Lawrence Tierney
Highest Rated: 92% A Child Is Waiting (1963)
Lowest Rated: 0% The Horror Show (1989)
Birthday: Mar 15, 1919
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, USA
"There is absolutely no light in his eyes," wrote author and poet Barry Gifford about actor Lawrence Tierney, an imposing lead and character actor in features from the dawn of film noir in the 1940s through the 1990s with gruff turns in "Reservoir Dogs" (1991), among countless other projects. In crime films like "Dillinger" (1945), "The Devil Thumbs a Ride" (1947) and "Born to Kill" (1947), Tierney possessed an air of implacable menace behind pale, narrow eyes, and fittingly, his characters seemed capable of the most senseless violence for purely sadistic reasons. By the early 1970s, he had left acting and was driving a hansom cab in New York, but after gaining sobriety in the 1980s, he made an astonishing number of character turns in features and television, often as elderly but still dangerous criminals, cops and other streetwise types, most notably as the crusty crime boss in Quentin Tarantino's "Dogs." Still capable of making headlines for his irascibility in his seventh decade, Tierney remained one of Hollywood's most enduring tough guys simply by being himself.
Photos
Lawrence Tierney
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Evicted | Bob (Character) | - | 2000 |
38% |
|
Southie | Colie Powers (Character) | - | 1998 |
43% |
|
Armageddon | Hollis Vernon Grap Stamper (Character) | $201.6M | 1998 |
60% |
|
2 Days in the Valley | Older Man (Character) | $11.1M | 1996 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | A Kiss Goodnight | Sergeant Harwood (Character) | - | 1994 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story | Joey Buttafuoco's Father (Character) | - | 1993 |
No Score Yet |
|
Eddie Presley | Joe West (Character) | - | 1993 |
90% |
|
Reservoir Dogs | Joe Cabot (Character) | $2.5M | 1992 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Runestone | Chief Richardson (Character) | - | 1992 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Death Merchant | Unknown (Character) | - | 1991 |
No Score Yet |
|
Wizards of the Demon Sword | Slave Master (Character) | - | 1991 |
No Score Yet |
|
Dillinger | Sheriff Sarber (Character) | - | 1991 |
86% | No Score Yet | Red | Unknown (Character) | - | 1991 |
0% |
|
The Horror Show | Warden (Character) | $1.4M | 1989 |
39% |
|
Tough Guys Don't Dance | Dougy (Character) | $421.4K | 1987 |
33% |
|
Murphy's Law | Cameron (Character) | $9.1M | 1986 |
41% |
|
Silver Bullet | Owen Knopfler (Character) | $10.8M | 1985 |
No Score Yet |
|
Midnight | Bert Johnson (Character) | - | 1982 |
86% |
|
Arthur | Man in Coffee Shop (Character) | - | 1981 |
75% |
|
The Prowler | Maj. Chatham (Character) | - | 1981 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Abduction | FBI Agent (Character) | - | 1975 |
No Score Yet |
|
Such Good Friends | Hospital Guard (Character) | - | 1971 |
25% |
|
Custer of the West | Gen. Philip Sheridan (Character) | - | 1968 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Exorcism at Midnight | The Doctor (Character) | - | 1966 |
92% |
|
A Child Is Waiting | Douglas Benham (Character) | - | 1963 |
No Score Yet |
|
Female Jungle | Det. Sgt. Jack Stevens (Character) | - | 1956 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Singing in the Dark | Biff Lamont (Character) | - | 1956 |
50% |
|
The Greatest Show on Earth | Mr. Henderson (Character) | - | 1952 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Hoodlum | Vincent Lubeck (Character) | - | 1951 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Bushwhackers | Sam Tobin (Character) | - | 1951 |
No Score Yet |
|
Best of the Badmen | Jesse James (Character) | - | 1951 |
No Score Yet |
|
Hoodlum | Unknown (Character) | - | 1951 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Shakedown | Harry Colton (Character) | - | 1950 |
No Score Yet |
|
Kill or Be Killed | Robert Warren (Character) | - | 1950 |
No Score Yet |
|
Bodyguard | Mike Carter (Character) | - | 1948 |
83% |
|
Born to Kill | Sam Wild (Character) | - | 1947 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Devil Thumbs a Ride | Steve Morgan (Character) | - | 1947 |
No Score Yet |
|
Step by Step | Johnny Christopher (Character) | - | 1946 |
No Score Yet |
|
Badman's Territory | Jesse James (Character) | - | 1946 |
No Score Yet |
|
San Quentin | Jim Roland (Character) | - | 1946 |
No Score Yet |
|
Dillinger | John Dillinger (Character) | - | 1945 |
86% |
|
Back to Bataan | Lt. Cmdr. Waite (Character) | - | 1945 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Those Endearing Young Charms | Lt. Ted Brewster (Character) | - | 1945 |
No Score Yet |
|
Youth Runs Wild | Larry Duncan (Character) | - | 1944 |
82% |
|
The Ghost Ship | Seaman Louie Parker (uncredited) (Character) | - | 1943 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs | Unknown (Character) | 2018 |
91% | 89% | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Regent (Guest Star) | 1997 |
No Score Yet | 85% | ER | Jack Johnson (Guest Star) | 1996 |
85% | 76% | The Simpsons | Don Brodka (Guest Voice) | 1995 |
89% | 92% | Seinfeld | Alton Benes (Guest Star) | 1991 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Hunter | Detective Doyle (Guest Star) | 1988 |
92% | 90% | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Cyrus Redblock (Guest Star) | 1988 |
97% | 82% | Hill Street Blues | Jenkins (Guest Star) | 1986-1987 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Fame | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1984 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Unknown (Character) | 1963 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Lloyd Bridges Show | Jim (Guest Star) | 1962 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Bus Stop | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1962 |