Cast
Van Heflin
Acting
Cast
Van Heflin
Known for
Acting
Born
1910-12-13
From
Walters, Oklahoma, USA
Died
1971-07-23
Also known as Emmett Evan Heflin Jr., ون هفلین
Biography
Emmett Evan “Van” Heflin Jr. (December 13, 1908 – July 23, 1971) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor whose steady craftsmanship and versatility made him a respected character player and occasional leading man across four decades. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Johnny Eager (1942) and is remembered for strong turns in Westerns and noirs such as Shane (1953), 3:10 to Yuma (1957), and Gunman’s Walk (1958). Born in Walters, Oklahoma, Heflin studied at the University of Oklahoma and later earned a master’s degree in theater from Yale, launching his career on Broadway in the late 1920s and 1930s before moving into films. His early stage work and connections (including support from Katharine Hepburn) helped him secure a Hollywood contract and steady screen work beginning in the mid‑1930s. Heflin’s screen persona combined reliability, emotional range, and a rugged everyman quality, which allowed him to move fluidly between supporting character roles and leading parts during the 1940s. After his Oscar win for Johnny Eager, he continued to take memorable roles in both studio pictures and independent productions, earning praise for performances in The Glass Key (1942), The Blue Dahlia (1946), and Battle Cry (1955). In the 1950s and 1960s Heflin expanded into television and later film projects, appearing in anthology series and features; one of his last notable screen appearances was as a disturbed passenger in the disaster film Airport (1970). His career is notable for its longevity and for the way he adapted to changing studio systems while maintaining a reputation for solid, scene‑stealing work. Van Heflin died of a heart attack (myocardial infarction) on July 23, 1971, in Hollywood at age 62. He left behind a body of work that spans stage, radio, film, and television and that continues to be cited by historians as exemplary of mid‑20th‑century American character acting.
3:10 to Yuma
as Dan Evans
Shane
as Joe Starrett
Airport
as D. O. Guerrero
The Greatest Story Ever Told
as Bar Amand
Battle Cry
as Major Sam Huxley
Stagecoach
as Marshal Curly Wilcox
The Three Musketeers
as Athos
Johnny Eager
as Jeff Hartnett
Act of Violence
as Frank R. Enley
Tomahawk
as Bridger
Madame Bovary
as Charles Bovary
Black Widow
as Peter Denver
Possessed
as David Sutton
Till the Clouds Roll By
as James I. Hessler
Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire
as Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment!
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
as Sam Masterson
Santa Fe Trail
as Rader
Under Ten Flags
as Captain Bernhard Rogge
A Star Is Born World Premiere
as Self
Gunman's Walk
as Lee Hackett
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
as Self (archive footage)
They Came to Cordura
as Sgt. John Chawk
Woman's World
as Jerry Talbot
The Prowler
as Webb Garwood
Tempest
as Emelyan Pugachov
Tap Roots
as Keith Alexander
The Raid
as Maj. Neal Benton
The Wastrel
as Duncan Bell
A Woman Rebels
as Lord Gerald Waring Gaythorne
Annapolis Salute
as Clay V. Parker
Tennessee Johnson
as Andrew Johnson
Once a Thief
as Inspector Mike Vido
Wings of the Hawk
as Irish Gallager
Breakpoint: A Counter History of Progress
as Self (archive footage)
Patterns
as Fred Staples
Green Dolphin Street
as Timothy Haslam
Tanganyika
as John Gale
My Son John
as Stedman
Five Branded Women
as Velko
Grand Central Murder
as 'Rocky' Custer
B.F.'s Daughter
as Thomas W. 'Tom' Brett
East Side, West Side
as Mark Dwyer
The Big Bounce
as Sam Mirakian
The Ruthless Four
as Sam Cooper
The Man Outside
as Bill MacLean
The Feminine Touch
as Elliott Morgan
Land and Live in the Desert
as Narrator (voice)
Back Door to Heaven
as John Shelley
Flight from Glory
as George Wilson
Cry of Battle
as Joe Trent
Seven Sweethearts
as Henry Taggart
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
as Bill King
Ricochet
as Sergeant Paul Maxon
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
as Rev. Samuel Woods
South of Algiers
as Nicholas Chapman
The Last Child
as Senator Quincy George
Saturday's Heroes
as Val
Count Three and Pray
as Luke Fargo
Presenting Lily Mars
as John Thornway
The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli
as Self (archive footage)
Land and Live in the Jungle
as 1st Lieutenant Lynn Harrison
Kid Glove Killer
as Gordon McKay
The Dark Side of the Earth
as Col. Sten
A Case of Libel
as Robert Sloane
The Secret Land
as Narrator
Week-End with Father
as Brad Stubbs
Certain Honorable Men
as Champ Donohue
University U.S.A.
as Narrator
The Bold Men
as Narrator
The Thin Blue Line
as Self - Narrator (voice)
The Teen-Age Revolution
as Narrator/Host
