wazzzy
2007-01-19 16:57:00 UTC
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/105020.html
Larkin Ford, the last member of the original 1954 cast of Reginald
Rose's teleplay "Twelve Angry Men," which was to have a long life on
television, film and the stage, died Jan. 13, his friend Harry Haun
said. He was 86 and lived at Manhattan Plaza in the Theatre District.
Then working under the name Will West, Mr. Ford was cast as Juror #12
in the tense Jury Room drama in which a dozen very different men
grapple over the guilt of a young man accused of murder-and the
fallible nature of the American legal system. Mr. Ford's character was
a slick, young Madison Avenue ad man more interested in conjuring sales
formulas than deliberating legal points. His co-stars in the live TV
drama included Edward Arnold, Franchot Tone and Robert Cummings. The
show won an Emmy Award for Best Written Dramatic Material.
Rose's terse drama proved durable. It was made into a film starring
Henry Fonda and directed by Sidney Lumet in 1957. William Friedkin
directed a second television movie in 1997, starring Jack Lemmon and
George C. Scott. And in 2004, a stage adaptation of the one-set story
became a surprise smash at the Roundabout Theatre Company, running
seven months and then touring the U.S. Mr. Ford was invited to the
opening night as the only surviving member of the 1954 program.
A year after the "Twelve Angry Men" telecast, Mr. Ford had to change
his name from Will West, because there was already an actor by that
name in Equity. Larkin Shackelford had been his grandfather and he
shortened the surname. He shortened it to Larkin Ford and continued his
career in Hollywood.
Born in California on Jan. 30, 1921, he attended Harvard and was a
member of the Brattle Theatre Company for seven years, performing in
classics. Among his Los Angeles theatre credits was a production of
Macbeth starring Vanessa Redgrave and Charlton Heston.
"Twelve Angry Men," however, remained his most famous credit. "I had no
idea the piece would become as famous as it has," Mr. Ford told
Playbill.com. "Nor did Reginald. Nor did anyone, really. But we were
aware of the quality of Reginald's writing. At the time, most of us
were saying it should be made into a play."
Larkin Ford, the last member of the original 1954 cast of Reginald
Rose's teleplay "Twelve Angry Men," which was to have a long life on
television, film and the stage, died Jan. 13, his friend Harry Haun
said. He was 86 and lived at Manhattan Plaza in the Theatre District.
Then working under the name Will West, Mr. Ford was cast as Juror #12
in the tense Jury Room drama in which a dozen very different men
grapple over the guilt of a young man accused of murder-and the
fallible nature of the American legal system. Mr. Ford's character was
a slick, young Madison Avenue ad man more interested in conjuring sales
formulas than deliberating legal points. His co-stars in the live TV
drama included Edward Arnold, Franchot Tone and Robert Cummings. The
show won an Emmy Award for Best Written Dramatic Material.
Rose's terse drama proved durable. It was made into a film starring
Henry Fonda and directed by Sidney Lumet in 1957. William Friedkin
directed a second television movie in 1997, starring Jack Lemmon and
George C. Scott. And in 2004, a stage adaptation of the one-set story
became a surprise smash at the Roundabout Theatre Company, running
seven months and then touring the U.S. Mr. Ford was invited to the
opening night as the only surviving member of the 1954 program.
A year after the "Twelve Angry Men" telecast, Mr. Ford had to change
his name from Will West, because there was already an actor by that
name in Equity. Larkin Shackelford had been his grandfather and he
shortened the surname. He shortened it to Larkin Ford and continued his
career in Hollywood.
Born in California on Jan. 30, 1921, he attended Harvard and was a
member of the Brattle Theatre Company for seven years, performing in
classics. Among his Los Angeles theatre credits was a production of
Macbeth starring Vanessa Redgrave and Charlton Heston.
"Twelve Angry Men," however, remained his most famous credit. "I had no
idea the piece would become as famous as it has," Mr. Ford told
Playbill.com. "Nor did Reginald. Nor did anyone, really. But we were
aware of the quality of Reginald's writing. At the time, most of us
were saying it should be made into a play."