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Rip Torn, cult actor and Artie in the Larry Sanders Show dies aged 88

Star of a string of 60s classics fell foul of Hollywood because of his temper but found a fresh lease of life in comedy, from TV’s Larry Sanders Show to the Men in Black films Rip Torn: a life in pictures
Rip Torn in 2007’s The Golden Boys. Photograph: Alamy

Rip Torn, America’s celebrated wildman actor, has died aged 88. His publicist, Rick Miramontez, confirmed Torn died Tuesday afternoon at his home with his wife, actor Amy Wright, and daughters Katie Torn and Angelica Page by his side. No cause of death was given.

Torn, who had been a constant presence on stage and screen since the mid-1950s, was arguably better known for his eccentric, and occasionally violent, antics when the cameras weren’t rolling – and on one notorious occasion, when they were. During the filming of Norman Mailer’s film Maidstone, a largely improvised production made

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