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Robert Forster, Oscar Nominee for ‘Jackie Brown,’ Dies at 78 Robert Forster, Oscar Nominee for ‘Jackie Brown,’ Dies at 78
(1 day later)
Robert Forster, the journeyman actor whose comeback role as a bail bondsman in Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown” earned him an Oscar nomination and who drew high acclaim for his tough-guy appearances in “Breaking Bad,” died on Friday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 78. Robert Forster, the journeyman actor whose comeback role as a bail bondsman in Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown” earned him an Oscar nomination, and who drew acclaim for his tough-guy performances on the television series “Breaking Bad” and the reboot of “Twin Peaks,” died on Friday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 78.
The cause was brain cancer, said Kathie Berlin, a longtime friend of Mr. Forster who handled his publicity.The cause was brain cancer, said Kathie Berlin, a longtime friend of Mr. Forster who handled his publicity.
Mr. Forster appeared in close to 200 films and television shows during his more than five decades in show business. He made his movie debut in “Reflections in a Golden Eye,” the racy 1967 drama directed by John Huston and starring Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor. In 1969, he played a newsman in “Medium Cool,” a Haskell Wexler-directed drama about a reporter who becomes involved in the violence in the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Mr. Forster appeared in close to 200 films and television shows during his more than five decades in show business. He made his movie debut in 1967 in “Reflections in a Golden Eye,” the sexually charged John Huston drama based on a novel by Carson McCullers and starring Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor.
By his own acknowledgment, Mr. Forster went through a midcareer slump that featured roles in films like “The Delta Force” with Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin in 1986 and the 1980 horror film “Alligator.” His most high-profile early role was as the star of Haskell Wexler’s influential independent film “Medium Cool” (1969). Mr. Forster drew critical praise for his portrayal of a TV newsman caught up in the violence surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago (the film included documentary footage shot there).
It was on the set of “Alligator” that Mr. Forster met a young special effects assistant named Bryan Cranston, with whom he would later reunite in the critically acclaimed television series “Breaking Bad,” about a New Mexico chemistry teacher who turns to a life of crime, selling crystallized methamphetamine. Mr. Forster starred in two short-lived TV series in the early 1970s, “Bannon” and “Nakia,” but his career momentum stalled. For many years he was seen mostly in guest roles on TV and in B-movies like the 1980 horror film “Alligator” and “The Delta Force” (1986), with Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin.
Mr. Forster and Mr. Cranston teamed up again in “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,” which was released Friday by Netflix and in some theaters. Mr. Forster, who learned of his brain cancer diagnosis in June, starred in two additional films that have yet to be released, Ms. Berlin said. On the set of “Alligator,” he met a young special effects assistant named Bryan Cranston. The two would work together again on “Breaking Bad,” the critically acclaimed series starring Mr. Cranston as a New Mexico chemistry teacher who turns to a life of crime, selling crystallized methamphetamine. Mr. Forster appeared in a few episodes as a character known as the Disappearer, who helps create new identities for people on the run.
Mr. Forster was born Robert Wallace Foster Jr. on July 13, 1941, in Rochester, N.Y., according to Ms. Berlin, who said he later changed his surname to Forster because there was another actor with his name.
He received a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from the University of Rochester, according to the Internet Movie Database. He served as an apprentice at a theater company in East Rochester, N.Y., and starred in a local production of “West Side Story.” In 1965, he moved to New York City and made his Broadway debut in “Mrs. Dally Has a Lover” with Arlene Francis.
Mr. Forster’s greatest success came in 1997, when Mr. Tarantino cast him as the bail bondsman Max Cherry in “Jackie Brown,” for which Mr. Forster received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor. His character falls in love with Jackie Brown, played by Pam Grier, a flight attendant who gets arrested for carrying cocaine and is released under the supervision of her bail bondsman. Mr. Forster reprised that role in “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,” which was released on Friday on Netflix and in some theaters. Mr. Forster, who learned of his brain cancer diagnosis in June, starred in two additional films that have yet to be released, Ms. Berlin said.
