Russ Tamblyn! THE FASTEST GUN ALIVE! CIMARRON! WEST SIDE STORY and “Dancing on the Edge!” Exclusive!

The award winning Russ Tamblyn is a unique performer with natural abilities as an actor, tumbler, singer, dancer and now…storyteller. Russ was born December 30, 1934, and raised in Inglewood, California, by show biz parents. Discovered early by Lloyd Bridges, who gave 10-year-old Russ a role in play Russ appeared unbilled in his first feature, THE BOY WITH GREEN HAIR in 1948, making a lifelong friend with star young Dean Stockwell. Russ was the star in only his third film, THE KID FROM CLEVELAND.

Other roles followed but his breakout in the musical western SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS was a showcase for him and brought him worldwide fame. Signed at MGM, he made the first of his four films with Glenn Ford. Russ joined producer Rob Word to talk about working with Glenn in THE FASTEST GUN ALIVE. Was Glenn really as fast as legend has it? Yes! Russ also recalled getting fast draw tips from his friend Sammy Davis, Jr. Learn why Glenn requested that Russ’ musical number be cut from the film! What happened that made the studio refuse and keep Russ’ spectacular “shovel dance” sequence in the film?

Russ joined Glenn again and had his terrific role in MGM’s large scale remake of CIMARRON in 1964. What was it like working in Yugoslavia on the action adventure film THE LONG SHIPS that made star Sidney Poitier walk off the set? He won a Golden Globe for a co-starring role with Glenn Ford in HIT THE DECK and received a nomination for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his strong dramatic abilities in PEYTON PLACE. In September 2024, Russ was honored with a CineCon Legacy Award for his career achievements.

Russ also describes the disappointment of not getting the lead role in WEST SIDE STORY and of how he was able to work some of his spectacular acrobatics into the finished film. He is quite the story teller and reveals all of this and much more in the recently published autobiography, “Dancing on the Edge.” It’s a fact-filled and fun memoir that belongs on the shelf of every film lover’s book shelf.

His book can be purchased on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

Thanks for watching this conversation with Russ. It’s the first of several episodes devoted to Russ and his films.

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