Pat Hingle Biography

Actor

Name at birth: Martin Patterson Hingle

Pat Hingle broke into movies with a bit part as a bartender in the 1954 classic On The Waterfront (starring Marlon Brando). He then became a regular on Broadway and a familiar character actor and guest star on TV shows like Gunsmoke, The Fugitive and M*A*S*H. Reliable and rough-hewn, Hingle looked like he was born to play a mean judge or Irish cop. Indeed, he may be best recognized for playing police commissioner Jim Gordon in the big-budget Batman film series: Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997). He played Gooper in the original Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955, among many other stage roles. His films include Splendor In the Grass (1961, as Warren Beatty's impatient father), The Gauntlet (1977, with Clint Eastwood), The Grifters (1990), and Talladega Nights (2006, with Will Ferrell).

Extra credit: Hingle was diagnosed with myelodysplasia, or blood cancer, in 2006 and died in 2009... Hingle served in the Navy in both WWII and the Korean War... He followed Walter Matthau and Jack Klugman as the slobby Oscar Madison in the original Broadway run of The Odd Couple, taking over the role in 1966... In the early 21st-century series of Batman movies (starting with The Dark Knight), Jim Gordon was played by Gary Oldman.

Hingle joins Galileo and Telly Savalas in our loop Celebrities Missing Fingers.

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