R.I.P. Robert Forster

The Jackie Brown star who first made his mark in the unforgettable Medium Cool has passed away at 78. He still had such a strong presence in his recent TV work in Twin Peaks and Breaking Bad. I literally watched a movie with him last night, so it’s not surprising that according to IMDB he had nearly 200 screen roles.

Obviously, his Oscar nominated comeback as Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown will remain the standout. What a great couple he and Pam Grier made.

I first saw him in The Black Hole, which IMDB tells me would have been 1979. I liked him because he reminded me of my grandfather. I will miss him.

One hidden gem of Forster’s that I would recommend people seek out was a film called Diamond Men (2000), in which he delivers a terrific performance as a middle aged salesman about to lose the job he’s passionate about. He has to train his replacement, but the film takes that premise and offers up some great surprises. Love how expressive and sad his weathered face is in that one.

Oh, man! He was great in so many roles. He even got to punch a teenager in Alexander Payne’s The Descendants.

Oh, I just saw this guy in the new Breaking Bad movie, El Camino.

I’ll always remember him fondly from Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.

-Tom

RIP. I’m old enough to (dimly) remember the TV series Banyon, in which he starred.

He was great in Jackie Brown; it’s a shame he wasn’t in more movies based on Elmore Leonard, because he fit one of Leonard’s protagonist archetypes perfectly.

Really saddened by this, especially as rumors about Twin Peaks getting another season have been circulating. Always loved seeing him in a movie, but he added so much to Jackie Brown and Twin Peaks

He was beyond handsome, cool and thoughtful in Jackie Brown. One of my favorite movie characters. [of all time].

“Miss. Brown, I’m Max Cherry, I’m your bail bondsman…”

C’mon, that Remo Willimans comment sat up there for a day and no one corrected me? Do I just suck at trolling? :(

The most recent thing I saw Forster in was a really odd but bold Western called Damsel, by a couple of indie Texas filmmakers named Zellner. Forster has a small but fun part that sets up the whole movie.

He’ll be missed, but he left us with some real gems.

-Tom

The joke was that they look a bit similar?