Laurence Tierney

[maphillips3]

Hi guys, I wondering if you could shed some light on this actor. I have read stories about real tough guys in movies, and his name keeps coming up, and was wondering if you guys could shed some light on this? He was a very good bit player, in the 40's and 50's, but was always considered, one the toughest in the business, so I would like to know more about this actor.

[chaney]

A major alcohol problem and personality prone to violence, though he was said to be rather gallant toward women. Many fights and arrests. Most of Hollywood was scared of him and he was unemployable for a number of years. Believe he went overseas for a while and got kicked out of Spain and told not to come back! He ended up in Central Park as a horse and buggy driver in the early 1970's and still made the news for getting into a fight and getting knifed there.

His real life brother was Scott Brady, another real tough guy, but the two didn't see eye to eye. They had a big knockdown fight in the mid-60 and rarely spoke to one another again. Tierney had a resurgence in his career in his later years but still scared everyone with his drinking. A tough guy legend.

[maphillips3]

Thanks CHANEY! I heard something happen on the "Sinefield" set in the 90's, but haven't been able to find anymore information about it, but was told it was pretty bizarre.

[chaney]

Think the story on that was that Tierney took a butcher knife from the kitchen set and walked around the set with it. All the cast was pretty freaked out and nobody would go near him. Leads one to wonder if Tierney was truly crazy or just got a kick out of playing with people's minds at that point. Seriously, who do you get to take a butcher's knife away from Lawrence Tierney? NBC security?

[maphillips3]

Laurence was a interesting guy. I remember after having a stroke in his seventies, that didn't slow him down, and remember he was still picking fights with people, even though he had one side of his body paralyzed. The guy had no fear.