Jack Warden

Jack Warden
Warden in the 1950s
Born	John Warden Lebzelter, Jr. (1920-09-18)September 18, 1920 Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	New York City, New York, U.S.
Cause of death	Renal failure
Other names	Jack Lebzelter Jack Warden Lebzelter Johnny Costello
Years active	1948–2000
Spouse(s)	Vanda Dupre (1958–2006, separated in the 1970s, never divorced); 1 child

Jack Warden (September 18, 1920 – July 19, 2006) was an American character actor of film and television. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for Shampoo (1975) and Heaven Can Wait (1978). He received a BAFTA nomination for the former movie and won an Emmy for his performance in Brian's Song (1971).

Early life

Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter, Jr. in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. (née Costello) and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician.

He was of Pennsylvania Dutch (German) and Irish ancestry. Reared in Louisville, Kentucky, he was expelled from high school for fighting and eventually fought as a professional boxer under the name Johnny Costello. He fought in 13 bouts as a welterweight, but earned little money.

World War II

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

In 1941, he joined the United States Merchant Marine but he quickly tired of the long convoy runs, and in 1942 he moved to the United States Army, where he served as a paratrooper in the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, with the 101st Airborne Division in World War II. In 1944, on the eve of the D-Day invasion (in which many of his friends would die), Warden, now a Staff Sergeant, shattered his leg when he landed in a tree during a night-time practice jump in England. He spent almost eight months in the hospital recuperating, during which time he read a Clifford Odets play and decided to become an actor. Ironically, Warden would later portray a paratrooper from the 101st Rivals-the 82nd Airborne Division in That Kind of Woman.

After leaving the military, he moved to New York City and studied acting on the G.I. Bill. He joined the company of the Dallas Alley Theatre and performed on stage for five years. In 1948 he made his television debut on the anthology series, The Philco Television Playhouse and Studio One. His first film role, uncredited, was in the 1951 film You're in the Navy Now, a film which also featured the screen debuts of Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson.

Career

Warden (left) as Mike Haines with Frank Converse as Det. Johnny Corso in ABC's N.Y.P.D. (1968)

Warden appeared in his first credited film role in the 1951 in The Man with My Face. From 1952 to 1955, Warden appeared in the television series Mr. Peepers with Wally Cox. In 1953, Warden was cast as a sympathetic corporal in From Here to Eternity. 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.

Warden guest-starred on many television series over the years, including two 1960 episodes of NBC's The Outlaws, on Marilyn Maxwell's ABC drama series, Bus Stop, and on David Janssen's ABC drama, The Fugitive. He received a supporting actor Emmy Award for his performance as Chicago Bears coach George Halas in the television movie, Brian's Song, and was twice nominated for his starring role in the 1980s comedy/drama series Crazy Like a Fox.

Warden was nominated for Academy Awards as Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Shampoo and Heaven Can Wait. He also had notable roles in Bye Bye Braverman, All the President's Men, ...And Justice for All, Being There, Used Cars (in which he played dual roles), The Verdict, Problem Child and its sequel, as well as While You Were Sleeping, Guilty as Sin and the Norm Macdonald comedy Dirty Work. His final film was The Replacements in 2000, opposite Gene Hackman and Keanu Reeves.

Personal life and death

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

Warden suffered from declining health in his last years which resulted in his retirement from acting in 2000. He died of heart and kidney failure in a New York hospital on July 19, 2006, at the age of 85.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950	The Asphalt Jungle	Bit Role	Uncredited
1951	The Man with My Face	Walt Davis
1953	From Here to Eternity	Corporal Buckley
1957	Edge of the City	Charles Malik	Alternate title: A Man Is Ten Feet Tall
1957	The Bachelor Party	Eddie Watkins, the Bachelor
1957	12 Angry Men	Juror No. 7
1958	Run Silent, Run Deep	Yeoman 1st Class Mueller
1958	Darby's Rangers	Master Sergeant Saul Rosen
1959	The Sound and the Fury	Ben Compson
1959	That Kind of Woman	George Kelly
1960	Wake Me When It's Over	Dave "Doc" Farrington
1961	The Lawbreakers	Captain/Acting Police Commissioner Matthew Gower	Film adaptation of the The Asphalt Jungle television episode "The Lady and the Lawyer"
1962	Escape from Zahrain	Huston
1963	Donovan's Reef	Doctor William Dedham
1964	The Thin Red Line	First Sergeant Welsh
1965	Blindfold	General Prat
1968	Bye Bye Braverman	Barnet Weinstein
1971	Summertree	Herb
1971	Welcome to the Club	General Strapp
1973	The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing	Dawes
1974	The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz	Max
1974	Billy Two Hats	Sherriff Henry Gifford
1975	Shampoo	Lester Karpf	First Academy Award nomination
1976	All the President's Men	Harry M. Rosenfeld
1977	The White Buffalo	Charlie Zane
1977	Raid on Entebbe	Lt. Gen. Mordechai Gur
1978	Death on the Nile	Doctor Ludwig Bessner
1978	Heaven Can Wait	Max Corkle	Second Academy Award nomination
1979	The Champ	Jackie
1979	Beyond the Poseidon Adventure	Harold Meredith
1979	Being There	President "Bobby" of the United States
1979	...And Justice for All	Judge Francis Rayford
1979	Dreamer	Harry
1980	Used Cars	Roy L. Fuchs Luke Fuchs
1981	The Great Muppet Caper	Mr. Tarkenian, the News Editor
1981	Chu Chu and the Philly Flash	The Commander
1981	Carbon Copy	Nelson Longhurst
1981	So Fine	Jack Fine
1982	The Verdict	Mickey Morrissey
1984	Crackers	Garvey
1985	The Aviator	Moravia
1985	Alice in Wonderland	Owl
1986	The Cosmic Eye	Rocko	Voice
1987	September	Lloyd
1988	Dead Solid Perfect	Hubert 'Bad Hair' Wimberly
1988	The Presidio	Sergeant Major Ross Maclure
1990	Everybody Wins	Judge Harry Murdoch
1990	Problem Child	"Big" Ben Healy
1991	Problem Child 2	"Big" Ben Healy
1992	Passed Away	Jack Scanlan
1992	Night and the City	Al Grossman
1992	Toys	Old General Zevo
1993	Guilty as Sin	Moe
1994	Bullets over Broadway	Julian Marx
1995	Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead	Joe Heff
1995	Mighty Aphrodite	Tiresias
1995	Problem Child 3: Junior in Love	"Big" Ben Healy
1995	While You Were Sleeping	Saul
1996	Ed	Chubb
1997	The Island on Bird Street	Boruch
1998	Chairman of the Board	Armand McMillan
1998	Dirty Work	Pops
1998	Bulworth	Eddie Davers
1999	A Dog of Flanders	Jehan Daas
2000	The Replacements	Edward O'Neil

