Actor lawrence tierney biography channel

That same year, however, Tierney only received second billing in Joseph Pevney 's Shakedownalthough in he returned to a starring role in another film produced by Eagle Lion and directed by Nosseck: The Hoodlum. After co-starring in The Bushwhackersdirector Cecil B. Tierney's supporting work in that film earned him a request by the director of Paramount Pictures to put him under contract, but that proposal was dropped by the studio when Tierney was arrested for fighting in a bar.

He did share top billing with Kathleen CrowleyJohn Carradineand Jayne Mansfield in the low-budget film noir Female Junglebut as offers of further screen work steadily declined, he returned to the stage, playing Duke Mantee in a touring version of The Petrified Forest alongside Franchot Tone and Betsy von Furstenberg.

Actor lawrence tierney biography channel: Legendary Hollywood "tough guy", on screen

After his work on A Child is Waiting he moved to France. In New York City, he worked as a bartender and construction worker, and drove a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park. However, he was fired due to an incident two days before principal photography began when he was arrested for assaulting a bartender who refused to serve him any more hard liquor.

During the s, he occasionally found film work, appearing in a bit part as a security guard in Otto Preminger 's Such Good Friendsas an FBI agent in Joseph Zito 's Abductionin Andy Warhol's Badin which he later described as "a terrible experience—unprofessional"as well as small roles in Cassavetes' Gloria and Zito's The Prowler He was second billed in the independently produced horror film Midnight Tierney moved back to Los Angeles in Decemberand over the next 16 years, resumed a fairly successful acting career in film and television.

Former Simpsons show runner Josh Weinstein called Tierney's appearance "the craziest guest star experience we ever had". Between andTierney made several guest appearances on the last two seasons of the police drama Hill Street Bluesportraying Desk Sergeant Jenkins working the precinct's night shifts. He spoke the last line of dialogue on the series' final episode when he answered the front desk phone, uttering "Hill Street.

Actor lawrence tierney biography channel: Lawrence Tierney (–) was the

Tierney had a more substantial supporting role as the father of protagonist Ryan O'Neal in Norman Mailer 's film adaptation of his own novel Tough Guys Don't Dance He also played a baseball-bat wielding bar owner in the film adaptation of Stephen King 's Silver Bullet. Tierney credited Tough Guys Don't Dance in particular with rejuvenating his acting career, and he personally ranked it as some of his best work.

The success of the film bookended Tierney's career in playing gangsters. In an homage to his first starring role, Tierney reports that one of his henchmen was "dead as Dillinger". At the end of his first week of directing Reservoir DogsTarantino got into a shoving match with Tierney and fired him. The entire crew burst into applause.

Tarantino accepted his apology but declined to drink with Tierney, and vowed to never work with him again. Despite his reputation as a brawler and being difficult to work with, Tierney remained in steady demand as a character actor in Hollywood until he suffered a mild stroke in which made him gradually slow his career. He had suffered a previous stroke in He turned to doing voice-over work on animated features and made occasional appearances in film and television most of which feature him only sitting as his health slowly deteriorated until his death.

One of Tierney's later roles was an uncredited cameo appearance as Bruce Willis ' disabled father in Armageddon in a short scene which ended up being deleted from the theatrical version. The same year, his long-time agent, Don Gerler, recounted Tierney's continuing troubles with the law: "A few years back [in ] I was still bailing him out of jail.

He was years-old and still the toughest guy in the bar! Tierney's numerous arrests for being drunk and disorderly, and jail terms for assault on civilians and police officers alike, took a toll on his career. Between andTierney was arrested at least twelve times in Los Angeles for brawling—fistfighting with multiple people—and frequently for drunkenness which included ripping a public telephone off a wall in a bar, hitting a waiter in the face with a sugar bowl for refusing to serve him any more drinks, and attempting to choke a taxi driver.

He served 66 days in the city jail in Chicago, Illinois from March to May on drunk and disorderly charges. In Januaryhe was stabbed in a bar fight on the West Side of Manhattan.

Actor lawrence tierney biography channel: Biography. The first biography of the

Tierney told police "I had just gotten there, and she just went out the window. In Julyduring the filming of Reservoir DogsTierney shot at his nephew in a drunken rage at his Hollywood apartment, and was arrested and jailed. Inhe started working at the Irish-American Theater. Despite his disciplined youth and strict upbringing by his father, Lawrence Tierney faced troubles with law enforcement in his later years.

He frequently drove under the influence and violated traffic rules, leading to several legal issues. In the s and s, Tierney appeared less frequently in major films. One of his notable works during this period was in the film "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. InLawrence Tierney returned to Hollywood. He stole a butcher knife from Jerry Seinfeld 's TV kitchen and hid it under his jacket.

When Seinfeld undauntedly confronted him about it much to the dismay of the entire castTierney pretended that he was going to use the knife as a gag in reference to the movie Psycho during the episode and quickly returned it. The book was never written and Tierney passed away in February of Off-screen, his arrests for drunken brawls at bars and Hollywood parties took a heavy toll on his once-promising career in the s.

Booze was always at the root of his misbehavior, which included tearing a public phone off the wall, hitting a waiter in the face with a sugar bowl, breaking a college student's jaw and attempting to choke a cab driver. I finally wised up. I'd say it was about time. Heck, I threw away about seven careers through drink. InI was arrested and convicted for third degree assault after this cab driver said that I tried to choke him.

That's what the cabbie wanted, but I wasn't going to pay because I didn't like the way he was driving. I just reached over the cabbie's shoulder to turn off the ignition and he said I was trying to strangle him. But all that's academic because they found me guilty anyway. Take how Tierney landed the plum role as gangster John Dillinger. He was signed for the film.

Still, Tierney is an undeniably colorful personality. But he was just a big old guy who lived next door. Hollywood loves a comeback story, and the tireless character actor enjoyed a Tierney-assaince in the s. So the scene was cut from the film.