September 1, 1920 – October 6, 2000
"I worked for John Ford, Howard Hawks, Henry Hathaway, Raoul Walsh - I worked for some real good directors." - Richard Farnsworth
Born in Los Angeles, California, Richard had dropped out of school at the age of sixteen and became a rodeo rider. He would start his Hollywood career in 1937 as a stunt man/extra with MGM in the Marx Brothers' film A Day at the Races. He would remain a stunt man (mostly Westerns) for thirty-four years before becoming a respected actor and earning widespread attention for two outstanding lead performances: 1982's The Grey Fox, and 1999's The Straight Story, in which he starred in as Alvin Straight.
Riding a horse was as natural to Richard as swimming is to a duck. For decades he would be a stunt man/stand-in (often playing the bad guy) for stars like Roy Rogers, Gary Cooper, and occasionally doubling for Guy Madison of The Wild Bill Hickok Show fame. He would also stunt/double for Kirk Douglas, Henry Ford, and Steve McQueen (he did stunt work for many cowboy stars and swashbucklers).
In the 60's Richard co-created the Stuntsman's Association, a group that would fight to safeguard the rights of the men and women who performed dangerous and life threatening stunts for Hollywood.
By 1976 Richard was working as a full time actor, and in 1978 he co-starred in Comes a Horseman. He was nominated for an Academy Award for supporting actor in that film. In 1982 Richard received Canada's Genie Award for his lead role about an aging gentlemen bank robber ( Bill Miner/George Edwards) in The Grey Fox. Then he was just as wonderful in the 1984 Robert Redford hit The Natural, which Richard played the part of Red Blow the baseball teams manager (both movies are among my favorite list).
Richard came out of semi-retirement to play the part of Alvin Straight in the 1999 film The Straight Story. He was honored with a Golden Globe nomination, and would receive a Best Actor nod at the 2000 Academy Awards. He became the oldest person to be nominated for that award.
Richard was diagnosed and stricken with terminal bone cancer, but he still continued to make public appearances in 2000, and would attend award ceremonies. Sadly, the debilitating disease would finally cause him to take his own life. His son, Richard "Diamond" Farnsworth, followed in his father's "stunt-boot-steps" and became an Hollywood stunt man. Bless his soul.
*is it just me or does Richard look like he could have also fathered Sam Elliott?
