Van Heflin, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Van Heflin
Acting

Van Heflin
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1910-12-13,Walters, Oklahoma, USA
Gender
Male
Biography
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), 3:10 to Yuma (1957), and Gunman’s Walk (1958). Born in Walters, Oklahoma, Heflin studied at the University of Oklahoma and later earned a master’s 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 mid‑1930s. Heflin’s 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, scene‑stealing 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 mid‑20th‑century American character acting.

Filmography

5.8

Santa Fe Trail
1940-12-20

7.343

Shane
1953-04-23

The Greatest Story Ever Told

6.4

The Greatest Story Ever Told
1965-04-09

6.483

Airport
1970-03-25

6.902

Possessed
1947-05-29

6.864

Tap Roots
1948-08-25

6.766

The Prowler
1951-05-25

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

7.093

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
1946-08-19

Act of Violence

6.929

Act of Violence
1949-01-22

6.2

Johnny Eager
1941-12-09

6.536

Once a Thief
1965-04-24

7.3

3:10 to Yuma
1957-08-07

The Three Musketeers

6.77

The Three Musketeers
1948-10-20

6.729

Gunman's Walk
1958-07-15

Presenting Lily Mars

6.417

Presenting Lily Mars
1943-04-29

6.4

Black Widow
1954-10-28

Back Door to Heaven

4.75

Back Door to Heaven
1939-04-19

6.754

Madame Bovary
1949-08-25

7

Tomahawk
1951-02-05

6.092

Stagecoach
1966-04-21

Grand Central Murder

5.8

Grand Central Murder
1942-05-01

Kid Glove Killer

6.409

Kid Glove Killer
1942-04-17

They Came to Cordura

6.569

They Came to Cordura
1959-06-01

Till the Clouds Roll By

5.724

Till the Clouds Roll By
1946-12-05

Certain Honorable Men

10

Certain Honorable Men
1968-09-12

Tennessee Johnson

6.389

Tennessee Johnson
1942-12-01

Count Three and Pray

4.7

Count Three and Pray
1955-10-01

5.74

Battle Cry
1955-02-02

5.773

My Son John
1952-04-08

6.5

The Raid
1954-08-04

B.F.'s Daughter

6.333

B.F.'s Daughter
1948-03-24

Pro Football: Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon

0

Pro Football: Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon
1965-11-15

The Ruthless Four

5.938

The Ruthless Four
1968-02-09

7.264

Patterns
1956-03-27

H.M. Pulham, Esq.

7.091

H.M. Pulham, Esq.
1941-12-04

The Feminine Touch

5.111

The Feminine Touch
1941-10-01

Seven Sweethearts

6.333

Seven Sweethearts
1942-11-13

East Side, West Side

7.058

East Side, West Side
1949-12-22

Green Dolphin Street

6.275

Green Dolphin Street
1947-01-15

South of Algiers

6.6

South of Algiers
1953-03-17

5.1

The Big Bounce
1969-03-05

Five Branded Women

6.095

Five Branded Women
1960-03-15

The Secret Land

5.9

The Secret Land
1948-10-22

7.2

Woman's World
1954-09-30

Under Ten Flags

5.658

Under Ten Flags
1960-09-15

4.75

Cry of Battle
1963-10-09

Flight from Glory

6.2

Flight from Glory
1937-08-20

The Outcasts of Poker Flat

6.333

The Outcasts of Poker Flat
1937-04-16

Week-End with Father

6

Week-End with Father
1951-12-01

Annapolis Salute

6.7

Annapolis Salute
1937-09-10

Saturday's Heroes

8

Saturday's Heroes
1937-10-08

6.5

Tempest
1958-12-01

7.6

The Last Child
1971-10-05

8.333

Tanganyika
1954-07-03

The Man Outside

6.5

The Man Outside
1967-08-24

5.071

The Wastrel
1961-02-24

5.806

A Woman Rebels
1936-11-06

The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli

7

The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli
1973-01-01

0

Ricochet
1961-10-03

That's Entertainment!

7.4

That's Entertainment!
1974-06-21

Wings of the Hawk

5.9

Wings of the Hawk
1953-08-26

Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line

7.667

Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
1997-05-12

The Teen-Age Revolution

0

The Teen-Age Revolution
1965-10-19

0

The Bold Men
1965-03-02

University U.S.A.

0

University U.S.A.
1950-01-01

The Dark Side of the Earth

0

The Dark Side of the Earth
1957-09-19

Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire

6.5

Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire
1991-07-15

A Star Is Born World Premiere

8

A Star Is Born World Premiere
1954-09-28

The Thin Blue Line

0

The Thin Blue Line
1966-03-09

Land and Live in the Jungle

8.5

Land and Live in the Jungle
1944-03-14

Breakpoint: A Counter History of Progress

7.7

Breakpoint: A Counter History of Progress
2019-07-14

Land and Live in the Desert

10

Land and Live in the Desert
1945-12-11

A Case of Libel

0

A Case of Libel
1968-02-11

The Ed Sullivan Show

6.848

The Ed Sullivan Show
1948-06-20

Hallmark Hall of Fame

8.75

Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951-12-24

Robert Montgomery Presents

6

Robert Montgomery Presents
1950-01-30

7

The Oscars
1953-03-19

This Is Your Life

6.5

This Is Your Life
1952-10-01

What's My Line?

7.034

What's My Line?
1950-02-02

What's My Line?

7.034

What's My Line?
1950-02-02

7.625

Playhouse 90
1956-10-04

7.625

Playhouse 90
1956-10-04