Biography
Hank Worden (born Norton Earl Worden) was an American character actor known for comic and rustic roles, mainly in Westerns. Born on 23 July 1901 in Rolfe, Iowa, he was raised on a cattle ranch near Glendive, Montana. He studied engineering at Stanford University and the University of Nevada, toured as a rodeo rider, and appeared on Broadway in Green Grow the Lilacs (1931) alongside Tex Ritter.
Worden made his film debut in the 1930s and became a familiar face in Westerns. He played Simms Reeves in Howard Hawks's Red River (1948) and Mose Harper in John Ford's The Searchers (1956). He appeared in a dozen John Ford films and 17 with John Wayne, with whom he formed a close association. Other credits include uncredited roles in Stagecoach (1939) and True Grit (1969), as well as the waiter in Twin Peaks (1990).
Worden died on 6 December 1992 in Los Angeles, aged 91.
