Robert Forster
{{Short description|American actor (1941–2019)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Other people|Robert Forster}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Robert Forster
| image = Robert_Forster_2009.jpg
| alt = Photo of a smiling Robert Forster
| caption = Forster in 2009
| birth_name = Robert Wallace Foster Jr.
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1941|07|13}}
| birth_place = Rochester, New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|10|11|1941|7|13}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| occupation = Actor
| alma_mater = University of Rochester
| years_active = 1965–2019
| spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|June Provenzano|1966|1975|end=divorced}}|{{marriage|Zivia Forster|1978|1980|end=divorced}}}}
| partner = Denise Grayson (2004–2019)
| children = 4
}}
Robert Wallace Foster Jr.{{cite web |title=Forster, Robert 1941– |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/forster-robert-1941 |website=Encyclopedia.com |access-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-date=May 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506110857/https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/forster-robert-1941 |url-status=live }}{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/12/us/robert-forster-dead.html|work = The New York Times|title = Robert Forster, Oscar Nominee for 'Jackie Brown,' Dies at 78|last = Vigdor|first = Neil|date = October 12, 2019|access-date = October 12, 2019|archive-date = October 14, 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191014042322/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/12/us/robert-forster-dead.html|url-status = live}} (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019), known professionally as Robert Forster, was an American actor. He made his screen debut as Private L.G. Williams in John Huston's Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), followed by a starring role as news reporter John Casellis in the landmark{{Cite web |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing {{!}} Film Registry {{!}} National Film Preservation Board {{!}} Programs {{!}} Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}} New Hollywood film Medium Cool (1969). For his portrayal of bail bondsman Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown (1997), he was nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Forster played a variety of both leading and supporting roles in over 100 films, including Captain Dan Holland in The Black Hole (1979), Detective David Madison in Alligator (1980), Abdul Rafai in The Delta Force (1986), Colonel Partington in Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Scott Thorson in The Descendants (2011), General Edward Clegg in Olympus Has Fallen (2013) and its sequel London Has Fallen (2016), Norbert Everhardt in What They Had (2018), and Sheriff Hadley in The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020).
He also had prominent roles in television series such as Banyon (1971–73), Nakia (1974), Karen Sisco (2003–04), Heroes (2007–08), Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) and the Breaking Bad episode "Granite State" as Ed "The Disappearer" Galbraith, for which he won the Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television. He reprised the role in the film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) and Better Call Saul (2020).
Early life
Forster was born and raised in Rochester, New York.{{cite web |last1=Bozzola |first1=Lucia |title=Robert Forster |url=http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800015942&cf=biog&intl=us |website=Yahoo! Movies |access-date=January 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040920122858/http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800015942&cf=biog&intl=us |archive-date=September 20, 2004}} His mother was Italian American, while his father was of English and Irish descent.[https://www.nytimes.com/1972/06/04/archives/robert-forster-how-to-succeed-in-flops-about-robert-forster-robert.html Robert Forster – How To Succeed in Flops; About Robert Forster] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014183041/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/06/04/archives/robert-forster-how-to-succeed-in-flops-about-robert-forster-robert.html |date=October 14, 2019 }}, nytimes.com; accessed December 18, 2016. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Rochester. He performed in a number of plays in college, and decided to become an actor.{{Citation needed |date=August 2024}}
Forster added an "R" to his surname as there was another member of the Screen Actors Guild named Robert Foster.
Career
=Early stardom=
Forster made his Broadway debut in 1965 in Mrs. Dally Had a Lover, opposite Arlene Francis and Ralph Meeker.[https://playbill.com/production/mrs-dally-john-golden-theatre-vault-0000008441 Mrs Dally] at Playbill{{Cite web |title=Robert Forster – Broadway Cast & Staff {{!}} IBDB |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/robert-forster-79221 |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=www.ibdb.com}} He also starred in productions of Come Blow Your Horn, The Big Knife, and The Glass Menagerie.{{Cite web |title=Robert Forster |url=https://www.geffenplayhouse.org/people/robert-forster/ |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=Geffen Playhouse |language=en}}
Forster's movie career began strongly, when John Huston cast him in the important role of Private Williams in Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando; there was a scene where Forster rode naked on a horse which became famous. Forster also appeared in episodes of the TV series N.Y.P.D., Judd for the Defense and Premiere, the latter also featuring Dustin Hoffman and Sally Kellerman. Forster was then cast in another key role in an important movie: part-Indian Army scout Nick Tana in Robert Mulligan's The Stalking Moon (1968); he was billed third, after Gregory Peck and Eva Marie Saint.
