Robert Forster obit

Robert Forster, Resurgent Oscar Nominee From 'Jackie Brown,' Dies at 78

He was not on the list.

The 'Medium Cool' actor also starred for David Lynch in 'Mulholland Drive' and 'Twin Peaks' after Quentin Tarantino resuscitated his career.

Robert Forster, the stalwart leading man whose Oscar-nominated performance as a bail bondsman in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown made for one of Hollywood's most heartwarming comeback stories, has died. He was 78.

Forster died Friday at his Los Angeles home of brain cancer, his publicist told The Hollywood Reporter.

With his chiseled good looks, steely chin and earnest gaze, Forster exuded a raw truthfulness. He made his film debut opposite Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor in John Huston's Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), then sparkled as an ethically challenged cameraman in Haskell Wexler's ultra-realistic Medium Cool (1969).

Forster then took on no-nonsense, heroic title characters on television to build on his stardom, portraying a dogged 1930s detective on NBC's Banyon, which premiered in 1971, and a Native American police deputy in New Mexico on ABC's Nakia, which bowed in 1974. However, the shows lasted just 15 and 14 episodes, respectively, before being canceled.

Forster captained a spaceship in Disney's ambitious sci-fi thriller The Black Hole (1979), but it proved to be a box office disappointment. Other lowlights soon followed, including Alligator (1980), The Kinky Coaches and the Pom-Pom Pussycats (1981), Vigilante (1982), Hollywood Harry (1986) and Satan's Princess (1989).

By the early '90s, the actor was down to supporting roles in such low-budget efforts as Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence, Body Chemistry 3: Point of Seduction and Scanner Cop II and supplementing his income with speaking engagements.

"I went 21 months without a job. I had four kids, I took any job I could get," Forster told the Chicago Tribune in 2018, raising and then lowering his hand to indicate his fortunes. "My career went like this for five years and then like that for 27. Every time it reached a lower level I thought I could tolerate, it dropped some more, and then some more. Near the end I had no agent, no manager, no lawyer, no nothing. I was taking whatever fell through the cracks."

A fan of Forster since he was a kid, Tarantino had brought the actor in to audition for the part of aging gangster Joe Cabot in 1992's Reservoir Dogs, but he had his heart set on casting Lawrence Tierney. Tarantino never forgot Forster, however, and as he was crafting the screenplay for Jackie Brown (1997) — an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel Rum Punch — he wrote Max Cherry with him in mind.

"Years had gone by and I ran into him in a coffee shop. By then my career was really, really dead," Forster recalled in a 2018 interview with Fandor. "And we blah-blah'd for a few minutes, and then six months later he showed up at the same coffee shop with a script in his hands and handed it to me.

"When I read it I could hardly believe that he had me in mind for Max Cherry, except that nothing else made any sense. So when I asked him about it, he said, 'Yes, it's Max Cherry that I wrote for you.' That's when I said to him, 'I'm sure they're not going to let you hire me.' He said, 'I hire anybody I want.' And that's when I realized I was going to get another shot at a career."

After Jackie Brown, Forster was inundated with offers and worked in such films as Psycho (1998), Me, Myself and Irene (2000), Mulholland Drive (2001), Human Nature (2001), Like Mike (2002), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Firewall (2006), Lucky Number Slevin (2006) and The Descendants (2011).

In 2013, Forster was cast as the key Breaking Bad character The Disappearer in the AMC series' penultimate episode, with the show's team citing Max Cherry as an inspiration. He reprised the role in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, which opened in theaters and hit Netflix on Friday.

Forster also portrayed Gen. Edward Clegg in the action film Olympus Has Fallen (2013) and its 2016 sequel and gave a stirring performance in What They Had (2018) as a distraught husband trying to care for his wife (Blythe Danner) as she battles Alzheimer's.

Robert Wallace Forster Jr. was born on July 13, 1941, in Rochester, New York. His father worked as an animal trainer for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. (As a nod to Forster's dad, a circus poster is displayed in Max Cherry's office.)

Forster attended the University of Rochester intent on becoming a lawyer, but those plans went awry. "I was a senior. I followed a girl into the auditorium, trying to think of something to say. They were doing auditions. This girl was already in the play. I said, 'That's how I'm gonna meet the girl!'" said the actor. The production was Bye Bye Birdie, and he got a spot in the chorus. He not only met the girl, June Provenzano, he married her, and they had three daughters.

After graduating in 1964, Forster headed to New York City and made his Broadway debut the following year in Mrs. Dally, a three-person play that also starred Arlene Francis and Ralph Meeker. He received a rave in the "Broadway Ballyhoo" column of The Hollywood Reporter, and that led to a screen test at 20th Century Fox. One of the last performers put under contract by studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck, he auditioned for Huston, who put him in Reflections in a Golden Eye.

