Richard Farnsworth
Richard William Farnsworth (September 1, 1920 – October 6, 2000) was an American actor and stuntman. He is best known for his performances in "Comes a Horseman" (1978), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor; "The Grey Fox" (1982), for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama; "Anne of Green Gables" (1985); "Misery" (1990); and "The Straight Story" (1999), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Early life. Farnsworth was born on September 1, 1920, in Los Angeles, California , to a housewife mother and an engineer father. He was raised during the Great Depression. His father died when he was seven. He then lived with his aunt, mother, and two sisters in downtown Los Angeles. Career. Stunt work. In 1937, age 16, Farnsworth was working as a stable hand at a polo field in Los Angeles for $6 a week when he was offered employment with better pay as a stuntman. He performed horse-riding stunts in films, including "A Day at the Races" (1937) and "Gunga Din" (1939), and rode horses in films such as "The Adventures  of Marco Polo" (1938), featuring Gary Cooper. He was employed on the set of "Spartacus" (1960) for 11 months, in which he drove a chariot. Acting. From stunt work, Farnsworth gradually moved into acting in Western movies. He made uncredited appearances in numerous films, including "Gone with the Wind" (1939), "Red River" (1948), "The Wild One" (1953), and "The Ten Commandments" (1956). In 1960, credited as Dick Farnsworth, he appeared as a Gault ranch hand in the "Street of Hate" episode of the TV Western "Laramie". He received his first acting credit in 1963 and went on to act in  Western films and television shows. He had a role in "Roots" (1977), and co-starred with Wilford Brimley in "The Boys of Twilight" (1992). His breakthrough came when he played stagecoach robber Bill Miner in the 1982 Canadian film "The Grey Fox". He appeared as a baseball coach in "The Natural" (1984). In 1985, he was the brother to Marilla and father figure to Anne in "Anne of Green Gables." His other prominent roles included a wealthy and ruthless oil man in "The Two Jakes" (1990) and the suspicious sheriff in the film version of Stephen King's "Misery" (1990 ). He became well known in the Pacific Northwest as the groundskeeper who saw the mythical "Artesians" in the 1980s Olympia Beer advertising campaign. Personal life and death. Farnsworth had a long marriage and had two children. After becoming a widower, he lived on a ranch in Lincoln, New Mexico. On October 6, 2000, suffering from terminal cancer that left him partially paralyzed and in great pain, he died from suicide by shooting himself at his ranch. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles in the Columbarium of Purity (N-63294) beside his wife , Margaret (née Hill). Awards and nominations. Comes a Horseman (1979) The Grey Fox (1982) Anne of Green Gables (1985) Chase (1985) The Straight Story (1999) Note: Farnsworth was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1997. In addition, Farnsworth received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star for his contributions in the motion pictures on August 17, 1992; the star is located at 1560 Vine Street.