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Rip Torn Discusses His Life and Career.

Actor Rip Torn, who now plays the Arty, the producer on the HBO comedy series, "The Larry Sanders Show". Torn has been a stage actor since the mid-1950's, when he left his native Texas (and his first name "Elmore") behind, for New York City and the Actors Studio. Described by one reviewer as "the good-looking no-talent with the ludicrously sinister name", Torn was often typecast as a heavy in television shows like "Dr. Kildare" and "Bonanza." (He also portrayed Henry Miller in an X-rated film version of "Tropic of Cancer."). His latest feature film is "Where the Rivers Flow North" (Caledonia Pictures), where he plays a rural hero who has to survive by his wits, and with a hook hand.

15:40

Other segments from the episode on March 16, 1994

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, March 16, 1994: Interview with Sam Phillips; Interview with Rip Torn; Review of the album "Overture."

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