Ned Beatty

Stocky, genial-looking supporting actor 'Ned Beatty' (qv) was once hailed by Daily Variety as the "busiest actor in Hollywood".Ned 'Thomas Beatty' (qv) was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Margaret (Fortney) and Charles William Beatty. He grew up fishing and working on farms. His hometown of St. Matthews, Kentucky, is hardly the environment to encourage a career in the entertainment industry, though, so when asked, "How did you get into show business?" Beatty responds, "By hanging out with the wrong crowd." That "crowd" includes some of the industry's most prominent names, such as 'John Huston' (qv), 'Steven Spielberg' (qv), 'Robert Altman' (qv), 'Paul Newman' (qv), 'Richard Burton' (qv), 'Charlton Heston' (qv), 'Marlon Brando' (qv) and 'Robert Redford' (qv).Beatty has garnered praise from both critics and peers as a dedicated actor's actor. He started as a professional performer at age ten, when he earned pocket money singing in gospel quartets and a barber shop. The big city and bright lights did not come easy, though. The first ten years of Beatty's career were spent at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia. He then moved on to the Erie Playhouse in Pennsylvania, the Playhouse Theater in Houston, Texas, and the prestigious Arena Stage Company in Washington, D.C. He was also a member of Shakespeare in Central Park, Louisville, Kentucky. Later, he appeared in the Broadway production of "The Great White Hope". At the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, he won rave reviews when he starred in "The Accidental Death of an Anarchist".In 1971, Beatty was chosen by director 'John Boorman' (qv) for the role of Bobby Trippe in the hit film/backwoods nightmare _Deliverance (1972)_ (qv). Co-star 'Burt Reynolds' (qv) and Beatty struck up a friendship together, and Ned has since been cast by Burt in several other films together, including _White Lightning (1973)_ (qv), _W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975)_ (qv), and the abysmal _Stroker Ace (1983)_ (qv). Ned's talents were also noticed by others in Hollywood and he was cast in many key productions of the 1970s turning in stellar performance, including an Academy Award nomination of Best Supporting Actor for his role in _Network (1976)_ (qv). Beatty was also marvelous in _Nashville (1975)_ (qv), under fire from a crazed sniper in _The Deadly Tower (1975)_ (qv), an undercover FBI man in the action/comedy _Silver Streak (1976)_ (qv), as Lex Luthor's bumbling assistant, Otis, in the blockbuster _Superman (1978)_ (qv)... and he returned again with 'Gene Hackman' (qv) to play Otis and Lex Luthor again in _Superman II (1980)_ (qv).Beatty continued to remain busy throughout the 1980s with appearances in several big budget television productions including _The Last Days of Pompeii (1984)_ (qv). However, the overall caliber of the productions in general did not match up to those he had appeared in during the 1970s. Nonetheless, Beatty still shone in films including _The Big Easy (1986)_ (qv) and _The Fourth Protocol (1987)_ (qv). Into the 1990s, Beatty's work output swung between a mixture of roles in family orientated productions (_Gulliver's Travels (1996)_ (qv), _Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1990)_ (qv), etc.) taking advantage of his "fatherly" type looks, but he could still accentuate a hard edge, and additionally was cast in _Radioland Murders (1994)_ (qv) and _Just Cause (1995)_ (qv). His many other films include _The Toy (1982)_ (qv), _All the President's Men (1976)_ (qv), _Wise Blood (1979)_ (qv), _Rudy (1993)_ (qv), _Spring Forward (1999)_ (qv), _Hear My Song (1991)_ (qv) -- for which he earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor -- _Prelude to a Kiss (1992)_ (qv), _He Got Game (1998)_ (qv) and _Cookie's Fortune (1999)_ (qv). Beatty's numerous television credits include three years on the NBC series _Homicide: Life on the Street (1993)_ (qv), _Streets of Laredo (1995)_ (qv), and _The Boys (1993)_ (qv).Beatty received an Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance in _Friendly Fire (1979)_ (qv) opposite 'Carol Burnett' (qv), and a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Family Channel's _Last Train Home (1989)_ (qv). Other notable credits include _The Wool Cap (2004)_ (qv), _The Execution of Private Slovik (1974)_ (qv), _A Woman Called Golda (1982)_ (qv), _Pray TV (1982)_ (qv), the miniseries _Robert Kennedy and His Times (1985)_ (qv), _Lockerbie: A Night Remembered (1998)_ (qv) and _T Bone N Weasel (1992)_ (qv). He also had a recurring role on _Roseanne (1988)_ (qv) and performed musically on television specials for 'Dolly Parton' (qv) and The Smothers Brothers.In 2001, Beatty returned to his theatrical roots starring in London's West End revival production of 'Tennessee Williams' (qv)' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" with 'Brendan Fraser' (qv). He also appeared in the production on Broadway in 2003/2004 with 'Jason Patric' (qv) and 'Ashley Judd' (qv). In 2006, Beatty completed three features to be released next year: _The Walker (2007)_ (qv); a 'Paul Schrader' (qv) film also starring 'Woody Harrelson' (qv), 'Kristin Scott Thomas' (qv), and 'Lily Tomlin' (qv); Paramount's _Shooter (2007)_ (qv) starring 'Mark Wahlberg' (qv); and _Charlie Wilson's War (2007)_ (qv), a 'Mike Nichols' (qv) film with 'Tom Hanks' (qv), 'Philip Seymour Hoffman' (qv) and 'Julia Roberts' (qv). Blessed with eight children, Beatty enjoys golf and playing the bass guitar. He gives himself until the age of 70 to become proficient at both.Also in the 21st century, Beatty turned out a terrific performance in the popular _Where the Red Fern Grows (2003)_ (qv).::firehouse44 and Gabe Lang