Los Angeles, January 5: Pat Hingle, a veteran actor known for playing judges, police officers, and other authority figures, has succumbed to blood cancer on Saturday night. He died at age 84 at his home in Carolina Beach, NC.
The familiar actor, best recognized for playing police commissioner Jim Gordon in the big-budget Batman film series, died of myelodysplasia, a type of blood cancer, according to Lynn Heritage, a cousin who was acting as a spokesperson for the family.
Heritage said Hingle was diagnosed with the condition in November 2006.
During the six-decade span of his career, Hingle gave dozens of fine performances, including a recurring role as Commissioner Gordon in several Batman movies in the 1990s.
The versatile character actor of stage and screen broke into movies with a bit part as a bartender in the 1954 classic “On The Waterfront” starring Marlon Brando, subsequently becoming a regular on Broadway and a familiar face, if not a star, in movies and television.
Born Martin Patterson Hingle on July 19, 1924 in Denver, Colorado, Hingle settled in the Wilmington area in 1986 after filming the big-screen thriller “Maximum Overdrive” and lived there for more than 15 years.
Hingle’s television appearances, dated to the 1950s include "The Phil Silvers Show," "Studio One" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"; dated to the 1960s include "The Twilight Zone," "The Fugitive," "The Andy Griffith Show," "Mission: Impossible" and "Bonanza"; and dated to the 1970s include "Gunsmoke," "Ironside," "Kung Fu," "McCloud," "Barnaby Jones," "Hawaii Five-O" and "The Streets of San Francisco."
In the 1980s, Hingle moved on to "M*A*S*H," "Hart to Hart," "St. Elsewhere," "Matlock" and "War and Remembrance." In the 1990s, he shifted to "Murder, She Wrote," "Cheers," "In the Heat of the Night," "Touched by an Angel" and the miniseries of "The Shining." In 2001, he acted in "Dawson's Creek."
Hingle appeared in more than 50 big-screen movies, and his most notable movie roles include the cantankerous judge opposite Clint Eastwood in Hang 'em High (1968), the role of the father to Sally Field's character in Norma Rae (1979) and his portrayal as Commissioner James Gordon in "Batman" and "Batman Returns." "The Grifters," "Baby Boom" and "Talladega Nights" are his other hit films.
Hingle also acted in TV movies such as "Citizen Cohn," "Truman" and "The Rape of Richard Beck." In 2002, he was a regular cast member of ABC TV's series The Court.
His role in William Inge's "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs," which became a major Broadway hit, earned him a Tony Award nomination in 1958. His last movie was Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, which was released in 2006.
Hingle's actor friend James Morrison, who is best known now for his role as Bill Buchanan in the television series "24," recalled him Sunday as a "great listener."
"The great actors have this and he taught me this. . . . You were the most important thing when you worked opposite him. He was present, right there, in his life and in his work. He was the most authentic man I've ever met," said Morrison.
Hingle is survived by Julia, his wife of 29 years; five children - Bill Hingle, Jody Smith and Molly Mantione from his previous marriage with Alyce F. Dorsey, and Katherine Joy and Gregory Swanson from his current wife; 11 grandchildren; and two sisters, Jamie Petty and Joyce France.
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