Ned Thomas Beatty (born July 6, 1937) is a retired American actor and
singer. He has appeared in more than 160 films and has been nominated
for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best
Villain and a Golden Globe Award; he also won a Drama Desk Award.These
nominations stemmed from his performances in films and television
series, such as Network (1976), Friendly Fire (1979), Hear My Song
(1991), and Toy Story 3 (2010). He has had great commercial success in
roles such as executive Bobby Trippe in Deliverance (1972), lawyer
Delbert Reese in Nashville (1975), investigator Martin Dardis in All
the President's Men (1976), undercover federal agent Bob Sweet in
Silver Streak (1976), the priest, Father Edwards in Exorcist II: The
Heretic (1977), Lex Luthor's bumbling henchman Otis in Superman (1978)
and Superman II (1980), as a millionaire's right-hand man in The Toy
(1982), Pavel Borisov in The Fourth Protocol (1987), TV presenter
Ernest Weller in Repossessed (1990), Rudy Ruettiger's father in Rudy
(1993), attorney McNair in Just Cause (1995), Dexter Wilkins in Life
(1999), the simple sheriff in Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), the
corrupt Senator Charles F. Meachum in Shooter (2007), Congressman Doc
Long in Charlie Wilson's War (2007) and in animated films as the voice
of Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear in Toy Story 3 (2010) and Tortoise John in
Rango (2011).Beatty was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Margaret
(née Fortney; April 26, 1907 â€" January 29, 1991) and Charles
William Beatty (August 8, 1907 â€" October 27, 1952). He has a sister,
Mary Margaret. In 1947, young Ned began singing in gospel and
barbershop quartets in St. Matthews, Kentucky, and at his local
church. He received a scholarship to sing in the a cappella choir at
Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky; he attended but did
not graduate.In 1956, he made his stage debut at age 19, appearing in
Wilderness Road, an outdoor-historical pageant located in Berea,
Kentucky. During his first ten years of theater, he worked at the
Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia, the State Theatre of Virginia.
Returning to Kentucky, he worked in the Louisville area through the
mid-1960s, at the Clarksville Little Theater (Indiana) and the newly
founded Actors Theater of Louisville. His time at the latter included
a run as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman in 1966.
singer. He has appeared in more than 160 films and has been nominated
for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best
Villain and a Golden Globe Award; he also won a Drama Desk Award.These
nominations stemmed from his performances in films and television
series, such as Network (1976), Friendly Fire (1979), Hear My Song
(1991), and Toy Story 3 (2010). He has had great commercial success in
roles such as executive Bobby Trippe in Deliverance (1972), lawyer
Delbert Reese in Nashville (1975), investigator Martin Dardis in All
the President's Men (1976), undercover federal agent Bob Sweet in
Silver Streak (1976), the priest, Father Edwards in Exorcist II: The
Heretic (1977), Lex Luthor's bumbling henchman Otis in Superman (1978)
and Superman II (1980), as a millionaire's right-hand man in The Toy
(1982), Pavel Borisov in The Fourth Protocol (1987), TV presenter
Ernest Weller in Repossessed (1990), Rudy Ruettiger's father in Rudy
(1993), attorney McNair in Just Cause (1995), Dexter Wilkins in Life
(1999), the simple sheriff in Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), the
corrupt Senator Charles F. Meachum in Shooter (2007), Congressman Doc
Long in Charlie Wilson's War (2007) and in animated films as the voice
of Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear in Toy Story 3 (2010) and Tortoise John in
Rango (2011).Beatty was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Margaret
(née Fortney; April 26, 1907 â€" January 29, 1991) and Charles
William Beatty (August 8, 1907 â€" October 27, 1952). He has a sister,
Mary Margaret. In 1947, young Ned began singing in gospel and
barbershop quartets in St. Matthews, Kentucky, and at his local
church. He received a scholarship to sing in the a cappella choir at
Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky; he attended but did
not graduate.In 1956, he made his stage debut at age 19, appearing in
Wilderness Road, an outdoor-historical pageant located in Berea,
Kentucky. During his first ten years of theater, he worked at the
Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia, the State Theatre of Virginia.
Returning to Kentucky, he worked in the Louisville area through the
mid-1960s, at the Clarksville Little Theater (Indiana) and the newly
founded Actors Theater of Louisville. His time at the latter included
a run as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman in 1966.
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