Mr. Forster was born Robert Wallace Foster Jr. on July 13, 1941, in Rochester, N.Y. Ms. Berlin said he later changed his surname to Forster because there was another actor with his name.
He received a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from the University of Rochester.
He served as an apprentice at a theater company in East Rochester, N.Y., and starred in a local production of “West Side Story.” In 1965, he moved to New York City and made his Broadway debut in “Mrs. Dally Has a Lover” with Arlene Francis.
He would return to Broadway just once more, replacing James Farentino as Stanley Kowalski in the 1973 revival of “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
Mr. Forster’s greatest success came in 1997, when Mr. Tarantino cast him in “Jackie Brown,” his adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel “Rum Punch.” Mr. Forster received an Academy Award nomination for his role as Max Cherry, a bail bondsman who falls in love with the title character, played by Pam Grier, a flight attendant who is arrested for carrying cocaine and released under his supervision. The movie revitalized Ms. Grier’s career as well as Mr. Forster’s.
Before “Jackie Brown,” he told The Chicago Tribune in an interview last year, “I went 21 months without a job. I had four kids. I took any job I could get.”Before “Jackie Brown,” he told The Chicago Tribune in an interview last year, “I went 21 months without a job. I had four kids. I took any job I could get.”
Mr. Forster said his career trajectory had gone down for 27 years after his initial success.Mr. Forster said his career trajectory had gone down for 27 years after his initial success.
“Every time it reached a lower level I thought I could tolerate, it dropped some more, and then some more,” he said. “Near the end, I had no agent, no manager, no lawyer, no nothing. I was taking whatever fell through the cracks.”“Every time it reached a lower level I thought I could tolerate, it dropped some more, and then some more,” he said. “Near the end, I had no agent, no manager, no lawyer, no nothing. I was taking whatever fell through the cracks.”
After “Jackie Brown” rejuvenated his career, Mr. Forster found success in the David Lynch thriller “Mulholland Drive.,” in which he played Detective Harry McKnight. The 2001 film starred Naomi Watts. In 2001 Mr. Forster played a detective in David Lynch’s enigmatic thriller “Mulholland Drive.” He worked with Mr. Lynch again in 2017 when Showtime revisited Mr Lynch’s early-1990s cult series “Twin Peaks.” Mr. Forster played the sheriff of the town where the show was set.
Mr. Forster, whose two marriages ended in divorce, is survived by his longtime partner, Denise Grayson; a son, Robert Forster Jr.; three daughters: Elizabeth Foster Howell, Maeghen Perry Dimperio and Kate Forster Simmons; and four grandchildren. Mr. Forster, whose two marriages ended in divorce, is survived by his longtime partner, Denise Grayson; a son, Robert Jr.; three daughters: Elizabeth Foster Howell, Maeghen Perry Dimperio and Kate Forster Simmons; and four grandchildren.
In a 2007 interview with Sean Axmaker marking the 10th anniversary of the release of “Jackie Brown,” Mr. Forster, who had previously auditioned for Mr. Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs,” said the director had written the part of Max Cherry with him in mind. In a 2007 interview for the website Fandor marking the 10th anniversary of the release of “Jackie Brown,” Mr. Forster, who had previously auditioned for Mr. Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs,” said the director had envisioned him as Max Cherry when he wrote the script.
“That’s when I said to him, ‘I’m sure they’re not going to let you hire me,’ ” Mr. Forster recalled, to which he said Mr. Tarantino replied, “I hire anybody I want.”“That’s when I said to him, ‘I’m sure they’re not going to let you hire me,’ ” Mr. Forster recalled, to which he said Mr. Tarantino replied, “I hire anybody I want.”
Mr. Forster was back.Mr. Forster was back.
“And that’s when I realized I was going to get another shot at a career,” he said.“And that’s when I realized I was going to get another shot at a career,” he said.