Robert Ryan

Acting · Born 1909-11-11 in Chicago, Illinois, USA

Biography

Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains. Ryan was born in Chicago, Illinois, the first child of Timothy Ryan and his wife Mabel Bushnell Ryan. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1932, having held the school's heavyweight boxing title all four years of his attendance. After graduation, the 6'4" Ryan found employment as a stoker on a ship, a WPA worker, and a ranch hand in Montana. Ryan attempted to make a career in show business as a playwright, but had to turn to acting to support himself. He studied acting in Hollywood and appeared on stage and in small film parts during the early 1940s. In January 1944, after securing a contract guarantee from RKO Radio Pictures, Ryan enlisted in the United…

Filmography

• The Wild Bunch as Deke Thornton
• The Dirty Dozen as Col. Everett Dasher Breed
• Billy Budd as John Claggart, Master of Arms
• House of Bamboo as Sandy Dawson
• The Naked Spur as Ben Vandergroat
• Clash by Night as Earl Pfeiffer
• The Professionals as Ehrengard
• On Dangerous Ground as Jim Wilson
• Hour of the Gun as Ike Clanton
• The Racket as Nick Scanlon