Van Heflin

Emmett Evan Van Heflin Jr December 13 1908 July 23 1971 was an American stage radio film and television actor whose steady craftsmanship and versatility made him a respected character player and occasional leading man across four decades He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Johnny Eager 1942 and is remembered for strong turns in Westerns and noirs such as Shane 1953 310 to Yuma 1957 and Gunmans Walk 1958 Born in Walters Oklahoma Heflin studied at the University of Oklahoma and later earned a masters degree in theater from Yale launching his career on Broadway in the late 1920s and 1930s before moving into films His early stage work and connections including support from Katharine Hepburn helped him secure a Hollywood contract and steady screen work beginning in the mid1930s Heflins screen persona combined reliability emotional range and a rugged everyman quality which allowed him to move fluidly between supporting character roles and leading parts during the 1940s After his Oscar win for Johnny Eager he continued to take memorable roles in both studio pictures and independent productions earning praise for performances in The Glass Key 1942 The Blue Dahlia 1946 and Battle Cry 1955 In the 1950s and 1960s Heflin expanded into television and later film projects appearing in anthology series and features one of his last notable screen appearances was as a disturbed passenger in the disaster film Airport 1970 His career is notable for its longevity and for the way he adapted to changing studio systems while maintaining a reputation for solid scenestealing work Van Heflin died of a heart attack myocardial infarction on July 23 1971 in Hollywood at age 62 He left behind a body of work that spans stage radio film and television and that continues to be cited by historians as exemplary of mid20thcentury American character acting