Russ Tamblyn Biography

Russ Tamblyn (born Russell Irving Tamblyn) is an American film and television actor and dancer. He was trained as a gymnast in his youth. He began his career as a child actor for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Subsequently, he appeared in the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 1954. He also portrayed Norman Page in the drama Peyton Place (1957), for which he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. This led to him being cast in leading roles, such as in the crime film High School Confidential of 1958, and in the title role of Tom Thumb of 1958.

Russ Tamblyn Age

Russell Irving Tamblyn was born in Los Angeles, California, the U.S. on December 30, 1934. He is 84 years as of 2018.

Russ Tamblyn Family

Tamblyn was born in Los Angeles, California, as the son of actors Sally Aileen (Triplett) and Eddie Tamblyn (Edward Francis Tamblyn). He has one younger brother, Larry Tamblyn, who was the organist for the 1960s band, the Standells. Tamblyn was a hyperactive child and had a penchant for gymnastics and performing. As a child, he would take the stage during intermissions at the local movie theater and do tumbling performances.

Russ Tamblyn Wife

Tamblyn has been in various marriages. In 1956, he was married to actress Venetia Stevenson, but the couple divorced the following year. He then married Elizabeth Kempton, a showgirl, in Las Vegas in 1960. Together they had one child, daughter China, before divorcing in 1979. With his third wife Bonnie Murray, he had his second child, actress Amber Tamblyn, was born in 1983

In October 2014, Tamblyn underwent open-heart surgery. There were complications following the surgery and during the rehabilitation. In 2012, it was announced that he was working on writing an autobiography, titled Dancing On The Edge.

Russ Tamblyn Career

Child acting
Tamblyn wanted to be a circus performer and was skilled in acrobatics and dancing as a child. He developed a musical act that involved singing, dancing, juggling, and comedy. At the age of 10, he was discovered by actor Lloyd Bridges after acting in a play. Tamblyn first appeared on film in a small non-speaking role in The Boy With Green Hair (1948), after which he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Tamblyn was given a role in The Kid from Cleveland of 1949, charged third (as “Corroded Tamblyn”) under stars George Brent and Lynn Bari. The motion picture was not a triumph but rather it built him up as a film on-screen character. He showed up in Reign of Terror (1949), Cecil B. DeMille’s 1949 form of Samson and Delilah where he played youthful Saul, and What Happened to Jo? (1950).

He played the more youthful Bart Tare (played as a grown-up by John Dall) in the film noir Gun Crazy (1950) and Elizabeth Taylor’s more youthful sibling in Father of the Bride (likewise 1950) and its continuation, Father’s Little Dividend (1951). Tamblyn showed up in Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1950), The Gangster We Made (1950), As Young as You Feel (1951), Cave of Outlaws (1951), Retreat, Hell! (1952), and The Winning Team (1952).

MGM and leading roles
His performance in Retreat, Hell! impressed the MGM and signed him to a long term contract. His first role under the new contract was as a young soldier in boot camp in Taking the High Ground! (1953), directed by Richard Brooks. His training as a gymnast in high school and abilities as an acrobat prepared him for his breakout role as Gideon, the youngest brother, in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954).
In 1958, Tamblyn’s career momentum was interrupted when he was drafted into the US army. On his return MGM gave him a prominent support part in Cimarron (1960), supporting Glenn Ford. Tamblyn’s best known musical role came as the Riff, the leader of the Jets street gang in West Side Story (1961). He then appeared in two MGM Cinerama movies, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm and How the West Was Won (both 1962). He was seen as Luke Sanderson in The Haunting, and as Lt. “Smitty” Smith in MGM’s Follow the Boys (both 1963).

Choreography and film
Tamblyn played the supporting role in Neil Young’s 1982 Human Highway while also credited for screenplay and choreography. Tamblyn is credited as director, choreographer, and actor for Neil Young’s Greendale concert tour. He choreographed a play Man with Bags in 1983.

He could be seen in Fame, Commando Squad (1987) for Fred Olen Ray, The Phantom Empire (1988), Necromancer (1988), B.O.R.N. (1988), The Bloody Monks (1988), and an episode of Quantum Leap. He was in Aftershock (1990), and Wizards of the Demon Sword (1991) for Fred Olen Ray.

Twin Peaks and other work
In 1990–91, Tamblyn starred as Dr. Lawrence Jacoby on the David Lynch-created series Twin Peaks (alongside his West Side Story co-star Richard Beymer, who played Ben Horne); his scenes in the 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me was cut.

He could be found in Running Mates (1992), Little Devils: The Birth (1993), Cabin Boy (1994), Desert Steel (1995), and Babylon 5. He showed up in front of an audience in Los Angeles in Zastrozzi. His work drifted back to directly to video: Starstruck (1995), Rebellious (1995), Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold (1995) and Invisible Mom (1996) for Fred Olen Ray, Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard (1997), My Ghost Dog (1997), and Little Miss Magic (1998) for Ray.

In 1997 and 2000, he showed up on another drama, General Hospital, close by his girl Amber. In 2004, he showed up with Amber once more, playing God as a man strolling hounds, in three scenes of Joan of Arcadia. The two additionally have cooperated in the movies Rebellious, Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard, and The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. What’s more, in Quentin Tarantino’s film Django Unchained, they were charged separately as “Child of a Gunfighter” and “Little girl of a Son of a Gunfighter”, suggesting his driving job in the 1965 western Son of a Gunfighter.

In 2004, the Academy Film Archive protected the mid-1960s works First Film and Rio Reel by Tamblyn. Tamblyn has had supporting roles in Drive of 2011, Django Unchained of 2012, and Hits of 2014. He appeared several times in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, and in the revival of Twin Peaks of 2017.

Russ Tamblyn Net Worth

He is an American actor and dancer whose primary source of net worth is his acting career. He has an estimated net worth of $3 million.

Awards

• In 1956 he won the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male.
• In 1957 he was nominated by the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
• In 1959 he was nominated by the Golden Laurel Award for Top Male Musical Performance.