Happy Birthday, Mr. Jones. . . . About thirty-five years ago, I took a dear friend to see Inferno. She was very curious to see Robert Ryan, as he had lived in her neighborhood in Bronxville NY when she was growing up. She remembered him as a very nice man, often seen walking his dog. After the film...

As an avowed pacifist, Robert Ryan seemed to inhabit his villainous roles with a sense of relish, and also with purpose. It seems to me that he felt his performance might elicit a sea change in the perceptions and prejudices of those who might need to embrace an alternative, more modern approach to...

You point out a number of times that Robert Ryan's exposure, through his family, to the pragmatic rough-and-tumble politics in Chicago helped him navigate through Hollywood in both the business and political realms. Do you have the sense that he called upon his Chicago experience consciously and in...

Thank you for your warm welcome, Moira. By an odd coincidence, I turn 52 today, and I can't think of a better way to spend the day. Your first question is an easy one. In fall 1977 I was a freshman at Loyola Academy, a Jesuit high school in the north suburbs of Chicago. Students at Loyola were requi...