In the movie, Forster portrays the free-spirited Pvt. L.G. Williams, who becomes the obsession of Brando's Major Penderton and rides a horse in the moonlight and in the nude.

On the first day of filming, Huston told him to look through the camera lens. "You see those? Those are the frame lines. Now, ask yourself this: 'What needs to be there?'" he told the Tribune. "So with that one piece of Zen advice, Huston gave me the responsibility and the authority to come up with what's supposed to be in that frame."

After guest spots on N.Y.P.D. and Judd for the Defense and supporting roles in the features The Stalking Moon (1968) and Justine (1969), Forster had his star-making turn in Medium Cool. The film, which dealt with government intrusion, race, the Vietnam War and the rising importance of TV news, became a touchstone for the cultural upheaval happening throughout America with its innovative blending of dramatic fictional footage with documentary images that Wexler had captured during the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National convention in Chicago.


"That was all real stuff. That was, they tell me, the best or only real example of cinema verite in American film," Forster told The A.V. Club. in 2000. "I think the phrase 'The Whole World is Watching' was coined at that exact moment, when the military was trying to separate the crowd from the press. They were pushing them, separating them, and the crowd was yelling, 'Don't leave us, don't leave us, the whole world is watching.'"

Following Forster's return in Jackie Brown (he lost out on the supporting actor Oscar to Robin Williams of Good Will Hunting), David Lynch tapped him to play Det. McKnight in the hypnotic Mulholland Drive. And when the filmmaker decided to revive his cult ABC series Twin Peaks in 2017, he called upon Forster to play Sheriff Frank Truman, brother of Harold Truman (Michael Ontkean in the original series).

Lynch "tried to hire me the first time he did Twin Peaks, but I was busy, I was doing something," Forster told Vulture in 2018. "He is a very, very good guy. And when we did the second Twin Peaks, he was very generous to me and gave me the kind of part that I enjoy doing probably the best — a straight shooter, no nonsense, not a wild, offbeat character."

Forster also kept busy playing recurring characters on Karen Sisco (as Carla Gugino's father in another Leonard adaptation), The Grid, Huff, Alcatraz, Last Man Standing (as Tim Allen's dad) and, as the patriarch of a family of supernatural beings, Heroes.


Forster played Sam Spade in a radio version of The Maltese Falcon in July on an outdoor stage in L.A.'s Coldwater Canyon Park as part of the TreePeople's Once Upon a Canyon Night series. He made his first appearance there in 2004 and "would return almost every year after that, happily donating his time and talent to our theatrical readings," a statement from TreePeople said. "He was a tireless supporter of our work and of the park, and as he told us often, he truly loved coming up each summer and joining in our fun."

Survivors include his longtime partner Denise Grayson; his children Elizabeth, Bobby, Kate and Maeghen; and his grandchildren Tess, Liam, Jack and Olivia.

Forster said that when his career was at its lowest ebb, he had what he called an "epiphany."

"It was the simple one," he said, "when you realize, 'You know what? You're not dead yet, Bob. You can win it in the late innings. You've still got the late innings, but you can't quit. Never quit.'"

His filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1967      Reflections in a Golden Eye          Private L.G. Williams      

1968      The Stalking Moon           Nick Tana            

1969      Justine Narouz

1969      Medium Cool     John Cassellis    

1970      Pieces of Dreams              Gregory Lind     

1970      Cover Me Babe Tony Hall            

1972      Journey Through Rosebud            Frank    

1973      The Don Is Dead                Frank Regalbuto              

1977      Stunts   Glen Wilson       

1978      Avalanche           Nick Thorne       

1979      The Lady in Red                 Turk       Uncredited

1979      The Black Hole   Captain Dan Holland      

1980      Alligator               David Madison

1981      Heartbreak High               Coach Alan Arnoldi         

1983      Vigilante              Eddie Marino    

1985      Walking the Edge             Jason Walk         

1986      The Delta Force                 Abdul Rafai        

1986      Hollywood Harry              Harry Petry         Also producer and director

1988      Counterforce     The Dictator      

1989      Satan's Princess                Lou Cherney      

1989      The Banker         Dan Jefferson   

1989      Esmeralda Bay   Madero               

1990      Peacemaker       Yates    

1991      Committed         Dr. Desmond Moore      

1991      Checkered Flag Jack Cotton        

1991      Diplomatic Immunity      Stonebridge      

1991      29th Street         Srgt. Tartaglia   

1991      In Between         Vinnie  

1993      Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence                 Dr. Powell            Direct-to-video

