Throughout the 1970s, Tamblyn appeared in several exploitation films and worked as a choreographer in the 1980s. In 1990, he starred as Dr. Lawrence Jacoby in David Lynch's television drama Twin Peaks, reprising the role during its 2017 revival.
Tamblyn was a hyperactive child with a penchant for gymnastics and performing. He took the stage during intermissions at the local movie theater and gave tumbling performances.[4] When he was 13, Tamblyn lived in North Hollywood, studied dramatics under Grace Bowman and dancing at the North Hollywood Academy, owned and operated by his parents.[5]
Career
1948–1952: Child acting
Tamblyn wanted to be a circus performer and was skilled in acrobatics and dancing as a child. He developed a musical act that involved singing, dancing, juggling and comedy.[6]
Tamblyn's first professional job came when he was ten years old and was cast by actor Lloyd Bridges in a play Bridges was directing called The Stone Jungle alongside Dickie Moore.[5] During the play's run Tamblyn was seen by several talent scouts and an agent, who signed him. The agent arranged for Tamblyn to audition for a role in The Boy With Green Hair (1948), and he was given a small part.[7]
Tamblyn appeared in Reign of Terror, then was given a role in The Kid from Cleveland (1949), billed third (as "Rusty Tamblyn") after stars George Brent and Lynn Bari,[4] and in What Happened to Jo Jo? (1950).[4]
MGM was impressed by Tamblyn's performance in Retreat, Hell! and signed him to a long-term contract.[9] He called this "the second big break" of his career.[8]
His first role under the contract was as a young soldier in boot camp in Take the High Ground! (1953), directed by Richard Brooks.[10] His training as a gymnast in high school, and abilities as an acrobat, prepared him for his breakout role as Gideon, the youngest brother, in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954).[11] Tamblyn says the director wanted to cast a Broadway dancer but MGM insisted the filmmakers use some contract talent, leading to him and Jeff Richards being used.[8]
Tamblyn was not a trained dancer and always considered himself an actor who danced rather than the other way around,[11] but the film was a big success and established him at MGM. He said "my career really took off" after the film.[8]
Tamblyn's career momentum was interrupted when he was drafted into the United States Army in 1958.[16] During his service he was given leave to play a prominent supporting part in Cimarron (1960).
Tamblyn played Luke Sannerson in The Haunting for Robert Wise, who had made West Side Story. Tamblyn said he originally turned down the role as he disliked the part but agreed to do it when MGM threatened to put him on suspension. He then played "Smitty" Smith in MGM's Follow the Boys (both 1963).[17]
1963–1976: Television and independent films
Tamblyn was unable to consolidate his position as a leading man, and later said he "dropped out" after his West Side Story success and devoted himself to art, refusing movie roles, as well as the role of Gilligan in the TV series Gilligan's Island.[18]
Tamblyn had the starring role in the low-budget MGM Western Son of a Gunfighter (1965) and starred in the 1966 Japanesekaiju film War of the Gargantuas. He guest starred on Tarzan ("Leopard on the Loose", 1966), and Iron Horse ("Decision at Sundown", 1967). Tamblyn later said he became "bored" with acting around this time and more interested in art.[11]
At the same time he worked in exploitation, Tamblyn also worked in the construction industry and computer software.[11]
1978–1989: Choreography and film
Tamblyn played the supporting role in Neil Young's 1982 Human Highway while also credited for screenplay and choreography. Tamblyn is credited as director, choreographer and actor for Young's Greendale concert tour.[20] He choreographed a play, Man with Bags, in 1983.[21]
He appeared in Running Mates (1992), Little Devils: The Birth (1993), Cabin Boy (1994), Desert Steel (1995), and Babylon 5. He appeared on stage in Los Angeles in Zastrozzi.[23] His work drifted back to straight to video: Starstruck (1995), Rebellious (1995), Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold (1995) and Invisible Mom (1996) for Fred Olen Ray, Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard (1997), My Ghost Dog (1997), and Little Miss Magic (1998) for Ray.
Tamblyn appeared on another soap opera, General Hospital, alongside his daughter Amber in 1997 and 2000. In 2004, he appeared with Amber again, playing God in the form of a man walking dogs, in three episodes of Joan of Arcadia.[24] The two also worked together in the films Rebellious, Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard, and The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. In Quentin Tarantino's film Django Unchained, they were billed respectively as "Son of a Gunfighter" and "Daughter of a Son of a Gunfighter", alluding to his leading role in the 1965 western Son of a Gunfighter.
In 2004, the Academy Film Archive preserved the mid-1960s works First Film and Rio Reel by Tamblyn.[25]
Tamblyn married actress Venetia Stevenson in 1956, but they divorced the next year.[28] In 1960 he married Elizabeth Kempton, a showgirl, in Las Vegas.[29][30] In later years, Tamblyn discovered he had a daughter from a 1960s relationship with artist and spiritual practitioner Elizabeth Anne Vigil. That daughter, China Faye Tamblyn, is an artist and heavy metal welder who lives in California. Tamblyn did not meet her until she was a teenager and only after the birth of his second child, actress and author Amber Tamblyn, who was born in 1983 to his third wife, Bonnie Murray.[31]
In 2012, it was announced that Tamblyn was working on an autobiography, Dancing On The Edge.[32] The book was released in 2024.[33]
Tamblyn underwent open heart surgery in October 2014. There were complications afterward and during his rehabilitation, but his health had reportedly improved by February 2015.[34]
Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; McNeilly, Donald (2006). Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performances in America. Psychology Press. ISBN978-0-415-93853-2.
