Van Heflin

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Van Heflin
from the trailer for Grand Central Murder (1942)
Born	Emmett Evan Heflin, Jr. December 13, 1910(1910-12-13) Walters, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	July 23, 1971 (aged 60) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1936–1971
Spouse(s)	Eleanor Scherr (?–?) Esther Ralston (1934–1936) Frances E. Neal (1942–1967)

Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. (December 13, 1910 – July 23, 1971) was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Johnny Eager (1942).

Early life

Heflin was born in Walters, Oklahoma, the son of Fannie B. and Dr. Emmett E. Heflin, a dentist.^[1] He was of Irish and French ancestry.^[2] Heflin's sister was Daytime Emmy-nominated actress Frances Heflin. Heflin attended the University of Oklahoma, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

Career

Heflin began his acting career on Broadway in the early 1930s before being signed to a contract by RKO Radio Pictures. He made his film debut in A Woman Rebels (1936). He was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and was initially cast in supporting roles in films such as Santa Fe Trail (1940), and Johnny Eager (1942), winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the latter performance.

MGM began to groom him as a leading man in B movies, and provided him with supporting roles in more prestigious productions. Heflin continued to hone his acting skills throughout the early 1940s. He provided a compelling characterization of the embattled President Andrew Johnson in the movie entitled "Tennessee Johnson" (1942), playing opposite (and at odds with) Lionel Barrymore who, in the role of Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, failed to have Johnson convicted in an impeachment trial by the slimmest of margins. According to the IMDB (Internet Movie Database), Heflin served during WWII as a combat cameraman in the Ninth Air Force in Europe.

His best-known film became the 1953 classic western Shane, in which he co-starred with Alan Ladd. Among his other notable film credits are Presenting Lily Mars (1943), The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), Possessed (1947), Green Dolphin Street (1947), Act of Violence (1948), The Three Musketeers (1948), The Prowler (1951) and 3:10 to Yuma (1957).

Heflin also performed on stage throughout his acting career. Credits include The Philadelphia Story on Broadway opposite Katharine Hepburn and Joseph Cotten, and the Arthur Miller plays A Memory of Two Mondays and A View From the Bridge.

Heflin's last major role was in Airport (1970). He played "D. O. Guerrero", a failure who attempts to blow himself up on an airliner so his wife (played by Maureen Stapleton) can collect on a life insurance policy.

He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for his contributions to motion pictures at 6309 Hollywood Boulevard, and for television at 6125 Hollywood Boulevard.

Personal life

On July 6, 1971, Heflin had a heart attack while swimming in his pool. He reached the ladder where he managed to hang on unconscious for hours until he was found. He then lay unconscious for days, apparently never regaining consciousness. Van Heflin died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital on July 23, 1971. He had left instructions forbidding a public funeral. Instead, his cremated remains were scattered on the ocean. (Heflin was a sailor before becoming an actor).

Filmography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Van Heflin

• Van Heflin at the Internet Movie Database
• Van Heflin at the Internet Broadway Database