Early life

Beatty was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Margaret Fortney (née Lennis; April 26, 1907 - January 29, 1991) and Charles William Beatty (August 8, 1907 - October 27, 1952). He has a sister, Mary Margaret. In 1947, young Ned began singing in gospel and barbershop quartets in St. Matthews, Kentucky, and at his local church. He received a scholarship to sing in the a cappella choir at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky; he attended but did not graduate.

In 1956, he made his stage debut at age 19, appearing in Wilderness Road, an outdoor-historical pageant located in Berea, Kentucky. During his first ten years of theater, he worked at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia, the State Theatre of Virginia. Returning to Kentucky, he worked in the Louisville area through the mid-1960s, at the Clarksville Little Theater (Indiana) and the newly founded Actors Theater of Louisville. His time at the latter included a run as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman in 1966.

Career

1970s

In 1972, Beatty made his film debut as Bobby Trippe in Deliverance (1972), starring Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds, and set in northern Georgia. Beatty's character is forced to strip at gunpoint in front of two mountain men, who humiliate and rape him, a scene so unprecedented, horrifying and shocking that it is still referenced as a screen milestone. In 1972, he also appeared in The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, starring Paul Newman.

In 1973, Beatty made The Thief Who Came to Dinner, The Last American Hero and White Lightning. He also appeared in an episode of the TV series The Waltons that year, as well as the TV-movie The Marcus-Nelson Murders, the pilot for the series Kojak. The next year, in 1974, he appeared in the television miniseries The Execution of Private Slovik (1974). In 1975, he made W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings and Nashville, as well as appearing as Colonel Hollister in the 1975 M*A*S*H episode, "Dear Peg". He appeared in the NBC-TV movie Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan as Deputy Sheriff Ollie Thompson (1975). Ned also made an appearance on Gunsmoke in "The hiders" episode as "karp" in 1975

Beatty received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor category for Network (1976). Neither he nor William Holden, who shared the lead role with Peter Finch, won an Oscar. The other three acting awards besides best supporting actor were swept by Network performers: Best Actor for Peter Finch, Best Actress for Faye Dunaway, and Best Supporting Actress for Beatrice Straight.

In 1976, he appeared in All the President's Men, The Big Bus, Silver Streak and Mikey and Nicky. In 1977, he returned to work with John Boorman in Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), starring Linda Blair, and appeared in "The Final Chapter", the first episode of the television series Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected. During 1977-78, he starred in the sitcom Szysznyk on CBS.

In 1978, Beatty appeared in Gray Lady Down (1978), portraying Mickey and was cast by Richard Donner to portray Lex Luthor's henchman Otis in Superman: The Movie (1978), as he would in the 1980 sequel, where we see his character being left behind in prison. He received a second nomination for Emmy Award for 'Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special' for the television series Friendly Fire (1979). In 1979, he was seen in Wise Blood and 1941, the latter directed by Steven Spielberg.

1980s

In 1980, Beatty appeared in Ronald Neame's 1980 American film Hopscotch (1980). In 1981, Beatty appeared in the comedy/science fiction film The Incredible Shrinking Woman, directed by Joel Schumacher and starring by Lily Tomlin. In 1982, Beatty return to work with Richard Donner and Richard Pryor in the comedy The Toy (1982). In 1983, Beatty worked with Burt Reynolds again in Stroker Ace (1983).

In the middle of the 1980s, Beatty appeared in the comedy film Restless Natives (1985), directed by Michael Hoffman. By the end of the 1980s, Beatty appeared in another comedy film, as the academic dean Martin in Back to School (1986). In 1987, Beatty played a corrupt cop in the 1987 American neo-noir crime film The Big Easy (1987), directed by Jim McBride and starring by Dennis Quaid, and continued with The Fourth Protocol (1987), opposite Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan.

In 1988, Beatty appeared with the main character Thelonious Pitt in Shadows in the Storm (1988), returned to work with Burt Reynolds and Christopher Reeve; in 1988 comedy film Switching Channels (1988) and Purple People Eater (1988), portraying a simple grandfather. In 1989, Beatty made Chattahoochee (1989), portraying Dr. Harwood, and also had a recurring role as Dan Conner's father on Roseanne (1989-94).

