, who died July 9 at 88, had a career that included decade-spanning stage work, an Oscar-nominated performance in the film “Cross Creek,” and later turns in movies as wide-ranging as “Men in Black” and “Marie Antoinette.” But to legions of viewers, he’s best remembered as Artie, perhaps the one moral major character on HBO’s “
.” The Emmy-winning performance was perhaps the best representation of Torn’s unusual blend of toughness and tender sentimentality, a turn that was as often profane as it was unexpectedly moving.” was a depiction of a world that was slipping away from its characters — Larry, played by the late Garry Shandling, is a would-be Johnny Carson figure, a network late-night host whose only real comic edge comes out when his talk show wraps for the night, as he berates himself.
Which allows Torn to access the stoniness that lies an inch below his smile, his ability to suddenly freeze his smile. Artie isn’t insincere — he genuinely seems to care about Larry’s well-being and his career success, and he sees with clear eyes how intertwined the two are. But he’s tactical, deploying the sides of his charisma that the moment calls for and going scarily dead when he must.
It’s a performance that Torn echoed, to some degree, in his recurring role on “30 Rock” as the irascible General Electric CEO Don Geiss, reveling in his wealth and gnomically delivering pronouncements that pushed Jack Donaghy further in his quest for corporate domination. But Geiss was cold and cruel while Artie was simply an unapologetic operator.