1993      South Beach       Det. Ted Coleman           

1993      American Yakuza              Littman                

1993      Cover Story         Therapist            

1994      Point of Seduction: Body Chemistry III     Bob Sibley           Direct-to-video

1995      Scanners: The Showdown             Captain Jack Bitters         Direct-to-video

1995      Guns and Lipstick             Captain Dimaggio            

1996      The Method       Christian's Father            

1996      Original Gangstas             Detective Slatten             

1996      Uncle Sam           Congressman Alvin Cummings    Direct-to-video

1996      Hindsight             Michael Donahue            

1997      American Perfekt             Jake Nyman       

1997      Demolition University    Gentry Direct-to-video

1997      Jackie Brown      Max Cherry         Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor

Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor

1997      Night Vision        Teak Taylor        

1998      Psycho Dr. Fred Simon

1998      Outside Ozona   Odell Parks         

1999      It's the Rage       Tyler     

1999      Family Tree         Henry Musser   

1999      Kiss Toledo Goodbye      Sal Fortuna        

2000      Supernova          A.J. Marley         

2000      The Magic of Marciano Henry   

2000      Lakeboat              Joe Litko              

2000      Cowboys and Angels       Barbequeman at Wedding            Uncredited

2000      Me, Myself & Irene         Colonel Partington          

2000      Diamond Men   Eddie Miller        Also executive producer

Hamptons International Film Festival: Special Recognition

2000      It's a Shame About Ray Wally     Short

2001      Mulholland Dr. Detective Harry McKnight            

2001      Human Nature Nathan's father                

2001      Finder's Fee        Officer Campbell             

2002      Lone Hero           Gus       

2002      Strange Hearts Jack Waters       

2002      Like Mike             Coach Wagner  

2003      Confidence         Morgan Price    

2003      Where's Angelo?              Bob        Short

2003      Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle      Roger Wixon     

2003      Grand Theft Parsons       Stanley Parsons                

2006      Firewall                Harry Romano  

2006      Lucky Number Slevin      Murphy               

2006      Wild Seven         Wilson

2007      Rise: Blood Hunter           Lloyd    

2007      D-War   Jack Wilson        

2007      Cleaner                 Arlo Grange       

2007      Grampa's Cabin                 Grampa                Short

2008      Expecting Love George Patten  

2008      Jack and Jill vs. the World             Norman / Narrator          Uncredited

2008      Touching Home                 Jim "Perk" Perkins           

2009      Thick as Thieves                Lt. Samuel Weber            

2009      Ghosts of Girlfriends Past             Srgt. Mervis Volkom       

2009      Middle Men        Louie LA LA        

2010      The Bannen Way              Mr. B    

2010      Red Princess Blues           The Storyteller Short

2010      The Trial               Ray        

2010      Kalamity               Tom Klepack      

2011      Girl Walks into a Bar       Dodge  

2011      The Descendants             Scott Thorson    Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast

Nominated — Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast

Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

2012      Hotel Noir           Jim Logan           

2013      Olympus Has Fallen         General Edward Clegg   

2013      Coffee, Kill Boss                Walt Ford           

2013      Somewhere Slow             Chris McConville              

2014      Autómata            Robert Bold       

2015      The Biffle Murder Case James Burke       Short

2015      The Bridge Partner          Don Whalen       Short

2015      Run Fast               Peter Cirone       Short

2015      Survivor                Bill Talbot           

2015      Too Late               Gordy Lyons      

2015      The Program      Michael                Short

2015      The Adventures of Biffle and Shooster    'James Burke' as Lt. Frank Murphy           

2015      Home    Man       Short

2016      London Has Fallen            General Edward Clegg   

2016      The Confirmation             Otto      

2016      The American Side           Sterling Whitmore          

2016      Bus Driver           General Sorbin

2017      Small Town Crime            Steve Yendel     

2017      Small Crimes      Joe Denton Sr.  

2017      The Case for Christ           Walter Strobel  

2017      Acts of Vengeance           Chuck   

2018      What They Had Norbert Everhardt          

2018      Damsel Old Preacher     

2018      The Big Take       Detective Aborn              

2018      Bigger   Joe (2008)          

2018      Nasty     Bob        Short

2019      Phil         Bing Fisk              

2019      El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie              Ed Galbraith       Released the same day as his death

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1967      N.Y.P.D.                Tony      Episode: "To Catch a Hero"