1990s

Entering in the 1990s, Beatty got the third nomination for an Emmy Award for 'Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special' category in Last Train Home (1990), and, a year later, appeared in the British film Hear My Song (1991), in which he portrayed tenor Josef Locke, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture.

In 1990, Beatty worked again with Linda Blair in Repossessed (1990) and appeared in the Marvel Comics American hero Captain America (1990). In 1992, he portrayed Dr. Boyle in Prelude to a Kiss (1992); opposite Meg Ryan and Alec Baldwin. In 1993, he appeared in Rudy (1993). Beatty starred in the television series Homicide: Life on the Street as Detective Stanley Bolander for its first three seasons (1993-1995).

Beatty made the 1994 science fiction film Replikator (1994) and Radioland Murders. In 1995, he worked with Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne in the thriller Just Cause (1995). He appeared as Judge Roy Bean in the TV miniseries adaptation of Larry McMurtrys novel Streets of Laredo (1995). He appeared in the 1998 sports-drama film written and directed by Spike Lee and starring by Denzel Washington, He Got Game (1998). In 1999, Beatty returned to work with Cookie's Fortune, Life, and Spring Forward.

2000s

In the beginning of the 2000s, he was a member of the original cast of the television police drama reunion film Homicide: The Movie (2000), reprising his role of Detective Stanley Bolander. In 2002, he appeared in Peter Hewitt's film Thunderpants (2002). In 2003, he portrayed a simple sheriff in Where the Red Fern Grows.

Beatty has also had a career as a stage actor, including a run in the London production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Brendan Fraser and Frances O'Connor, which won a Drama Desk Award.

In the middle of the 2000s, Beatty appeared in the television film The Wool Cap (2004), with William H. Macy, and in 2005, an American independent film directed and written by Ali Selim, Sweet Land. In March 2006, Beatty received the RiverRun International Film Festival's "Master of Cinema" Award (the highest honor of the festival), in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

By the end of the 2000s, Beatty appeared in the film version of Stephen Hunter's novel Point of Impact retitled Shooter (2007), directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Mark Wahlberg, Michael Peña and Danny Glover; the 2007 drama film that was written and directed by Paul Schrader The Walker (2007); the U.S. Congressman Doc Long in the film Charlie Wilson's War (2007), with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts and worked with Tommy Lee Jones in the thriller In the Electric Mist (2009).

2010s

In 2010, Beatty starred in the thriller The Killer Inside Me (2010), which was part of the Sundance Film Festival, and voiced the main antagonist Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear in Toy Story 3 (2010). In 2011, Beatty worked with actor Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski in the computer-animated film Rango (2011), again, playing the role of the antagonist. He appeared briefly in the film Funny Guy and in the film Rampart (2011), opposite Woody Harrelson, which is set in 1999 Los Angeles. Beatty also appeared at the sitcom television series Go On (2013), opposite Matthew Perry, portraying Coach Spence in episode 16.

Beatty's next film was The Big Ask (2013), a dark comedy about three couples who head to the desert to help their friend heal after the death of his mother. The film featured Gillian Jacobs, Zachary Knighton, David Krumholtz, Melanie Lynskey, Ahna O'Reilly and Jason Ritter, and was directed by his son Thomas Beatty and Rebecca Fishman. His other next movie was Baggage Claim (2013), an American comedy film directed by David E. Talbert and written by Talbert based on his book of the same name, opposite Paula Patton, Adam Brody, Djimon Hounsou, Taye Diggs, Christina Milian and Derek Luke.

Personal life

Beatty has been married four times. His first wife was Walta Chandler; they were married from 1959 until 1968 (before Beatty became an actor) and had four children: Douglas Beatty (born 1960), twins Charles and Lennis Beatty (born 1963), and Walter Beatty (born 1966). His second wife was the actress Belinda Rowley; they were married from 1971 to 1979 and had two children: John Beatty and Blossom Beatty. His third wife was Dorothy Adams "Tinker" Lindsay; they were married from June 28, 1979 to March 1998 and had two children: Thomas Beatty in 1980 and Dorothy Beatty in 1983. His fourth wife is Sandra Johnson; they married November 20, 1999, and reside in California. They also maintain a residence in Karlstad, Minnesota.