Forster had a key support role in Justine (1969), directed by George Cukor and starring Dirk Bogarde, which was a huge flop. He starred in the critically acclaimed{{Citation needed |date=June 2024}} film Medium Cool (1969), which was also a big hit commercially.{{cite magazine|title=Big Rental Films of 1969 |magazine=Variety |date=7 January 1970 |page=15}}
Forster played a tormented priest in Pieces of Dreams (1970) and a student filmmaker in Cover Me Babe (1970), which was a box office flop.{{cite book|page=[https://archive.org/details/foxthatgotawayt00silv/page/329 329]|title=The Fox that got away : the last days of the Zanuck dynasty at Twentieth Century-Fox|url=https://archive.org/details/foxthatgotawayt00silv|url-access=registration|last=Silverman|first=Stephen M|year=1988|publisher=L. Stuart|isbn=9780818404856}} He was cast in the pilot for a TV series Banyon, playing a private eye in late 1930s in Los Angeles. then starred in Journey Through Rosebud which was not released theatrically. He directed for the Rochester Community Theatre.{{cite news|title=Forster part of the 'Banyon' package|newspaper=The Shreveport Times|date=20 August 1972|page=12G}}
A year after the pilot for Banyon was made, it was picked up for a series but had only a short run. After this cancellation Forster said his career "started to slip and then it slipped and then it slipped."{{cite news|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=14 March 2011|title=He's a regular|page=29,D3}}
In 1973, he briefly returned to Broadway playing Stanley Kowalski in a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire, opposite Julie Harris.[https://playbill.com/personlistpage/person-list?production=00000150-aea6-d936-a7fd-eef6dd780001&type=cp#cc Streetcar Named Desire 1973] at Playbill{{Cite web |date=2018-10-25 |title=Robert Forster: Third act's the charm |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2018/10/25/robert-forster-third-acts-the-charm/ |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}} He also played Juror No. 3 in the first New York stage production of Twelve Angry Men at the Queens Playhouse.{{Cite news |last=Gussow |first=Mel |date=4 December 1972 |title=Theater: '12 Angry Men' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/04/archives/theater-12-angry-men-rose-tv-play-staged-at-queens-playhouse.html |work=The New York Times}}
=Career slump=
After a support part in The Don Is Dead (1972), Forster starred in the TV movie The Death Squad (1974) then another short-lived TV series, Nakia (1974), playing a Navajo detective.
Forster guest starred on shows such as Medical Story, Gibbsville and Police Story and played the lead in the TV movies Royce (1976), The City (1977) (with Don Johnson), Standing Tall and The Darker Side of Terror (1979). He toured in a stage production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and appeared in The Sea Horse on stage in Louisville.{{cite news|newspaper=The Courier-Journal|date=29 February 1976|page=H1|title=A different Robert Forster}}
Forster moved into lower-budgeted movies, starring in Stunts (1977) for Mark L. Lester{{cite web |url=http://thepinksmoke.com/markllester.htm |title=The Films of Mark L. Lester |website=The Pink Smoke |first=John |last=Cribb |year=2011}} and Avalanche (1978), the latter opposite Rock Hudson and Mia Farrow for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. Also for New World, Forster had an unbilled cameo in The Lady in Red (1979). This was written by John Sayles and directed by Lewis Teague who later collaborated on Alligator (1980), which starred Forster. He played a key support role in Disney's The Black Hole (1979).
Throughout the 1980s Forster alternated between television and low budget films. He was in the comedy Heartbreak High (1981), and the action films Vigilante (1983), Walking the Edge (1985), The Delta Force (1986), and Counterforce (1988). He wrote, starred in, produced and directed Hollywood Harry (1985), in which he invested all his savings. That year he stated "Not one of my movies made a dime. I've never had anything that approached a hit in my entire career of 15 movies and a lot of TV shows."{{cite news|newspaper=Bryan Times
|date=12 April 1985|page=24|title=Heroic role off camera}}
Forster appeared in the thrillers Satan's Princess (1989) and The Banker (1989), the mini series Goliath Awaits (1981), and episodes of Magnum, P.I., Tales from the Darkside, Hotel, Crossbow, and Jesse Hawkes. He was in the TV movie Mick and Frankie (1989).
