Mark Rydell, the actor and director whose films earned more than 20 Academy Award nominations, has died at the age of 97. His 1981 drama On Golden Pond won best actor and best actress Oscars for Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn, and Rydell himself received a best director nomination for the film.
A Career Built on Substantial Material
Rydell trained as a performer alongside James Dean and Steve McQueen, later becoming west coast artistic co-director of the prestigious Actors Studio. He was known for choosing projects that dealt with profound themes, saying in 2001: “I’m attracted to material that is substantial enough to deal with life and death issues. I don’t like to waste my time with trivia.”
His direction benefited many actors, including Bette Midler, who earned her only best actress Oscar nominations for The Rose (1979) and For the Boys (1991). James Franco won a Golden Globe for playing the title role in the TV movie James Dean (2001), in which Rydell had a small part as studio boss Jack Warner.
From Juilliard to Hollywood
Born in New York as Mortimer, he was raised in the Bronx by his parents, Sidney, a stockbroker, and Evelyn, a pianist. He trained at the Juilliard School of Music under jazz pianist Teddy Wilson and worked on the New York and Chicago club circuits for five years before giving up that career to avoid heroin addiction. “Knowing that I have an addict’s personality … I knew I was in danger,” he said.
After army service, he won a scholarship to Sanford Meisner’s Neighborhood Playhouse, where he studied with McQueen and was taught dance by Martha Graham. He joined the Actors Studio and appeared with Dean in a 1953 TV version of William Inge’s play Glory in the Flower. In 1956, he acted alongside John Cassavetes and Sal Mineo in Don Siegel’s Crime in the Streets, and the same year began a six-year recurring role on the soap opera As the World Turns.
Directing Success and Notable Encounters
Rydell moved into directing with episodes of Ben Casey, Gunsmoke, and I Spy before making his film debut with The Fox (1967), based on the DH Lawrence novella, and The Reivers (1969) starring McQueen. While shooting The Cowboys (1972), he reprimanded John Wayne in front of the cast and crew for calling “Action”. Wayne congratulated him, and “took to calling me ‘Sir’ for the rest of the picture.”
He made Cinderella Liberty (1973) with James Caan and Marsha Mason, and Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976), before lobbying for Bette Midler to star in The Rose. When Jane Fonda chose him to direct On Golden Pond, he introduced her father to Hepburn. “Kate just said, in that trilling voice of hers, ‘It’s about time,’” he recalled. “Then she gave Henry a precious present – Spencer Tracy’s favourite hat.”
Later films included The River (1984), giving Mel Gibson his first US role, and Intersection (1994) with Richard Gere and Sharon Stone. He directed Crime of the Century (1996) for television, about the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, and his final movie was Even Money (2006) with Kim Basinger and Forest Whitaker.
Reflections and Legacy
Rydell believed directors should act, saying: “I think directors need to stay in touch with the agony of narcissism.” He acted in Havana (1990) as Meyer Lansky and in Hollywood Ending (2002), and gave a memorable performance in Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973). He said, “I grew up in the Bronx. I know those street thugs.”
He confessed in 2001 that film-making had been “all uphill” since the mid-1970s. “I can tell you without hesitation, not one of my movies could be made in today’s market. This is a time for special effects that substitute for human drama.”
He is survived by his children Amy and Christopher from his first marriage to Joanne Linville, which ended in 1973, and his son Alexander from his second marriage to Esther Rydell, which ended in 2007. Mark (Mortimer) Rydell was born on 23 March 1929 and died on 13 August 2026.
