Russ Tamblyn

Russ Tamblyn
Tamblyn in 2010
Born
Russell Irving Tamblyn

(1934-12-30) December 30, 1934 (age 89)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • dancer
  • artist
Years active1948–present
Spouses
  • (m. 1956; div. 1957)
  • Elizabeth Kempton
    (m. 1960; div. 1979)
  • Bonnie Murray
    (m. 1981)
Children2, including Amber Tamblyn
Parent
RelativesDavid Cross (son-in-law)
Websitewww.russtamblyn.com

Russell Irving Tamblyn (born December 30, 1934), also known as Rusty Tamblyn, is an American film and television actor and dancer.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tamblyn trained as a gymnast in his youth. He began his career as a child actor for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Tamblyn appeared in the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). He subsequently portrayed Norman Page in the drama Peyton Place (1957), for which he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In West Side Story (1961), he portrayed Riff, the leader of the Jets gang.

Throughout the 1970s, Tamblyn appeared in several exploitation films and worked as a choreographer in the 1980s. In 1990, he starred as Dr. Lawrence Jacoby in David Lynch's television drama Twin Peaks, reprising the role during its 2017 revival.