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It's never a surprise when a 93-year-old man passes; still, I can't help but feel saddened by the passing of the great Richard Widmark.
He was one of her favorite actors when she was young, my mom once told me, and he was one of mine, too. His career was long and varied, but he particularly left his mark on my beloved film noir genre. KISS OF DEATH, THE STREET WITH NO NAME, ROAD HOUSE, NIGHT AND THE CITY, PANIC IN THE STREETS, NO WAY OUT, PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET -- that's a career's worth of darkly entertaining highlights right there.
In 2001, the Walter Reade theatre at NYC's Lincoln Center held a 16-film retrospective to honor Widmark. They showed most of the aforementioned films, with a western or two thrown in for good measure. But the best part was that Widmark was on hand for several of the screenings.
Here's what I wrote at the time following the opening night double-bill:
Tonight launched the Walter Reade's Richard Widmark festival. It was great. They showed NIGHT AND THE CITY and PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET. Both were good-to-great prints, and Widmark himself was on hand to answer questions after each film.The man's 87 and doesn't appear a day over 65. You'd recognize him if you saw him on the street. He's spry, and his memory is sharp. The only sign of age is his pure white hair (looks good), and the fact that he seems to be a bit hard of hearing.
He received standing ovations at both appearances and seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself.
He said the three actors with whom he would happily work anytime, any place (including today, he said, if they were still around) are Jimmy Stewart, Spencer Tracy, and Henry Fonda. He said he learned more from that trio than from every other actor he ever worked with, combined.
I'm now kicking myself for not recording more of Widmark's remarks from that memorable evening, but I'm glad I put down for posterity what I did. I was thrilled to attend the event, and I guess I held out hope that one day there'd be a followup.
And there may well be, but Widmark, alas, won't be in attendance.
Rest in peace, Mr. Widmark, and thanks.