- Born
- Died
- Ron Vawter was born on December 9, 1948 in Glen Falls, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) and Philadelphia (1993). He was married to Rosemary Hochschild. He died on April 16, 1994 in on plane from Zurich to New York City, New York, USA.
- SpouseRosemary Hochschild(December 31, 1979 - August 2, 1982) (divorced)
- According to a 1994 Entertainment Weekly profile of Ron Vawter by Stephen Schaefer, Philadelphia (1993) director Jonathan Demme had to convince TriStar Pictures to hire Vawter to play Bob Seidman. TriStar wanted Demme to hire someone else because Vawter was HIV-positive, and the insurance company covering the film refused to extend coverage to him. Demme managed to convince TriStar to allow the hiring of Vawter anyway, both because Vawter was the actor that Demme wanted and because refusing to hire an actor because of his HIV-positive status would have been particularly ironic in the context of a movie that is premised on the injustice of a lawyer being fired because he is HIV-positive.
- Was one of three The Silence of the Lambs (1991) cast members to be recast for the sequel Hannibal (2001) with Anthony Hopkins and Frankie Faison. Jodie Foster refused to return to her Oscar-winning role, so she was replaced by Julianne Moore. Vawter's death required him to be replaced by Ray Liotta.
- Was suffering from AIDS.
- Founding member of the avant-garde theater ensemble, The Wooster Group. (other members include Spalding Gray and Willem Dafoe).
- Appeared in two films for Jonathan Demme: The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Philadelphia (1993). He also appeared on Miami Vice (1984), which was created by Michael Mann, the director of the first Hannibal Lecter film, Manhunter (1986).
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