Oscar nominees who went bust
Richard Harris
Nomination
Best Actor in a Leading Role (1964)
Best Actor in a Leading Role (1990)
Movies
This Sporting Life
The Field
Win or lose?
Lost (Sidney Poitier, 'Lillies of the Field')
Lost (Jeremy Irons, 'Reversal of Fortune')
Credits and creditors
The irascible Harris was a real throwback: a hard-living, hell-raising actor famous for his drinking bouts and electric on-screen performances. But in his early student days in London, Harris rented the tiny Irving Theatre and directed his own production of Clifford Odets' play 'Winter Journey.' While the show was a critical success, it bombed at the box office, and Harris lost everything he had. He ended up temporarily homeless, living in a coal cellar. Harris, who once made a blazer out of female conquest's bed spread, eventually rebounded, and went on to appear in hundreds of movies. In later years, Harris appeared in such hits as 'Unforgiven,' 'Gladiator' and 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.'
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