Jack Warden


Actor
Jack Warden

About

Also Known As
Jack Warden Lebzelter
Birth Place
Newark, New Jersey
Born
September 18, 1920
Died
July 19, 2006

Biography

Gruff, engaging character actor whose craggy-face and distinctive bass voice are known to two generations for his ubiquitous presence as a supporting character in a number of memorable film and TV roles. Usually cast as the heavy, and later in more comedic turns, Warden has enjoyed a long and productive career. Before embarking on acting, Warden was by age 17 a ranked professional middle...

Photos & Videos

12 Angry Men - Lobby Card Set
The Bachelor Party - Movie Poster

Family & Companions

Dupree Warden
Wife
Married in 1958.

Biography

Gruff, engaging character actor whose craggy-face and distinctive bass voice are known to two generations for his ubiquitous presence as a supporting character in a number of memorable film and TV roles. Usually cast as the heavy, and later in more comedic turns, Warden has enjoyed a long and productive career. Before embarking on acting, Warden was by age 17 a ranked professional middleweight prizefighter. He served in World War II as a paratrooper and it was while recovering from an injury suffered in a jump that Warden began reading plays and decided to try acting. He moved to New York after his discharge and while working as a lifeguard at a New York hotel pool happened to meet Margo Jones, manager of the celebrated Dallas Alley Theater. Jones invited Warden to join the company and he ended up serving a five-year apprenticeship. Returning to New York, Warden was soon cast in Broadway productions of "Golden Boy," "Sing Me No Lullaby," "Picnic" and "Cages," among others.

Warden made his screen debut in "U.S.S. Hathaway/You're in the Navy Now" (1951), a slight military comedy that marked the debut of two other actors who would also enjoy long screen careers, Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson (here billed as Charles Buchinsky). In many of his other early films, Warden often played hard-boiled military types but he also made his mark as one of a group of urban white collars workers trapped by life in the emotionally affecting "Bachelor Party" (1957) and, as the impatient juror, in the well-remembered courtroom drama "Twelve Angry Men" (both 1957). In Sidney Lumet's directing debut, "Edge of the City" (also 1957), he delivered a gritty performance as a ruthless hiring boss on the New York waterfront.

Warden worked steadily in TV and film throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s, gradually developing a talent for vulgar comedic roles. Some of the more memorable performances were in "The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing" (1973) as a scruffy outlaw, as the cab-driving pimping father in the Canadian produced comedy "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" (1974), as a hard-nosed editor in "All The President's Men" (1976), and as a garment district hustler in "So Fine" (1981). For his supporting work in two Warren Beatty vehicles, "Shampoo" (1975), where he played a philandering husband, and in "Heaven Can Wait" (1978) as a blustering football coach, Warden picked up Oscar nominations.

Warden enjoyed an extensive career on the small screen beginning in TV's "Golden Age." He appeared in countless TV dramas, movies, miniseries and was the star of numerous weekly series beginning with a two- year stint as a regular on "Mr. Peepers." Warden frequently played detectives in series TV, among them, the complex crime solver "Jigsaw John" (1976), a plain clothes veteran in "N.Y.P.D." (1967-69), and a con man turned private investigator in "Crazy Like a Fox" (1984-86). Though Warden often got starring billing in his later work, he remained the quintessential supporting character. Having previously acted in Woody Allen's misfire drama, "September" (1987), Warden showed up as a respected theater producer in Allen's decidedly lighter comedy, "Bullets Over Broadway" (1994).

