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Born in Louisville, KY. This portly character player gave one of the 1970s' most courageous and harrowing performances as the brutalized rafter in DELIVERANCE (1972, his film debut), forever etching his ruddy, round face in the minds of moviegoers everywhere. Since then, this stage veteran has exhibited tremendous range, playing all kinds of roles in all kinds of pictures. His turn as a monolithic broadcasting executive in NETWORK (1976) earned Beatty an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and his appearances in popular 1970s films-among them NASHVILLE (1975), ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, SILVER STREAK (both 1976), and SUPERMAN (1978) made him an iconic presence during that decade. His TV work included the highly lauded telefeature "Friendly Fire" (1979) with Carol Burnett. The 1980s found his career somewhat in decline, although his work maintained the same high level of quality, in BACK TO SCHOOL (1986), THE BIG EASY (1987), and SWITCHING CHANNELS (1988). Actor-writer Adrian Dunbar and director Peter Chelsom tailored the role of Irish singer Josef Locke specifically for him, and he played it for all it was worth in the 1991 sleeper HEAR MY SONG. His recent credits include PRELUDE TO A KISS (1992) and RUDY (1993), and he starred in the TV series "Homicide: Life on the Streets" (1993 - 1995) and had a recurring role as John Goodman's father on "Roseanne.
Other notable credits include JUST CAUSE (1995), HE GOT GAME (1998), COOKIE'S FORTUNE and LIFE (both 1999), WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS (2000), THUNDERPANTS (2002), WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS (2003), SWEET LAND (2005), THE WALKER, SHOOTER and CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (all 2007), IN THE ELECTRONIC MIST (2009), and THE KILLER INSIDE ME and TOY STORY 3 (voice) (both 2010).
 Nominated for Supporting Actor 1976: NETWORK
1 nomination
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