Oscar-nominated Ned Beatty, who acted in more than 150 titles, dies at 83

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 2 years ago

Oscar-nominated Ned Beatty, who acted in more than 150 titles, dies at 83

By Jake Coyle

Ned Beatty, the Oscar-nominated character actor who in half a century of American movies, including Deliverance, Network and Superman, was a booming, indelible presence in even the smallest parts, has died. He was 83.

Ned Beatty at the Shooter premiere in LA in 2007. Beatty has died at 83.

Ned Beatty at the Shooter premiere in LA in 2007. Beatty has died at 83.Credit: AP

Beatty’s manager, Deborah Miller, said Beatty died on Sunday of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by friends and loved ones.

After years in regional theater, Beatty was cast in 1972’s Deliverance as Bobby Trippe, the happy-go-lucky member of a male river-boating party terrorised by backwoods thugs in Deliverance. The scene in which Trippe is brutalised and forced to “squeal like a pig” became the most memorable in the movie and established Beatty as an actor whose name moviegoers may not have known but whose face they always recognised.

“For people like me, there’s a lot of ‘I know you! I know you! What have I seen you in?’” Beatty remarked without rancour in 1992.

Beatty received only one Oscar nomination, as supporting actor for his role as corporate executive Arthur Jensen in 1976’s Network, but he contributed to some of the most popular movies of his time and worked constantly, his credits including more than 150 movies and TV shows.

Beatty’s appearance in Network, scripted by Paddy Chayefsky an directed by Sidney Lumet, was brief but titanic. His three-minute monologue ranks among the greatest in movies. Jensen summons anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) to a long, dimly lit boardroom for a come-to-Jesus about the elemental powers of media.

Beatty, left, pictured in 2000 with Robert Altman who directed him in 1975’s Nashville.

Beatty, left, pictured in 2000 with Robert Altman who directed him in 1975’s Nashville.Credit: AP

“You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Beale, and I won’t have it!” Beatty shouts from across the boardroom before explaining that there is no America, no democracy. “There is only IBM and ITT and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide and Exxon. Those are the nations of the world today.”

He was equally memorable as Otis, the idiot henchman of villainous Lex Luthor in the first two Christopher Reeve Superman movies and as the racist sheriff in White Lightning. Other films included All The President’s Men, The Front Page, Nashville, and The Big Easy. In a 1977 interview, he had explained why he preferred being a supporting actor.

Advertisement

“Stars never want to throw the audience a curveball, but my great joy is throwing curveballs,” he told The New York Times. “Being a star cuts down on your effectiveness as an actor because you become an identifiable part of a product and somewhat predictable. You have to mind your Ps and Qs and nurture your fans. But I like to surprise the audience, to do the unexpected.”

He landed a rare leading role in the Irish film Hear My Song in 1991. The true story of legendary Irish tenor Josef Locke, who disappeared at the height of a brilliant career, it was well reviewed but largely unseen globally. Between movies, Beatty worked often in TV and theatre. He had recurring roles in Roseanne as John Goodman’s father and as a detective on Homicide: Life on the Streets.

Beatty starred in over 150 films and TV shows during his career. He retired in 2013.

Beatty starred in over 150 films and TV shows during his career. He retired in 2013. Credit: AP

Loading

On Broadway he won critical praise (and a Drama Desk Award) for his portrayal of Big Daddy in a revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a role he had first played as a 21-year-old in a stock company production. His more recent movies included Toy Story 3 (as the duplicitous stuffed bear Lotso) in 2010 and the villainous tortoise mayor in Rango. He retired in 2013.

Ned Thomas Beatty was born in 1937 in Louisville, Kentucky and raised in Lexington, where he joined the Protestant Disciples of Christ Christian Church. “It was the theatre I attended as a kid,” he told The Associated Press in 1992. “It was where people got down to their truest emotions and talked about things they didn’t talk about in everyday life. The preaching was very often theatrical.” For a time he thought of becoming a priest, but changed his mind after he was cast in a high school production of Harvey.

His life changed forever when he auditioned for director John Boorman for the role of Bobby Trippe. Boorman told him the role was cast, but changed his mind after seeing Beatty audition. Beatty, who married Sandra Johnson in 1999, had eight children from three previous marriages.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.

Most Viewed in Culture

Loading