- Known For
- Acting
- Born
- December 13, 1910
- Place of Birth
- Walters, Oklahoma, USA
- Died
- July 23, 1971
Van Heflin
Emmett Evan “Van” Heflin Jr. (December 13, 1908 – July 23, 1971) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor whose steady craftsmanship and versatility made him a respected character player and occasional leading man across four decades. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Johnny Eager (1942) and is remembered for strong turns in Westerns and noirs such as Shane (1953), 3:10 to Yuma (1957), and Gunman’s Walk (1958). Born in Walters, Oklahoma, Heflin studied at the University of Oklahoma and later earned a master’s degree in theater from Yale, launching his career on Broadway in the late 1920s and 1930s before moving into films. His early stage work and connections (including support from Katharine Hepburn) helped him secure a Hollywood contract and steady screen work beginning in the mid‑1930s. Heflin’s screen persona combined reliability, emotional rang…
Filmography
movieBreakpoint: A Counter History of Progress
2019 · Self (archive footage)
movieBarbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
1997 · Self (archive footage)
movieBarbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire
1991 · Self (archive footage)
movieThat's Entertainment!
1974 · (archive footage) (uncredited)
movieThe Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli
1973 · Self (archive footage)
movieThe Last Child
1971 · Senator Quincy George
movieAirport
1970 · D. O. Guerrero
movieThe Big Bounce
1969 · Sam Mirakian
movieCertain Honorable Men
1968 · Champ Donohue
A Case of Libel
movieA Case of Libel
1968 · Robert Sloane
movieThe Ruthless Four
1968 · Sam Cooper
movieThe Man Outside
1967 · Bill MacLean
movieStagecoach
1966 · Marshal Curly Wilcox
movieThe Thin Blue Line
1966 · Self - Narrator (voice)
moviePro Football: Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon
1965
The Teen-Age Revolution
movieThe Teen-Age Revolution
1965 · Narrator/Host
movieOnce a Thief
1965 · Inspector Mike Vido
movieThe Greatest Story Ever Told
1965 · Bar Amand
movieThe Bold Men
1965 · Narrator
movieCry of Battle
1963 · Joe Trent
movieRicochet
1961 · Sergeant Paul Maxon
movieThe Wastrel
1961 · Duncan Bell
movieUnder Ten Flags
1960 · Captain Bernhard Rogge
movieFive Branded Women
1960 · Velko
movieThey Came to Cordura
1959 · Sgt. John Chawk
movieTempest
1958 · Emelyan Pugachov
movieGunman's Walk
1958 · Lee Hackett
movieThe Dark Side of the Earth
1957 · Col. Sten
movie3:10 to Yuma
1957 · Dan Evans
tvPlayhouse 90
1956 · Bill Kilcoyne, Captain
moviePatterns
1956 · Fred Staples
movieCount Three and Pray
1955 · Luke Fargo
movieBattle Cry
1955 · Major Sam Huxley
movieBlack Widow
1954 · Peter Denver
movieWoman's World
1954 · Jerry Talbot
movieA Star Is Born World Premiere
1954 · Self
movieThe Raid
1954 · Maj. Neal Benton
movieTanganyika
1954 · John Gale
movieWings of the Hawk
1953 · Irish Gallager
movieShane
1953 · Joe Starrett
tvThe Oscars
1953 · Self
movieSouth of Algiers
1953 · Nicholas Chapman
tvThis Is Your Life
1952 · Self
movieMy Son John
1952 · Stedman
tvHallmark Hall of Fame
1951 · Joseph
movieWeek-End with Father
1951 · Brad Stubbs
movieThe Prowler
1951 · Webb Garwood
movieTomahawk
1951 · Bridger
tvWhat's My Line?
1950 · Self, Self - Panelist
tvRobert Montgomery Presents
1950 · Dr. Martin Arrowsmith
University U.S.A.
movieUniversity U.S.A.
1950 · Narrator
movieEast Side, West Side
1949 · Mark Dwyer
movieMadame Bovary
1949 · Charles Bovary
movieAct of Violence
1949 · Frank R. Enley
movieThe Secret Land
1948 · Narrator
movieThe Three Musketeers
1948 · Athos
movieTap Roots
1948 · Keith Alexander
tvThe Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · Self
movieB.F.'s Daughter
1948 · Thomas W. 'Tom' Brett
moviePossessed
1947 · David Sutton
movieGreen Dolphin Street
1947 · Timothy Haslam
movieTill the Clouds Roll By
1946 · James I. Hessler
movieThe Strange Love of Martha Ivers
1946 · Sam Masterson
movieLand and Live in the Desert
1945 · Narrator (voice)
movieLand and Live in the Jungle
1944 · 1st Lieutenant Lynn Harrison
moviePresenting Lily Mars
1943 · John Thornway
movieTennessee Johnson
1942 · Andrew Johnson
movieSeven Sweethearts
1942 · Henry Taggart
movieGrand Central Murder
1942 · 'Rocky' Custer
movieKid Glove Killer
1942 · Gordon McKay
movieJohnny Eager
1941 · Jeff Hartnett
movieH.M. Pulham, Esq.
1941 · Bill King
movieThe Feminine Touch
1941 · Elliott Morgan
movieSanta Fe Trail
1940 · Rader
movieBack Door to Heaven
1939 · John Shelley
movieSaturday's Heroes
1937 · Val
movieAnnapolis Salute
1937 · Clay V. Parker
movieFlight from Glory
1937 · George Wilson
movieThe Outcasts of Poker Flat
1937 · Rev. Samuel Woods
movieA Woman Rebels
1936 · Lord Gerald Waring Gaythorne