He was a Minnesotan who became a Hollywood star and worked with several legends on the silver screen.

Two decades ago, Wade Olson started the Richard Widmark Museum in Sunrise, Minnesota.

“Growing up here, I always heard stories about Richard Widmark, but I was kind of disappointed that the town had never done anything for the guy,” Olson said.

The day after Christmas in 1914, Widmark was born in Sunrise. Widmark’s father was a traveling salesman, and the family put down roots in Princeton, Illinois, where Widmark grew up.

After graduating from college, Widmark started working as an actor on Broadway and network radio programs. Widmark’s big break came when he appeared in the 1947 movie “Kiss of Death.” He also appeared with legend Marilyn Monroe in “Don’t Bother to Knock” and co-starred with John Wayne in “The Alamo.”

“Pretty much the who’s who of legends in Hollywood he worked with,” Olson said.

Widmark has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and died in 2008 at the age of 93.

“He said, ‘I’ve always been proud to say to people my hometown is Sunrise, Minnesota,'” Olson said. “So he was proud of it.”