On June 29, 2012, Beatty attended a 40th anniversary screening of Deliverance at Warner Bros., with Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Jon Voight.

Despite a popular misconception, Ned is not related to fellow actor Warren Beatty.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	Deliverance	Bobby Trippe
1972	The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean	Tector Crites Jackson gang member Narrator Jersey Lily bartender
1973	The Thief Who Came to Dinner	Deams
1973	The Last American Hero	Hackel
1973	White Lightning	Sheriff JC Connors
1975	W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings	Country Bull
1975	Nashville	Delbert Reese
1975	Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan	Ollie Thompson
1976	All the President's Men	Dardis
1976	The Big Bus	Shorty Scotty
1976	Network	Arthur Jensen	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1976	Silver Streak	Bob Sweet
1976	Mikey and Nicky	Kinney
1977	Exorcist II: The Heretic	Edwards
1978	Gray Lady Down	Mickey
1978	The Great Bank Hoax	Julius Taggart
1978	Superman	Otis
1979	Promises in the Dark	Bud Koenig
1979	Wise Blood	Hoover Shoates
1979	1941	Ward Douglas
1980	The American Success Company	Mr. Elliott
1980	Hopscotch	Myerson
1980	Superman II	Otis
1981	The Incredible Shrinking Woman	Dan Beame
1982	The Toy	Sydney Morehouse
1983	Stroker Ace	Clyde Torkle
1983	Touched	Herbie
1985	Highway to Heaven
1985	Willy The Waver & Melvin Rich
1985	Restless Natives	Bender
1986	Back to School	Dean David Martin
1986	Bill Cassidy
1985	The Banker and the Bum
1986	That's Our Dad
1987	The Big Easy	Jack Kellom
1987	The Fourth Protocol	Borisov Pavel Petrovic
1987	Rolling Vengeance	Tiny Doyle
1987	The Trouble with Spies	Harry Lewis
1988	Shadows in the Storm	Thelonious Pitt
1988	Switching Channels	Roy Ridnitz
1988	Go Toward the Light	George
1988	The Unholy	Lt. Stern
1988	Midnight Crossing	Ellis
1988	After the Rain	Kozen
1988	Purple People Eater	Grandpa
1989	Time Trackers	Harry Orth
1989	Physical Evidence	James Nicks
1989	Tennessee Nights	Charlie Kiefer
1989	Chattahoochee	Dr. Harwood
1989	Ministry of Vengeance	Rev. Bloor
1990	Going Under	Admiral Malice
1990	Big Bad John	Charlie
1990	Angel Square	Officer Ozzie O'Driscoll
1990	A Cry in the Wild	Pilot Jake Holcomb
1990	Repossessed	Ernest Weller
1990	Fat Monroe	Fat Monroe	Short film
1990	Captain America	Sam Kolawetz
1991	Hear My Song	Josef Locke	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
1992	Blind Vision	Sgt. Logan
1992	Prelude to a Kiss	Dr. Boyle
1993	Warren Oates: Across the Border	Narrator	Documentary
1993	Rudy	Daniel Ruettiger, Sr.
1993	Ed and His Dead Mother	Uncle Benny
1994	Replikator	Insp. Victor Valiant
1994	The Outlaws: Legend of O.B. Taggart	Unknown
1994	Radioland Murders	General Walt Whalen
1995	The Affair	Col. Banning
1995	Just Cause	McNair
1997	The Curse of Inferno	Moles Huddenel
1998	He Got Game	Warden Wyatt
1999	Cookie's Fortune	Lester Boyle
1999	Life	Dexter Wilkins
1999	Spring Forward	Murph
2000	Homicide: The Movie	Det. Stanley "The Big Man" Bolander
2002	This Beautiful Life	Bum
2002	Thunderpants	Gen. Ed Sheppard
2003	Where the Red Fern Grows	Sheriff
2004	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof	Big Daddy	Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
2005	Sweet Land	Harmo
2007	Shooter	Senator Charles F. Meachum
2007	The Walker	Jack Delorean
2007	Charlie Wilson's War	Clarence "Doc" Long
2009	In the Electric Mist	Twinky LeMoyne
2010	The Killer Inside Me	Chester Conway
2010	Toy Story 3	Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear	Voice IGN Award for Favorite Villain Nominated—IGN Movie Award for Best Ensemble Cast Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
2011	Rango	Tortoise John	Voice
2011	Rampart	Hartshorn
2013	Teddy Bears	Old Man Carl
2013	Baggage Claim	Mr. Donaldson

