Linda Haynes obit

Linda Haynes, ‘Rolling Thunder’ and ‘Brubaker’ Actress, Dies at 75

She also made appearances in 'Latitude Zero,' 'Coffy' and 'The Drowning Pool.' 

She was not on the list.

Linda Haynes, an actress in films including Rolling Thunder and Brubaker, has died. She was 75.

She died “peacefully, with her family by her side” on July 17 in Summerville, South Carolina, it was announced. No cause of death was revealed.

“As an only child, I have dreaded these times my entire life,” her son, Greg Sylvander, wrote Friday on Facebook. “I find peace in the knowing that my mother was at peace and had the most beautiful life these final years together with her grandchildren, [my wife] Courtney Sylvander and I. We are going to miss my mom immensely.”

Born Linda Lee Sylvander on Nov. 4, 1947, in Miami, Haynes made her acting debut as Dr. Anne Barton in Latitude Zero (1969). She played barmaid Linda Forchet in the psychological thriller Rolling Thunder (1977) opposite William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones and Carol in Brubaker (1980), starring Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman.

Quentin Tarantino is a big fan of Rolling Thunder and Haynes. “The performance of the film for me is Linda Haynes as Linda Forchet,” he has said. “Linda Forchet is my favorite female character in a Paul Schrader [-written] movie. … She has that look that Ava Gardner got, you know blousey, but it took Ava years to do it, and Linda Haynes just did it naturally. And I mean that in a good way.”

She also starred in Coffy (1973), The Nickel Ride (1974), The Drowning Pool (1975) and Human Experiments (1979) and made appearances in a handful of TV shows, including This Is the Life, My Three Sons and Room 222.

A lifetime member of The Actors Studio, Haynes stepped away from acting in the early ’80s, worked as a legal secretary and moved to South Carolina to live with her son and family in 2019. She often described the years that followed as “where I know I belong, truly home.”

Survivors include her grandchildren, James and Amelia.

 

Actress

Robert Redford in Brubaker (1980)

Brubaker

Carol

1980

 

Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980)

Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones

Karen Bundy

TV Movie

1980

 

Linda Haynes in Human Experiments (1979)

Human Experiments

Rachel Foster

1979

 

William Devane in Rolling Thunder (1977)

Rolling Thunder

Linda Forchet

1977

 

Paul Newman in The Drowning Pool (1975)

The Drowning Pool

Gretchen

1975

 

Harrison Ford, Richard Basehart, and Tony Musante in Judgment: The Court Martial of Lieutenant William Calley (1975)

Judgment: The Court Martial of Lieutenant William Calley

Calley's Girl

TV Movie

1975

 

Jodie Foster and Christopher Connelly in Paper Moon (1974)

Paper Moon

Bonnie Parker

TV Series

1974

1 episode

 

The Nickel Ride (1974)

The Nickel Ride

Sarah

1974

 

Pam Grier in Coffy (1973)

Coffy

Meg

1973

 

Tim Considine, William Frawley, Don Grady, Stanley Livingston, and Fred MacMurray in My Three Sons (1960)

My Three Sons

Cindy

TV Series

1972

1 episode

 

This Is the Life (1952)

This Is the Life

TV Series

1971

1 episode

 

Arthur Hill in Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (1971)

Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law

Marion Coll

TV Series

1971

1 episode

 

Michael Constantine, Lloyd Haynes, Denise Nicholas, and Karen Valentine in Room 222 (1969)

Room 222

Laura Fay Flannery

TV Series

1971

1 episode

 

Latitude Zero (1969)

Latitude Zero

Dr. Anne Barton

1969

 

In Like Flint (1967)

In Like Flint

Golf caddie (uncredited)

1967