1968      Judd, for the Defense     Ray Elliott            Episode: "In a Puff of Smoke"

1968      Premiere             Doug Payson      Episode: "Higher and Higher, Attorneys at Law"

1971–1973          Banyon                 Miles Banyon     16 episodes

1974      Nakia     Deputy Nakia Parker       14 episodes

1974      The Death Squad              Eric Benoit          Television film

1975      Medical Story     David Corbin      Episode: "The Moonlight Heater"

1975–1977          Police Story        Various roles      5 episodes

1977      The City                Lieutenant Matt Lewis   Pilot

1978      Standing Tall      Luke Shasta        Television film

1979      The Darker Side of Terror              Paul Corwin        Television film

1981      Goliath Awaits   Commander Jeff Selkirk                 Television film

1985      Magnum, P.I.     Tyler Peabody McKinney              2 episodes

1986      Tales from the Darkside                 Gary Gooley       Episode: "The Milkman Cometh"

1986      Murder, She Wrote         Gilbert Gaston   Episode: "The Perfect Foil"

1987      Hotel     Steve Cameron Episode: "Unfinished Business"

1987      Once a Hero       Gumshoe            7 episodes

1987–1988          William Tell         Aymong               3 episodes

1989      Mick and Franki                Feinstein              Pilot

1991      Jake and the Fatman       Ed Delaney          2 episodes

1991      P.S. I Luv U          Dan        Episode: "There Goes the Neighbourhood"

1992      In the Shadow of a Killer                Charles Galbis    Television film

1993      Silk Stalkings       Vince Riker          Episode: "Tough Love"

1993      Sex, Love and Cold Hard Cash      Sid          Television film

1995      Walker, Texas Ranger     Ricky Rickettes Episode: "The Big Bingo Bamboozle"

1995      Murder, She Wrote         Frank Roussel    Episode: "Big Easy Murder"

1995      One West Waikiki             Gerard Foster    Episode: "Flowers of Evil"

1997      Walker, Texas Ranger     Lane Tillman       Episode: "Texas vs. Cahill"

1998      Rear Window     Detective Charlie Moore               Television film

1999      Todd McFarlane's Spawn              Major Forsberg Voice, 3 episodes

2000      Godzilla: The Series         Jack Chapman / Police Officer     Voice, Episode: "Wedding Bells Blew"

2001      Like Mother Like Son      Ken 'Pappa' Kimes            Television film

2002      Murder in Greenwich     Steve Carroll       Television film

2002      Due East              Jesse Rapple       Television film

2002–2003          Fastlane               Raymond Ray     2 episodes

2003      Undefeated        Scott Green        Television film

2003      Street Time         Tony DeAngelo Episode: "Cop Killer"

2003–2004          Karen Sisco         Marshall Sisco    10 episodes

2004      The Grid               Jay Aldrich           6 episodes

2004      Clubhouse           Burt Austin          Episode: "Spectator Interference"

2004–2005          Huff       Ben Huffstodt    3 episodes

2005      Tilt          Jimmy "Gentleman Jim" Towne 2 episodes

2005      Justice League Unlimited              The President    Voice, 2 episodes

2005      Bounty Hunters                 Jerry      Pilot

2005      The Hunt for the BTK Killer           Detective Jason Magida                 Television film

2006      Numb3rs              Agent Thomas Lawson   Episode: "Protest"

2006      13 Graves            Tom Ferris           Pilot

2007      Army Wives        General Grayson              Episode: "Truth and Consequences"

2007      Desperate Housewives Nick Delfino        Episode: "Now I Know, Don't Be Scared"

2007–2008          Heroes Arthur Petrelli    10 episodes

Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television

2008      The Simpsons    Lucky Jim             Voice, Episode: "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes"

2011      CSI: NY Joe Vincent         Episode: "Indelible"

2012      Alcatraz                Ray Archer          4 episodes

2012      Transformers: Prime       General Bryce    Voice, Episode: "Grill"

2012–2018          Last Man Standing           Bud Baxter          10 episodes

2013      NTSF:SD:SUV::   Booth Whitman                Episode: "Unfrozen Agent Man"

2013      Breaking Bad      Ed Galbraith       Episode: "Granite State"

Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television

2013      Ironside                Virgil's Father     Episode: "Hidden Agenda"

2014      Intruders             Frank Shepherd                2 episodes

2014–2015          Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles    Jack J. Kurtzman               Voice, 4 episodes

2015      Childrens Hospital            Donald Episode: "The 27 Club"

2015      Backstrom           Sheriff Blue Backstrom   2 episodes

2016      Divorce                 Donald 2 episodes

2017      Twin Peaks          Sheriff Frank Truman      10 episodes

2017      I'm Dying Up Here            Guy Appuzzo      Episode: "Pilot"