy Now, a movie which also featured the film debuts of Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson.^[1]

Career

Warden had his first credited film role in The Man with My Face in 1951, and in 1952 he began a three-year role in the television series Mr. Peepers. After a role as a sympathetic corporal in From Here to Eternity (1953), Warden's breakthrough film role was his performance as Juror No. 7, a salesman who wants a quick decision in a murder case, in 12 Angry Men (1957).

Warden guest starred on many television series over the years, including two 1960 episodes of Barton MacLane's The Outlaws on NBC, and thereafter on Marilyn Maxwell's Bus Stop on ABC. He received a supporting actor Emmy Award for his performance as Chicago Bears coach George Halas in Brian's Song (1971), and was twice nominated for his starring role in the 1980's comedy series, Crazy Like a Fox. Additionally, Warden was nominated for Academy Awards as Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Shampoo (1975) and Heaven Can Wait (1978). He also had notable roles in such films as All the President's Men (1976), ...And Justice for All and Being There (both 1979), Used Cars (in which he played a celebrated dual role in 1980), The Verdict (1982), Problem Child (1990) and its sequel (1991), While You Were Sleeping (1995), and the Norm Macdonald film Dirty Work (1998).^[5]

Warden appeared in over one hundred movies, typically playing gruff cops, sports coaches, trusted friends and similar roles, during a career which spanned six decades. His last film was 2000's The Replacements, opposite Gene Hackman and Keanu Reeves.

Personal life

Warden married French actress Vanda Dupre in 1958 and had one son, Christopher. Although they separated in the 1970s they never divorced.^[7]

Death

After retiring from acting in 2000, Warden suffered from declining health in his last years. On July 19, 2006, he died of heart and kidney failure in a New York hospital at the age of 85.^[8]

Selected filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Jack Warden at the Internet Movie Database
• Jack Warden at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jack Warden at TV.com
• Cinema2000 obituary (in Portuguese)
• Jack Warden at Find a Grave