Television

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	Tales of Tomorrow	Steve	1 episode
1952	Mr. Peepers	Chicago Cabbie	1 episode
1953	The Campbell Playhouse		1 episode
1953	Man Against Crime	Deck Hand	2 episodes
1954-55	Kraft Television Theatre	Various roles	2 episodes
1954-55	Studio One	Various roles	3 episodes
1955	Justice	Two roles	"Flight from Fear" and "Save Me Now"
1956	The Alcoa Hour	Frank Doran	1 episode
1956	Climax!	Lieutenant Ravenna	"Flame-Out in T-6"
1958-59	Playhouse 90	Various roles	3 episodes
1959	Five Fingers	Fitzgerald	"The Moment of Truth"
1959-60	Bonanza	Mike Wilson	"The Paiute War"
1959-60	The Twilight Zone	James A. Corry Mouth McGarry	"The Lonely" "The Mighty Casey"
1959-60	The Untouchables	Larry Halloran Otto Frick	The George 'Bugs' Moran Story The Otto Frick Story
1960	The Outlaws		2 episodes
1961	Route 66	Adam Darcy	The Clover Throne
	Checkmate	Farrell	"Between Two Guns"
	Bus Stop	Joe Harrison	"Accessory by Consent"
	The Asphalt Jungle	Deputy Police Commissioner Matthew Gower	13 episodes
1962	Naked City	Cornelius Daggett	"Face of the Enemy"
	Naked City	Steve Lollo	"The King of Venus Will Take Care of You"
	Naked City	Sam Langen	"The Spectre of the Rose Street Gang"
	Target: The Corruptors	Jerry Skala	"The Organizers, Parts 1 and 2"
	Tales of Wells Fargo	Brad Axton	"The Traveler"
	Route 66	Sandor Biro	"Feat of Strength"
	Going My Way	Carl Wiczinski	"Not Good Enough for Mary"
1963	Route 66	Major Barbon	"Two Strangers and an Old Enemy"
	77 Sunset Strip	Max Eames	"Flight 307"
1964	Breaking Point	Carlo Scotti	"No Squares in My Family Circle"
1964	The Great Adventure	Latham	1 episode
1964	Bewitched	Rex Barker	"It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog"
1965	Dr. Kildare	Ernie Duffy	1 episode
1966	The Wackiest Ship in the Army	Major Simon Butcher	29 episodes
1967	The Fugitive	Alex Patton	"Concrete Evidence"
1967	The Invaders	Barney Cahill	1 episode
1967-69	N.Y.P.D.	Lieutenant Mike Haines	49 episodes
1971	The Face of Fear	Lieutenant George Coy	Television film
1971	Brian's Song	George Halas	ABC Movie of the Week
1972	What's a Nice Girl Like You...?	Lieutenant Burton	ABC Movie of the Week
1972	Lieutenant Schuster's Wife	Captain Patrick Lonergan	Television film
1973	Wheeler and Murdoch	Sam Wheeler	Television film
1974	The Godchild	Sergeant Dobbs	Television film
1975	Journey from Darkness	Fred Hartman	Television film
1976	Jigsaw John	"Jigsaw" John St. John	15 episodes
1979-80	The Bad News Bears	Morris Buttermaker	23 episodes
1983	Hobson's Choice	Henry Horatio Hobson	Television film
1984	Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues	Mark Twain	Television film
1984-86	Crazy Like a Fox	Harrison "Harry" Fox, Sr.	35 episodes
1987	Hoover vs. the Kennedys: The Second Civil War	J. Edgar Hoover	Television film
1985	A.D.	Nerva	Television miniseries
1988	Police Story: The Watch Commander	Joe Wilson	Television film
1989	Knight & Daye	Hank Knight	1 episode
1990	Judgment	Claude Fortier	Television film
1995	Problem Child 3: Junior in Love	Big Ben	Television film
1997	Ink	Timothy Logan	1 episode
1999	The Norm Show	Harry	1 episode

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Film or series
1972	Emmy Award	Won	Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Drama	Brian's Song
1985		Nominated	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Crazy Like a Fox
1986			Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Crazy Like a Fox
1976	Academy Award		Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Shampoo
1979			Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Heaven Can Wait
1976	BAFTA Award		Best Supporting Actor	Shampoo

External links

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