Martin Patterson Hingle (July 19, 1924 – January 3, 2009) was an American actor. He was best known to screen audiences for his character roles, often as tough blue-collar authority figures, in over 200 productions between 1954 and 2008.

On stage, Hingle starred in notable Broadway productions like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), J.B. (1958), Strange Interlude (1963), and That Championship Season (1972). He was nominated the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in William Inge's Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1957).

Hingle was a close friend of Clint Eastwood and appeared in the Eastwood films Hang 'Em High, The Gauntlet, and Sudden Impact. He also portrayed Commissioner Gordon in the Batman film franchise from 1989 to 1997.

Early life Born in Miami, Florida, Hingle was the son of a building contractor father and a mother who "worked at menial jobs". He attended high school in Weslaco, Texas, and played tuba in the WHS band. During World War II, Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of the University of Texas, and served on the destroyer USS Marshall. He returned to UT after the war and earned a degree in radio broadcasting in 1949. As a Navy reservist, he was recalled to the service during the Korean War and served on the escort destroyer USS Damato.

Hingle began acting in college, and after graduating, he moved to New York and studied at HB Studio and the American Theatre Wing. In 1952, he became a member of the Actors Studio. This led to his first Broadway show, End as a Man.

Career On Broadway, Hingle performed the role of Gooper in the original Broadway production of Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955). He played the title role in Archibald MacLeish's award-winning Broadway play J.B. (1958), receiving rave reviews.

In February 1959, while playing J.B. on Broadway, Hingle was seriously injured in an accident. He was trapped in the elevator of his West End Avenue apartment building when it stalled between the second and third floors. The elevator stopped four feet above the landing, within reach, and Hingle tried to jump to the second floor. He missed and fell back down the elevator shaft, plunging 30 feet to the bottom. He fractured his skull, wrist, hip and most of the ribs on his left side. He broke his left leg in three places and lost the little finger on his left hand.

On the strength of his performance in J.B., Hingle had been offered the title role of the 1960 film Elmer Gantry, but he lost it to Burt Lancaster because of his injuries. His recovery took months, and at first he could not walk without a cane.

Hingle appeared in the 1963 Actors Studio production of Strange Interlude, directed by Jose Quintero, and That Championship Season (1972). He earned a Tony Award nomination for his performance in Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1957). In 1997, he played Benjamin Franklin in the Roundabout Theatre revival of the musical 1776, with Brent Spiner and Gregg Edelman.

Hingle's first film role was an uncredited part as bartender Jock in On the Waterfront (1954). Later in his career, he was known for playing judges, police officers and other authority figures. He was a guest star on the early NBC legal drama Justice, based on case histories of the Legal Aid Society of New York, which aired in the 1950s.

Another notable role was as the father of Warren Beatty's character in Splendor in the Grass (1961). Hingle was widely known for portraying the father of Sally Field's title character Norma Rae (1979). He also played manager Colonel Tom Parker in John Carpenter's TV movie Elvis (1979).

Hingle had a long list of television and film credits to his name dating to 1948. Among them were two episodes of The Fugitive (1964), Carol for Another Christmas (1964), Nevada Smith (1966), Mission: Impossible (1967), The Invaders (1967), Hang 'Em High (1968), The Gauntlet (1977), Sudden Impact (1983), Road To Redemption (2001), When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (1979), Brewster's Millions (1985), Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive (1986), Baby Boom (1987), The Grifters (1990), Citizen Cohn (1992), Cheers (1993), The Land Before Time (1988), Wings (1996), and Shaft (2000). He played Dr. Chapman in seven episodes of the TV series Gunsmoke (1971), and Col. Tucker in the movie Gunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992). In 1963, Hingle guest-starred in an episode of The Twilight Zone, "The Incredible World of Horace Ford", as the title character. He guest-starred in the TV series Matlock, In the Heat of the Night, and Murder, She Wrote. In 1980, he appeared in the short-lived police series Stone with Dennis Weaver.

Hingle played Commissioner Gordon in the 1989 film Batman and its three sequels. He is one of only two actors to appear in the four Batman films from 1989 to 1997; the other is Michael Gough.

In November 2007, he created the Pat Hingle Guest Artist Endowment to enable students to work with visiting professional actors at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Personal life Hingle married Alyce Faye Dorsey on June 3, 1947. They had three children. The couple later divorced. In 1979, Hingle married Julia Wright. He and his second wife had two children.

Death Hingle died from myelodysplastic cancer (which had been diagnosed in November 2008) at the age of 84 at his house in Carolina Beach in North Carolina on 3 January 2009. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Atlantic Ocean.

