Photographed by © Hama Sanders
As you have undoubtedly heard by now the Oscar-nominated Robert Forster (of Jackie Brown fame) passed away last Friday of brain cancer at 78 years of age. This news came as quite a shock to us here at TFE, which is part of why we haven't mentioned it...
Just a year ago we were having coffee with him in Toronto -- he was there for the premiere of What They Had, -- and never would have guessed that there was just a year left. He was still vital in person and definitely onscreen. What They Had remains underseen which is a pity as it's one of his finest screen performances. He plays the husband of a woman with Alzheimers who refuses to face the reality of the situation.
But the film he's best remembered for today is surely Jackie Brown (1997). He received some of the best reviews of his career for his role as Max Cherry and was rewarded with a well-earned nomination at the Oscars. (He holds the curious distinction of being the only actor ever nominated for a Tarantino picture which was otherwise ignored by Oscar -- all the other Tarantino movies with acting nominations received at least three overall nominations)
Other key Forster roles:
Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967)
Medium Cool (1969)
The Black Hole (1979) - This is the first movie I ever saw him in as a little kid
Alligator (1980)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
The Descendants (2011)
What They Had (2018)
Forster recently had a recurring role on the sitcom Last Man Standing and in the third season revival of Twin Peaks, but his last screen performance turned out to be another reprisal of a TV role. He returned to the role of "Ed Galbraith" in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie which was coincidentally released online on the day of his death.
Our hearts go out to his friends, co-workers, and family but especially Denise Grayson, his longtime partner, who is a personal friend of ours and who you've met before here at TFE.