Richard Widmark Dead at 93

Richard Widmark, who made his big-screen debut as a giggling killer in Kiss of Death (for which he netted an Oscar nod), and then went on to star in Broken Lance, Two Rode Together and 40 other films, died on Monday at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, after a long illness. "It was a big shock," Widmark's wife, Susan, tells the AP, declining to disclose the cause of death. "But he was 93."

Upon graduating college, Widmark got his start on radio in 1938, lending his Midwestern voice to many a soap opera. A few years later, he began appearing in theater productions. After making a splash with Kiss of Death, the film offers started pouring in.

Madigan, a 1968 film that was converted into a short-lived TV series in which Widmark played a loner detective, would mark his only ongoing gig for the smaller screen.