Hes probably best remembered today as Jean Arthurs husband in the 1953 western classic Shane. But ov...

1. Shane's Van Heflin a Respected Actor of Power, Irony,
Subtlety
Hes probably best remembered today as Jean Arthurs husband in the 1953 western classic Shane.
But over a long film and stage career, Heflins quiet strength, charm, low-boil intensity and wry
detachment gave his characters credibility, complexity, integrity and powerful inner lives.
In short, there always seems a lot going on in the onscreen eyes and reactions of Emmett Evan
Heflin Jr.
Van Heflin Loved Sailing
He was born two weeks before Christmas, 1910 in Walters, Oklahoma, pop. 1,377.
The son of a dentist, one account suggests Heflin, born of Irish-French descent, moved to California
after his parents separated. It remains unclear when this occurred. What is certain is that just out of
high school, he spent a year at sea on a tramp steamer. Heflin then attended the University of
Oklahoma, intending to study law, but jumped that ship two years later to return to the sea.
Eventually, Heflin chose to pursue a childhood dream: acting. He went to New York, making his
Broadway debut in Mister Moneypenny in 1928. But the play ran just 61 performances; there were a
few more false starts before his acting career began in earnest.
Katharine Hepburn Recruits Heflin For Original Stage Production of The Philadelphia Story
Van Heflin spent the first half of the 1930s on the New York stage, working with many actors who,
like himself, would become famous in the movies. They included Jean Arthur, Ina Claire, Osgood
Perkins (a major Broadway figure and father of Anthony Perkins), Charles Bickford, Howard Da Silva
and others.
RKO Radio Pictures signed Heflin, casting him as one of Katharine Hepburns suitors in 1936s proto-
feminist, Victorian-era picture A Woman Rebels. He then made a few forgettable B-films before
Hepburn, back on Broadway, insisted on the respected actor for the original production of The
Philadelphia Story. As Macaulay Mike Connor, the class-conscious newspaper reporter, Heflins role
would be played two years later in the film version by James Stewart.
Van Heflin Wins Oscar For Johnny Eager
Heflin spent the rest of his career crisscrossing between stage and screen, although he did dip his
toes in the waters of radio and later, to a greater extent, television. On film, he was often relegated
to character parts. But in one, as the Shakespeare-quoting alcoholic in 1942s Johnny Eager, Heflin
stole entire scenes and snagged the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
An early marriage, to stage actress Eleanor Scherr, ended after six months. In 1942, Heflin married
minor film actress Frances Neal. The couple had three children, daughters Vana and Cathleen
(Katie), and son Tracy. (Both girls followed their father into acting; Tracy Heflin, however, worked
for a few years in the sound department at Universal before embarking on a career as a physical
therapist.)

2. Heflins notable film roles in the 1940s included impeached President Andrew Johnson in Tennessee
Johnson and a Broadway producer (opposite Judy Garland) in Presenting Lily Mars.
During World War II, Heflin was a combat cameraman in Europe with the First Motion Picture Unit
and the Ninth Air Force.
Heflin Returns to Hollywood to Co-Star With Barbara Stanwyck, Kirk Douglas
After the war, Heflin returned to play a drifter in the moody noir The Strange Love of Martha Ivers,
opposite Barbara Stanwyck and Kirk Douglas. His other films included Possessed, Green Dolphin
Street, Act of Violence, The Three Musketeers and the recently-remade 3:10 to Yuma.
And, of course, there was Shane.
In 1955, Heflin returned to Broadway in Arthur Millers A View From the Bridge, alongside Jack
Warden, Leo Penn, Eileen Heckart and J. Carrol Naish. His last big Broadway hurrah came in late
1963, in the Sam Wanamaker-directed A Case of Libel, playing a fictionalized version of noted
attorney Louis Nizer. Five years later, he reprised the role on television.
On radio, Heflin played the title role in The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, based on Raymond
Chandlers fictional detective. The series ran for four years, through the fall of 1951. He also made
many guest appearances on television.
Final Film Appearance in Airport
Heflins last film was the inane disaster film Airport. Despite a weak cast and script, Heflin somehow
made his loser character sympathetic -- despite the fact he was trying to blow up an airplane in mid-
flight so his wife could collect life insurance proceeds. He and Maureen Stapleton (as the distraught
wife) turned in the only creditable performances in the popcorn film.
It should be noted Heflin and his daughters were not the only actors in the family; Heflins younger
sister, Frances, enjoyed a 25-year run as Mona, the mother of the frequently evil Erica Kane (Susan
Lucci), on the television soap opera All My Children.
Divorce Marked Van Heflin's Final Years
After 25 years of marriage, Heflin and Frances Neal divorced in 1967. According to their son Tracy,
the breakup reflected an ongoing decline of an "explosive" and "dysfunctional" marriage that finally
fizzled out.

3. He could be an amazing actor, Tracy Heflin
admitted, ruefully, to Suite 101, and (come)
home and have a totally different kind of life.
He also called Van Heflin a wonderful father,
adding the two grew closer after his parents'
breakup.
Four years later, Van Heflin suffered a heart
attack while swimming at home. Reports
indicate he clutched the pool ladder,
unconscious, for hours before being discovered
and rushed to a hospital. It was a sad irony for
a former seaman who deeply loved the water.
Van Heflin never regained consciousness and died 17 days later, on July 23, 1971, at 60. Per his
wishes, there was no funeral and his ashes were scattered at sea.
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