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

Early life

Heflin was born in Walters, Oklahoma, the son of Fannie B. and Dr. Emmett E. Heflin, a dentist. He was of Irish and French ancestry. Heflin's sister was Daytime Emmy-nominated actress Frances Heflin. Heflin attended the University of Oklahoma, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

Career

Heflin began his acting career on Broadway in the early 1930s before being signed to a contract by RKO Radio Pictures. He made his film debut in A Woman Rebels (1936). He was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and 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 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), Green Dolphin Street (1947), Act of Violence (1948), The Three Musketeers (1948), The Prowler (1951), Shane (1953), and 10 to Yuma (1957). He also performed on stage throughout his acting career. His stage credits include The Philadelphia Story on Broadway opposite Katharine Hepburn and Joseph Cotten, and the Arthur Miller plays A Memory of Two Mondays and " "A View From the Bridge".

Heflin's last major role was in Airport (1970). He played "D. O. Guerrero", a failure who attempts to blow himself up on an airliner so his wife (played by Maureen Stapleton) can collect on a life insurance policy.

He 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.

Personal life

On July 6, 1971, Heflin had a heart attack. He lay unconscious for days, apparently never regaining consciousness. Van Heflin died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital on July 23, 1971. 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).

Filmography

• A Woman Rebels (1936)
• The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1937)
• Flight From Glory (1937)
• Annapolis Salute (1937)
• Saturday's Heroes (1937)
• Back Door to Heaven (1939)
• Santa Fe Trail (1940)
• The Feminine Touch (1941)
• H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941)
• Johnny Eager (1942)
• Kid Glove Killer (1942)
• Grand Central Murder (1942)
• Seven Sweethearts (1942)
• Tennessee Johnson (1942)
• Presenting Lily Mars (1943)
• Screen Snapshots: Hollywood in Uniform (1943)
• Land and Live in the Jungle (1944) (documentary)
• Land and Live in the Desert (1945) (short subject) (narrator)
• The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
• Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)
• Possessed (1947)
• Green Dolphin Street (1947)
• B.F.'s Daughter (1948)
• The Secret Land (1948) (documentary) (narrator)
• Tap Roots (1948)
• The Three Musketeers (1948)
• Act of Violence (1948)
• Madame Bovary (1949)
• East Side, West Side (1949)

• Tomahawk (1951)
• The Prowler (1951)
• Week-End with Father (1951)
• My Son John (1952)
• The Golden Mask (1953)
• Shane (1953)
• Wings of the Hawk (1953)
• Tanganyika (1954)
• The Raid (1954)
• Woman's World (1954)
• Black Widow (1954)
• Battle Cry (1955)
• Count Three and Pray (1955)
• Patterns (1956)
• 10 to Yuma (1957)
• Tempest (1958)
• Gunman's Walk (1958)
• They Came to Cordura (1959)
• 5 Branded Women (1960)
• Under Ten Flags (1960)
• The Wastrel (1961)
• Cry of Battle (1963)
• The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
• Once a Thief (1965)
• Stagecoach (1966)
• The Man Outside (1967)
• The Ruthless Four (1968)
• The Big Bounce (1969)
• Airport (1970)

References

External links