Filmography

Film

+ Year Title Role Notes 1954 On the Waterfront Jocko Uncredited 1957 The Strange One Harold Koble No Down Payment Herman Kreitzer 1960 Wild River Narrator (voice) Uncredited 1961 Splendor in the Grass Ace Stamper 1963 The Ugly American Homer Atkins All the Way Home Ralph Follet 1964 Invitation to a Gunfighter Sam Brewster 1966 Nevada Smith 'Big Foot' 1968 Sol Madrid Harry Mitchell Hang 'Em High Judge Adam Fenton Jigsaw Lew Haley 1970 Bloody Mama Sam Adams Pendlebury WUSA Bingamon Norwood Grady Fring 1972 The Carey Treatment Captain Pearson 1973 One Little Indian Captain StewartHappy as the Grass Was GreenEric Mills 1974 The Super Cops Inspector Novick Nightmare Honeymoon Mr. Binghamton 1976 Independence John AdamsShort film 1977 The Gauntlet Det. Maynard Josephson 1979 When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? Lyle Stricker Norma Rae Vernon 1980 Running Scared Sergeant McClain 1983 Going Berserk Ed Reese Running Brave Coach Bill Easton Sudden Impact Chief Lester Jannings 1985 The Falcon and the Snowman Charles Boyce Brewster's Millions Edward Roundfield 1986 Maximum Overdrive Bubba Hendershot 1987 Baby Boom Hughes Larabee 1988 The Land Before Time Narrator / Rooter (voice) 1989 Batman Commissioner Jim Gordon 1990 The Grifters 'Bobo' Justus 1992 Batman Returns Commissioner Jim Gordon 1994 Lightning Jack U.S. Marshal Dan Kurtz 1995 The Quick and the Dead Horace Pinnick Batman Forever Commissioner Jim Gordon 1996 Larger than Life Vernon 1997 Batman & Robin Commissioner Jim Gordon A Thousand Acres Harold Clark 1999 Muppets from Space General Luft 2000 Shaft Judge Dennis Bradford 2001 Road to Redemption Grandpa Nathan Tucker 2006 Two Tickets to Paradise Mark's Dad Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Mr. Dennit Sr.

Television

+ Year Title Role Notes 1957 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Warren Selvy 1 episode 1962 The Defenders Franklin Williams Episode: "The Trial of Jenny Scott" 1962, 1963 The Untouchables Mitchell A. Grandin / Barney 2 episodes 1963 The Twilight Zone Horace Ford Episode: "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" 1965 Daniel Boone Will Carey 1 episode The Fugitive Sheriff Joe Bob Sims 1 episode 1966 The Andy Griffith Show Fred Gibson 1 episode 1967 Mission: Impossible R.J. McMillan 1 episode The Invaders Brother Avery 1 episode 1969 Bonanza Sheriff Austin Episode: "The Silence at Stillwater" 1971 Gunsmoke Dr. John Chapman Recurring role, 6 episodes 1973 Kung Fu General Thoms 1 episode 1974 The Six Million Dollar Man Senator Hill 1 episode 1975 Hawaii Five-O Ormsbee 1 episode 1980 M*A*S*HColonel Daniel Webster Tucker 1 episode Stone Chief Gene Paulton Main role, 10 episodes 1984 Magnum, P.I. Garwood Huddle 1 episode 1985 Amazing Stories The Sheriff 1 episode 1986 Matlock Tom McCabe Episode: "Santa Claus" 1986-91 Murder, She Wrote Ret. Lt. Det. Barney Kale, Lt. James Ignatius O'Malley, Capt. Zach Franklin 3 episodes 1989 The Equalizer Waldo Jarrell Episode: "Prisoners of Conscience" 1993 Cheers Gus O'Malley 1 episode 1993–94 In the Heat of the Night Daddy Roy Eversole 2 episodes 1996 Wings Jack Hackett 1 episode 1998 Homicide: Life on the Street Wally Flynn Episode: "Red, Red Wine" 1999 Touched by an Angel Ben Mangione Episode: "Family Business"

TV films and television + Year Title Role Notes 1964 Carol for Another Christmas Ghost of Christmas Present1974 The Last Angry Man Dr. Sam Abelman 1977 Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo 'Doc' Hodgins 1979 Elvis Colonel Tom Parker1985 The Lady from Yesterday Jim Bartlett The Rape of Richard Beck 'Chappy' Beck 1988 War and Remembrance Admiral William "Bull" Halsey 1990 The Kennedys of Massachusetts PJ Kennedy 1992 Gunsmoke: To the Last Man Col. Tucker Citizen Cohn J. Edgar Hoover1996 Bastard out of Carolina Mr. Waddell 1997 The Shining Pete Watson

Awards and nominations + Institution Year Category Work ResultRef.Tony Awards 1958 Best Featured Actor in a PlayThe Dark at the Top of the Stairsnom

References

External links

AP Obituary in The Charlotte Observer