Richard Widmark: Actor and LFC Alum
Richard Widmark (1914-2008).
Iconic Hollywood actor Richard Widmark, an Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner, graduated from Lake Forest College in 1936. Appearing as the lead in a college production of “Counselor-at-Law,” he gave up his pre-law interests and, after graduation, became an Assistant Director of Speech & Drama at the school before heading for New York and great fame.
With the Garrick Club at Lake Forest College (bottom row, second from right). Image source: Forester yearbook, 1936.
Widmark had a wide variety of interests at Lake Forest College, including football. Image source: Forester yearbook, 1936.
He had important roles in films such as Judgement at Nuremburg, Cheyenne Autumn, The Alamo, and Murder on The Orient Express. In his career, he worked alongside actors such as John Wayne, Spencer Tracy, Marilyn Monroe, Sidney Poitier, James Stewart, and Burt Lancaster. He retired from major roles in 1990 at age 76. He was 93 when he died in 2008.