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

The Replacements (2000)
A Dog of Flanders (1999)
Jehan Dass
Dirty Work (1998)
Pops
The Island on Bird Street (1998)
Boruch
Chairman of the Board (1998)
Bulworth (1998)
The Island on Bird Street (1997)
Ed (1996)
Problem Child 3: Junior in Love (1995)
While You Were Sleeping (1995)
Saul
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)
Joe Heff
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Guilty As Sin (1993)
Passed Away (1992)
Jack Scanlan
Toys (1992)
Night And The City (1992)
Problem Child 2 (1991)
Judgment (1990)
Claude Fortier
Problem Child (1990)
Big Ben
Everybody Wins (1990)
Judge Harry Murdoch
The Presidio (1988)
Dead Solid Perfect (1988)
The Watch Commander (1988)
Sergeant Joe Wilson
September (1987)
The Three Kings (1987)
Still Crazy Like a Fox (1987)
Harry Fox
The Aviator (1985)
Moravia
Crackers (1984)
Garvey
Hobson's Choice (1983)
Henry Hobson
The Verdict (1982)
The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
Editor
Chu Chu and the Philly Flash (1981)
So Fine (1981)
Carbon Copy (1981)
Nelson Longhurst
Used Cars (1980)
A Private Battle (1980)
...And Justice For All (1979)
The Champ (1979)
Topper (1979)
Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979)
Being There (1979)
Dreamer (1978)
Death on the Nile (1978)
Dr Bessner
The White Buffalo (1977)
Raid On Entebbe (1977)
All The President's Men (1976)
Journey From Darkness (1975)
Shampoo (1975)
Lester
They Only Come Out at Night (1975)
The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz (1974)
Max
The Godchild (1974)
Sergeant Dobbs
Remember When (1974)
Joe Hodges
Billy Two Hats (1973)
Gifford
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973)
Lieutenant Schuster's Wife (1972)
Captain Patrick Lonergan
Man on a String (1972)
Welcome to the Club (1971)
General Strapp
Summertree (1971)
Herb [McAdams]
The Sporting Club (1971)
[Earl] Olive
Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971)
Dr. Solomon F. Moses
The Face Of Fear (1971)
Lieutenant George Coye
Brian's Song (1971)
What's a Nice Girl Like You...? (1971)
Lieutenant Joe Burton
Bye Bye Braverman (1968)
Barnet Weiner
Blindfold (1966)
General Pratt
The Thin Red Line (1964)
1st Sergeant Welsh
Donovan's Reef (1963)
Doc Dedham
Escape from Zahrain (1962)
Huston
Wake Me When It's Over (1960)
Doc Dave Farrington
The Lawbreakers (1960)
The Sound and the Fury (1959)
Ben Compson
That Kind of Woman (1959)
George Kelly
Darby's Rangers (1958)
M/Sgt. Saul Rosen
Run Silent Run Deep (1958)
Yeoman 1st class "Kraut" Mueller
Edge of the City (1957)
Charles Malik
12 Angry Men (1957)
Juror 7
The Bachelor Party (1957)
The Bachelor [Eddie Watkins]
From Here to Eternity (1953)
Corp. Buckley
The Frogmen (1951)
Crew member
You're in the Navy Now (1951)
Tommy Morse
The Man with My Face (1951)
Walt Davies

Cast (Special)

Partners (1993)
The 37th Annual Prime Time Emmy Awards (1985)
Performer
A Memory of Two Mondays (1974)
Robert Young and the Family (1971)
The Watchman (1964)
Jack Fleming
The Blue Men (1959)
Joe Cushing
The Lark (1957)
Robert De Baudricourt
The Petrified Forest (1955)
Boze

Cast (TV Mini-Series)

Three Wishes For Jamie (1987)
Hoover vs. the Kennedys: The Second Civil War (1987)
A.D. (1985)
Alice in Wonderland (1985)
Robert Kennedy and His Times (1985)
Helen Keller -- The Miracle Continues (1984)

Life Events

1944

Broke a leg during a practice jump while preparing for the Normandy invasion in England; began reading plays while recuperating and, upon discharge, joined the Alley Theater in Dallas

1951

Film acting debut in "You're In the Navy Now/USS Teakettle"; also debut film for Lee Marvin and Charles Buchinski (Bronson)

1953

TV debut as a series regular, "Mr. Peepers"

1955

Debut in a live TV drama, "The Petrified Forest"

1961

Star of short-lived TV series, "The Asphalt Jungle"

1971

Star of TV movie, "What's a Nice Girl Like You...?"

1985

Debut in a TV miniseries, "A.D."

Photo Collections

12 Angry Men - Lobby Card Set
Here is a set of Lobby Cards from 12 Angry Men (1957), starring Henry Fonda. Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.
The Bachelor Party - Movie Poster
The Bachelor Party - Movie Poster

