Hollywood actor Richard Widmark, who appeared in numerous movies since his outstanding debut performance in "Kiss of Death," passed away on Monday at his home in Roxbury, Conn., following a long battle with an undisclosed illness.

The actor's wife, Susan Blanchard, announced his death Wednesday saying he had fractured a vertebra in recent months which worsened his condition.

"It was a big shock, but he was 93," Blanchard said, refusing to provide further details regarding his illness of funeral arrangements.

During his lengthy career, Widmark, who persuaded a career in radio drama and theater before moving to films, received an Oscar nomination and won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of laughing psychopathic murderer Tommy Udo, who pushed a crippled old woman down a flight of stairs, in the movie's most representative scene.

"That damned laugh of mine!" he told a reporter in 1961. "For two years after that picture, you couldn't get me to smile. I played the part the way I did because the script struck me as funny, and the part I played made me laugh. The guy was such a ridiculous beast."

Before he became known in Hollywood, Widmark appeared in five Broadway shows between 1943-1946: "Kiss and Tell," "Get Away Old Man," "Trio, Kiss Them For Me," and "Dunnigan's Daughter."

Following his 1947 breakthrough, the actor, who often played deeply  troubled corrupt characters, such as gangsters of villains, made over 60 films in the next 45 years, including "Night and the City," "Panic in the Streets," "The Alamo," "Judgment at Nuremberg," and "Saint Joan," in which he played the Dauphin.

"I know I've made kind of a half-assed career out of violence, but I abhor violence," he said in 1976. "I am an ardent supporter of gun control. It seems incredible to me that we [the U.S.] are the only civilized nation that does not put some effective control on guns."