Television

1985 "Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Incident In A Small Jail"

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	The Waltons	Curtis Norton	Episode: "The Bicycle"
1973	Dying Room Only	Tom King
1974	Rockford Files	Leon Fielding	Episodes: "Profit and Loss Part 1" "Profit and Loss Part 2"
1974	The Execution of Private Slovik	Father Stafford
1975	The Deadly Tower	Allan Crum
1975	M*A*S*H	Colonel Hollister	Episode: "Dear Peggy"
1975	Gunsmoke	Karp	Episode: "The Hiders"
1976	Hunter		Unaired pilot for 1977 series
1977	Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected (United Kingdom title Twist in the Tale)	McClaskey	Episode "The Final Chapter"
1977	Alambrista!	Anglo Coyote
1977-1978	Szysznyk	Nick Szysznyk
1979	Friendly Fire	Gene Mullen	Nominated - Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special
1980	Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones	Congressman Leo Ryan
1982	Rumpelstiltskin	The King
1983	Kentucky Woman	Luke Telford
1984	The Last Days of Pompeii	Diomed
1984	The Haunting of Barney Palmer	Cole Scholar
1984	Murder, She Wrote	Chief Roy Gunderson	Pilot Episode: "The Murder Of Sherlock Holmes"
1986	Highway To Heaven	Bill Cassidy
1989-1994	Roseanne	Ed Conner
1990	Last Train Home	Cornelius van Horne	Nominated - Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special
1993	The Golden Palace	Tad Hollingsworth
1993-1995	Homicide: Life on the Street	Stanley Bolander
1995	Streets of Laredo	Judge Roy Bean
1996	Crazy Horse	Dr. McGillicuddy
1996	Gulliver's Travels	Farmer Grultrud
1999	Hard Time: Hostage Hotel	Tony
2000	The Wilgus Stories	Fat Monroe
2000	Homicide: The Movie	Stanley Bolander
2001	I Was a Rat	Mudduck
2002	Roughing It	Slade
2004	The Wool Cap	Gigot's father
2007	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Dr. David Lowry	Episode: "Sweet Jane"
2008	Law and Order	Judge	Episode: "Zero"
2013	Go On	Coach Spence

Awards

During his career, Beatty got his first nomination for an Academy Award in Best Supporting Actor category for Network (1976), portraying Arthur Jensen. His second nomination, an Emmy Award, came for Friendly Fire (1979) in 'Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special' category and the third nomination is another Emmy Award for 'Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special' category for Last Train Home (1990). He got the fourth major award nomination for a Golden Globe Award in category Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture for Hear My Song (1990), portraying the Irish tenor Josef Locke and his fifth nomination for a MTV Movie Award in Best Villain category in the voice of antagonist Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear in Toy Story 3 (2010).

He won a Drama Desk Award for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2004) in Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play category, along with Brendan Fraser and Frances O'Connor.

Won

Drama Desk Award

• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2004)

Nominated

Academy Award

• Best Supporting Actor - Network (1976)

Emmy Award

• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special - Friendly Fire (1979)
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special - Last Train Home (1990)

Golden Globe Award

• Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture - Hear My Song (1991)

MTV Movie Award

• MTV Movie Award for Best Villain - Toy Story 3 (2010)

Charities

Ned Beatty supports the following charitable cause: Disabilities.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]