Van Heflin

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Van Heflin

Arlene Dahl and Van Heflin in Woman's World.
Birth name Emmett Evan Heflin Jr.
Born December 13, 1908
Walters, Oklahoma, USA
Died July 23, 1971
Hollywood, California, USA
Academy
 Awards		 Best Supporting Actor
1943 Johnny Eager

Van Heflin, (December 13, 1908 – July 23, 1971), born Emmett Evan Heflin Jr., was an Academy Award winning American film and theater actor.

Born in Walters, Oklahoma of French and Irish descent. Heflin attended the University of Oklahoma, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He began his acting career on Broadway in the early 1930's before being signed to a contract by RKO Studios. His first film A Woman Rebels (1936) featured him opposite Katharine Hepburn, and although he received good reviews, RKO did not try to build his potential. Signed by MGM Studios in he was initially cast in supporting roles in films such as Santa Fe Trail (1940), and Johnny Eager (1942), winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the latter performance.

MGM began to groom him as a leading man in "B Movies", and provided him with strong supporting roles in more prestigious productions. Among his more notable film credits are Presenting Lily Mars (1943), The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), Possessed (1947), The Prowler (1951), Shane (1953) and the lead in the classic 1948 film noir Act of Violence.

He also returned to perform on stage throughout his acting career. His stage credits include The Philadelphia Story on Broadway opposite Katharine Hepburn and Joseph Cotten.

His last major role was in the film Airport (1970). He played "D. O. Guerrero", a failure who hopes to "redeem" himself by blowing himself up on an airliner so his wife (played by Maureen Stapleton) can collect on a life insurance policy.

On July 6, 1971, he was stricken with a heart attack while in a swimming pool. He managed to get to the pool’s ladder, where he held on until found later in the day. He lay unconscious for days, apparently never regaining consciousness. Van Heflin died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital on July 23, 1971. He was 62 years old.

He had left instructions forbidding a public funeral. Instead, his cremated remains were scattered on the ocean. Heflin was a sailor before becoming an actor.

Van Heflin has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to motion pictures at 6309 Hollywood Boulevard, and for television at 6125 Hollywood Boulevard.

He was the brother of Daytime Emmy nominated actress Frances Heflin, who died of lung cancer at the age of 70 in 1994.

[edit] Filmography

Preceded by
Donald Crisp
for How Green Was My Valley		 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1942
for Johnny Eager		 Succeeded by
Charles Coburn
for The More the Merrier
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