Facts About Rip Torn

Larrylambert
3 min readDec 11, 2023

His was one of the great names in Hollywood.

Photo by Myke Simon on Unsplash

I haven’t seen a whole lot of Rip Torn movies, but I do know that whenever he was on a movie screen, he had my attention. Apparently, he had the personality to match his name. Actually, what I most remember about Rip’s movies was a line he used in somewhat of a sleeper movie called, “Defending Your Life.” I remember him using the term, “little brain.” You would have to see the movie to get the reference, but it’s still a movie reference I use.

Of course, Rip was in a number of memorable movies. After doing a little research, here are some things you might not have known about Rip Torn.

1: There are a lot of “Rips” in Torn’s family.

It’s actually kind of a family name for the men in the Torn family. His father, as well as an uncle and cousin were all called Rip. I wonder the name RIP gets confusing on gravestones.

2: Rip was married three times.

His second wife was Geraldine Page. That sounds like something out Jay Leno’s bit about couples with unusual names getting married. Thus the “Torn-Page “wedding.

3: Torn has dealt with legal issues. On January 29, 2010, Torn was arrested after breaking into the

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Larrylambert

You probably don't know my name, but have likely seen my work. I've written for numerous syndicated cartoon strips and my gags have appeared in national pubs.