Rip Torn death: Will Smith leads tributes after Men in Black and Dodgeball star dies, aged 88

Actor enjoyed a career in film, TV and theatre spanning seven decades

Actor Rip Torn, whose film roles included Men in Black and Dodgeball, has died at the age of 88.

His publicist Rick Miramontez said the star died on Tuesday afternoon at his home with his wife, Amy Wright, and daughters Katie Torn and Angelica Page by his side.

No cause of death has been given.

Torn enjoyed a seven-decade career on stage and screen. His achievements include winning an Emmy for his role in The Larry Sanders Show, created by Garry Shandling, and being Oscar-nominated in 1983 for Cross Creek.

Will Smith, who appeared alongside Torn in Men in Black, led the tributes to the actor, writing “R.I.P. Rip” alongside a photo of the pair on Instagram.

30 Rock co-star Alex Baldwin added: “He was a deeply committed, phenomenal actor. See you down the road, Rip.”

Born Elmore Rual Torn, the actor was nicknamed Rip as a child due to family tradition. However, the name caused him problems when starting out as an actor in New York with his fellow drama students urging him to change it.

Torn refused and had the last laugh – he eventually became considered to be a series of actors from a post-war generation who brought tense realism to their performances, alongside Marlon Brando, Paul Newman and James Dean.

After service as a military policeman during the Korean War, Torn moved to Hollywood. After only landing tiny roles in movies and TV dramas, he upped sticks to New York to seek more training as an actor.

His military history prompted him to protest the Vietnam War.

Torn made his film debut in an adaptation of Tennessee Williams’s Baby Doll (1956) and soon became a respected film and television star. He worked on multiple projects with his second wife, Geraldine Page.

While performing at the Actors Studio, he attracted the attention of Elia Kazan and soon became understudy to Alex Nicol who was cast as Brick Pollitt in Williams classic Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Towards the end of the show’s Broadway run, Torn took over the lead role – and was billed against his wishes as Elmore Torn. He was later told to either change his name or forfeit roles

He finally won the battle and was billed as Rip Torn until his death.

His success in the industry inspired his younger cousin,Carrie star Sissy Spacek, to take up acting.

Torn's film credits included Critics Choice and The Cincinnati Kid.

The roles dried up in the 1970s, something Torn attributed to his reputation of being hard to work with. He was famously replaced by Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider for allegedly pulling a knife on lead star Dennis Hopper.

“I wouldn’t say that I was blacklisted,” he told The Associated Press in 1984, “but the word got around that I was difficult and unreliable. Unreliable! In all my years in the theatre I have never missed a performance.”

In the late 1960s, he was embroiled in yet another controversy when he clashed with Norman Mailer on the set of Maidstone (1970) after reportedly hitting him with a hammer while cameras were still rolling.

Despite these tensions, he managed to keep working in numerous theatre, film and TV projects.

Torn and his first wife, actress Ann Wedgeworth, had a daughter, Danae, before divorcing.

In 1963 he married Page, with whom he had co-starred in the touring production and movie version of Sweet Bird of Youth.

They had three children – a daughter, Angelica, and twins Jon and Tony – and appeared in productions together until her death in 1987.

Torn also had two children, Katie and Claire, with actress Amy Wright.

Additional reporting by Agencies