Actor. Born in Chicago, Illinois, as Robert Bushnell Ryan, he was a distinguished performer on both the screen and television. He graduated from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, in 1932, having held the school's heavyweight boxing title all four years. He studied acting in Hollywood and appeared on stage and in small film parts for RKO Radio Pictures during the early 1940s. During World War II, he served in the United States Marines as a Drill Instructor and won several service boxing championships. After the service, he resumed acting with a breakthrough film role as a killer in "Crossfire" (1947), for which he received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. For the next four decades, he was a prolific actor in over fifty feature films. His credits included "The Boy with Green Hair" (1948), "Caught" (1949), "The Set-Up" (1949), "Flying Leathernecks" (1951), "On Dangerous Ground" (1951), "Clash by Night" (1952), "Beware, My Lovely" (1952), "The Naked Spur" (1953), "Inferno" (1953), "Bad Day at Black Rock" (1955), "House of Bamboo" (1955), "The Proud Ones" (1956), "God's Little Acre" (1958), "Lonelyhearts" (1958), "Day of the Outlaw" (1959), "Odds Against Tomorrow" (1959), "Ice Palace" (1960), "King of Kings" (1961), "Billy Budd" (1962), "The Longest Day" (1962), "Battle of the Bulge" (1965), "The Professionals" (1966), "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), "Hour of the Gun" (1967), "Anzio" (1968), "The Wild Bunch" (1969), "Lawman" (1971), "The Outfit" (1973), and "The Iceman Cometh" (1973). For television, he appeared on the series "Alcoa Theatre," "Goodyear Theatre," "Zane Grey Theatre," "Kraft Theatre," "Playhouse 90," and "Wagon Train."
Actor. Born in Chicago, Illinois, as Robert Bushnell Ryan, he was a distinguished performer on both the screen and television. He graduated from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, in 1932, having held the school's heavyweight boxing title all four years. He studied acting in Hollywood and appeared on stage and in small film parts for RKO Radio Pictures during the early 1940s. During World War II, he served in the United States Marines as a Drill Instructor and won several service boxing championships. After the service, he resumed acting with a breakthrough film role as a killer in "Crossfire" (1947), for which he received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. For the next four decades, he was a prolific actor in over fifty feature films. His credits included "The Boy with Green Hair" (1948), "Caught" (1949), "The Set-Up" (1949), "Flying Leathernecks" (1951), "On Dangerous Ground" (1951), "Clash by Night" (1952), "Beware, My Lovely" (1952), "The Naked Spur" (1953), "Inferno" (1953), "Bad Day at Black Rock" (1955), "House of Bamboo" (1955), "The Proud Ones" (1956), "God's Little Acre" (1958), "Lonelyhearts" (1958), "Day of the Outlaw" (1959), "Odds Against Tomorrow" (1959), "Ice Palace" (1960), "King of Kings" (1961), "Billy Budd" (1962), "The Longest Day" (1962), "Battle of the Bulge" (1965), "The Professionals" (1966), "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), "Hour of the Gun" (1967), "Anzio" (1968), "The Wild Bunch" (1969), "Lawman" (1971), "The Outfit" (1973), and "The Iceman Cometh" (1973). For television, he appeared on the series "Alcoa Theatre," "Goodyear Theatre," "Zane Grey Theatre," "Kraft Theatre," "Playhouse 90," and "Wagon Train."
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
