Lisa Ryan, daughter of Robert Ryan, has recently been back in touch with me. You may recall, that a while back she gave me permission to post our talk about her father. She also gave me one of my favorite stories about the making of The Dirty Dozen (1967) which of course went into Lee Marvin Point Blank that just has to be read to be appreciated!
Well, after discovering the documentary Rick Spalla did on Lee Marvin, which included an interview with her father, I just naturally had to let her know about it. We reconnected conversationally and she told me that due to the pandemic, she had been in the midst of decluttering her belongings when she made an interesting discovery. Among her treasures were a series of photos taken on the set of Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh of the entire cast! She not only sent the scans of them to me, she gave me permission to post them here on my blog.
Lee Marvin Point Blank readers know that I was fortunate enough to interview director John Frankenheimer, costar Jeff Bridges and several others who told me great stories about the making of the rarely seen gem. However, these images say just as much. The photographer went simply by the name “Orlando” and obviously by the signatures these were all meant for Robert Ryan’s personal collection…..
Lee Marvin as Hickey: “To Robert Hit’em again Lee”
The sitting with Lee Marvin was apparently part of the film’s publicity as this now defunct magazine cover shows…
When all is said and done, Lisa Ryan, daughter of Robert Ryan, came thru with a wonderful surprise. So, without further ado, I give you classic images from THE ICEMAN COMETH…..
Fredric March as Harry Hope: “To Robert Ryan God Bless — always Fredric March 1973”
Jeff Bridges as Don Parritt: “Bob — Acting and especially knowing you, has been very special, Jeff Bridges”
Director John Frankenheimer: “Bob with admiration and grand thanks John Frankenheimer”
Bradford Dillman as Willie Oban: “Bob — O’Neill has been kind to both of us and you have been especially kind to him! Cheers!
Brad Dillman”
Sorrell Booke as Hugo Kalmar: “Dear Bob – Don’t be a fool
Buy me a drink
Love
Sorrell Booke”
Hilda Brooks as Margie
Juno Dawson as Pearl: “Dear Bob,
Lovely working with you!
Love,
Juno”
Evans Evans (Mrs. Frankenheimer) as Cora: “Dear Bob,
With love,
Evans”
Martyn Green as ‘The Captain’: “From one old soak to another,
It’s been fun, Bob!
Martyn”
Moses Gunn as Joe Mott (unsigned).
John McLiam as Jimmy Tomorrow: “Dear Bob,
You are the kindest man among us,
John McLiam”
Stephen Perlman as Chuck Morello: “Bob – Looking forward to seeing The Master Builder [???] Stephen Pearlman”
Tom Pedi as Rocky Pioggi: “To Robert Ryan,
Tom Pedi”
Obviously, not all of the cast members are pictured here. Notably absent are Clifton James (“Pat McGloin”), George Voskovec (“The General”), and most obvious of all, Robert Ryan (“Larry Slade”). Fortunately, Lisa was able to find the following cast photos (seen below after all the individual portraits) that does indeed include her father and the rest of the entire cast….
Cast & crew of THE ICEMAN COMETH with individual signatures.
An ever better view is the following close-up images….
Cast and crew of THE ICEMAN COMETH in close-up.
(L-R) Tom Pedi, Evans Evans, Stephen Perlman, unidentified, Moses Gunn, John McLiam (seated), Jeff Bridges, Fredric March, George Voskovec (seated), John Frankenheimer, Clifton James (seated), Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Juno Dawson & Hildy Brooks (seated), Martyn Green & Bradford DIllman (seated).
Finally, since this was graciously donated by the daughter of Robert Ryan, I’ve taken the liberty to include this poignant tribute to her father from the film’s playbill written by L.A. Times film critic, Charles Champlin…
Charles Champlin’s tribute to Robert Ryan.
And so there you have it: Some rare and fitting tributes to an underrated classic and a legendary postwar actor desperately worthy of rediscovery. Lisa Ryan, I am forever in your debt. Stay safe, everyone!
– Dwayne Epstein
Dear Dwayne,
Magnificent photographs from the making of the film “The Iceman Cometh” and a beautiful tribute to the lasting legacy of Robert Ryan. In my opinion (no doubt shared by so many) he was one of the finest American screen actors who rarely received the recognition he was due. Whether playing brutally violent villains, bigots with a searing and tangible inbuilt hatred, or hard bitten men of integrity, he was always riveting to watch and always true. His performance as the former outlaw turned reluctant pursuer in Peckinpah’s “The Wild Bunch” is a small masterpiece of acting, as he displayed all the bitter hurt and suppressed anger he felt in tracking down to kill his old friends. I have yet to purchase your book on the great Lee Marvin, but intend to do that very soon. With all best wishes. Lawrence Lettice