Videos

Movie Clip

All The President's Men (1976) -- (Movie Clip) Possible Burglary The security guard is Frank Wills, the actual guy, who called in the Watergate burglary, staged by director Alan J. Pakula, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam and Dustin Hoffman also introduced, in the 1976 version of the Woodward & Bernstein book, All The President's Men.
Darby's Rangers (1958) -- (Movie Clip) Tip Of The Javelin Darby (James Garner) pitches generals Wise (Raymond Bailey) then Truscott (Willis Bouchey) for the chance to lead the commando team he's dreamed up, in William A. Wellman's generous bio-pic, Darby's Rangers, 1958.
Darby's Rangers (1958) -- (Movie Clip) One Straggler Continuing their recruiting, Rosen (Jack Warden) brings Burns (Peter Brown) to Darby (James Garner), who has an off-the-cuff test in mind, in Darby's Rangers, 1958.
Darby's Rangers (1958) -- (Movie Clip) Real Meat Grinder Outfit Jack Warden as sidekick Sergeant Rosen narrates scenes introducing the recruits, Murray Hamilton (as "Delancey"), Adam Williams (as "Heavy Hall") and Corey Allen (as "Sutherland") in William A. Wellman's Darby's Rangers, 1958, starring James Garner.
Shampoo (1975) -- (Movie Clip) Don't Let Me Drink Too Much Escorting his ex-paramour Jackie (Julie Christie), along with current girlfriend Jill (Goldie Hawn), who’s officially with director Johnny (Tony Bill), hairdresser George (producer and co-writer Warren Beatty) at a Beverly Hills Republican election night party, November 1968, Jack Warden as high-roller Lester, Jackie’s sugar-daddy, who thinks George is gay, in Shampoo, 1975.
Being There (1979) -- (Movie Clip) Growth Has Its Season Ailing magnate Ben (Melvyn Douglas), his friend the president (Jack Warden) visiting, brings idiot gardener Chance (Peter Sellers), now called "Chauncey" and considered wise, into conversation, in Being There, 1979, from Jerzy Kosinski's novella.
Edge Of The City (1957) -- (Movie Clip) Put Him In My Gang We have only bits of background on Axel (John Cassavetes), sleeping rough and awakened by Tyler (Sidney Poitier), seeking work in the docks through his connection to Malik (Jack Warden), to whom he gives a false last name, early in Martin Ritt's Edge Of The City, 1957.
Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) -- Bungo Straits Clark Gable is featured in director Robert Wise’s then-unusual “cold” open, his submarine taken down in the Pacific during WWII, setting the stage for the revenge drama, produced by co-star Burt Lancaster’s HHL productions, Run Silent, Run Deep, 1958.
Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) -- (Movie Clip) To A Dead Crew! Crew of the Nerka (Jack Warden, Brad Dexter, et al) stands by as Commander Richardson (Clark Gable) ducks a Japanese convoy, and is challenged by his "Exec" Bledsoe (Burt Lancaster), in Robert Wise's Run Silent, Run Deep, 1958.
12 Angry Men (1957) -- (Movie Clip) Lucky To Get A Murder The end of director Sidney Lumet's opening scene in the jury room, one take running over six minutes, Jack Klugman, Ed Begley, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Robert Webber, Henry Fonda, Jack Warden, E.G. Marshall, George Voscovec among the speakers, from 12 Angry Men, 1957.
12 Angry Men -- (Movie Clip) It's The Same Knife! Juror 4 (E.G. Marshall) is making up a point leading up to the dramatic moment when Juror 8 (Henry Fonda) pulls out his identical switchblade, in a famous scene from Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men, 1957.
12 Angry Men -- (Movie Clip) You Got Any Kids? Juror 3 (Lee J. Cobb) is letting out some of his feelings about kids, in the face of Juror 8 (Henry Fonda) voting not guilty, others (E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Ed Begley, Martin Balsam) contributing, in Sidney Lumet's Angry Men, 1957.

Trailer

And Justice For All (1979) -- Original Trailer Theatrical trailer for the Norman Jewison production starring Al Pacino, who got his fifth Academy Award nomination for his performance, despite very mixed reviews, the colorful courtroom drama And Justice For All, 1979.
Man Who Loved Cat Dancing, The - (Original Trailer) A vengeful outlaw (Burt Reynolds) protects a woman from his gang in The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973).
Death on the Nile - (Original Trailer) Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) investigates the murder of an heiress during an Egyptian tour in Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile (1978).
Champ, The (1979) - (Original Trailer) A washed-up prizefighter (Jon Voight) struggles to keep his son (Ricky Schroder) in The Champ (1979), a remake of the 1931 drama.
12 Angry Men - (Original Trailer) Henry Fonda is the lone holdout against convicting a Puerto Rican youth in the jury duty drama 12 Angry Men (1957).
Edge of the City - (Original Trailer) An army deserter and a black dock worker join forces against a corrupt union official in Edge of the City (1957).
Donovan's Reef - (Original Trailer) A war veteran in the South Seas tries to salvage a buddy's reputation when the man's daughter comes calling. Director John Ford's last movie starring John Wayne.
Heaven Can Wait (1978) - (Original Trailer) When a football player dies early, he gets a second chance in the body of a crooked industrialist in Heaven Can Wait (1978) starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie.
Run Silent, Run Deep - (Original Trailer) Officers on a WWII submarine clash during a perilous Pacific tour in Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) starring Clark Gable & Burt Lancaster.
Shampoo -- (Original Trailer) Warren Beatty plays a Hollywood hairdresser who does clients as well as hairdos during the late 1960's in Shampoo, 1975, with Julie Christie and Lee Grant in an Academy Award-winning role.
Being There - (Original Trailer) Peter Sellers gave perhaps his greatest performance in Hal Ashby's wicked satire Being There (1979).
Sound and the Fury, The - (Original Trailer) Yul Brynner and Joanne Woodward in William Faulkner's story of a declining Southern family, The Sound and The Fury (1959).

Family

Jack Warden Lebselter
Father
Laura M Lebselter
Mother
Christopher Warden
Son

Companions

Dupree Warden
Wife
Married in 1958.

Bibliography