Forster's films by this stage were almost entirely low budget ones: Peacemaker (1990), Checkered Flag (1990), Countdown to Esmeralda Bay (1990), Long Way Back (1990), Committed (1991), Diplomatic Immunity (1991), 29th Street (1991), In Between (1992), In the Shadow of a Killer (1992), Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1993), South Beach (1993), American Yakuza (1993), Cover Story (1993), Point of Seduction: Body Chemistry III (1993), Scanner Cop II (1995), Guns & Lipstick (1995), The Method (1995), Original Gangstas (1996) (directed by Larry Cohen), Uncle Sam (1996), Hindsight (1996) and American Perfekt (1997).
He appeared in series such as Jake and the Fatman, P.S.I. Luv U, Silk Stalkings, Murder, She Wrote, One West Waikiki and Walker, Texas Ranger.
=''Jackie Brown'' and later work=
Forster appeared in Jackie Brown as bail bondsman Max Cherry, which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1997. Jackie Brown revitalized Forster's career, an effect that occurred for many actors appearing in Quentin Tarantino films.{{Cite magazine | url=https://ew.com/movies/2019/10/12/robert-forster-el-camino-a-breaking-bad-movie/ | title=What made Robert Forster great is on full display in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie | first=Derek | last=Lawrence | date=October 12, 2019 | access-date=October 12, 2019 | magazine=Entertainment Weekly | archive-date=October 12, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012183009/https://ew.com/movies/2019/10/12/robert-forster-el-camino-a-breaking-bad-movie/ | url-status=live }} He subsequently had consistent work in the film industry, appearing in Like Mike, Mulholland Drive, Supernova, Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Human Natyre (2001), Confidence (2003), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Lucky Number Slevin (2006), and Firewall (2006).
Forster continued to appear in lower budgeted productions like Night Vision (1997) along with the remakes of Rear Window (1998) and Psycho (1998).
He appeared in the made-for-television movie The Hunt for the BTK Killer, as the detective intent on capturing serial killer Dennis Rader. Forster also played the father of Van on the short-lived Fox series Fastlane.
Forster recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's Hip-Hop Literacy campaign, encouraging reading of books by Elmore Leonard, whose book Rum Punch was adapted as Jackie Brown.
File:Robert Forster Banyon 1972.JPG series Banyon, 1972.]]
He appeared in the hit NBC series Heroes as Arthur Petrelli, the father of Nathan and Peter Petrelli, as well as the Emmy Award-winning AMC crime drama Breaking Bad as Walter White's new-identity specialist Ed Galbraith (a role he reprised in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie and Better Call Saul). He played Bud Baxter, father to Tim Allen's Mike Baxter, on the ABC (later Fox) hit comedy Last Man Standing. Forster was also a motivational speaker.{{cite web|last=Maltin|first=Leonard|author-link=Leonard Maltin|title=Remembering Robert Forster|date=October 12, 2019|url=https://leonardmaltin.com/remembering-robert-forster/|access-date=October 15, 2019|archive-date=July 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725063955/https://leonardmaltin.com/remembering-robert-forster/|url-status=live}}
He was the first choice to play Sheriff Harry S. Truman in David Lynch's Twin Peaks, but had to turn it down due to a prior commitment to a different television pilot, and was replaced by Michael Ontkean. He appeared in Lynch's Mulholland Drive, a pilot for a TV series that was not picked up but was later turned into a critically acclaimed movie, and finally appeared in Twin Peaks, playing the brother of Sheriff Harry S. Truman, Sheriff Frank Truman, in Twin Peaks: The Return, when Ontkean was not available to reprise his role.{{Cite web|url=https://tvline.com/2015/10/08/twin-peaks-sheriff-harry-truman-recast-michael-ontkean-robert-forster/|title=Twin Peaks Recasts Major Role for Revival (and It's a Total Bummer)|last=Ausiello|first=Michael|date=2015-10-08|website=TVLine|language=en|access-date=2019-10-12|archive-date=October 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012120538/https://tvline.com/2015/10/08/twin-peaks-sheriff-harry-truman-recast-michael-ontkean-robert-forster/|url-status=live}}
About this, Forster said: "David Lynch, what a good guy he is. He wanted to hire me for the original, 25 years ago, for a part, and I was committed to another guy for a pilot that never went. So I didn't do the original Twin Peaks, which would have been a life-changer. It's a gigantic hit if you remember those years, a phenomenon. But I didn't do that. [...] And this time, I got a call from my agents and they said, David Lynch is going to call you. When he called me five minutes later, he said, "I'd like you to come and work with me again." And I said, 'Whatever it is, David, here I come!'"{{Cite web|url=https://welcometotwinpeaks.com/actors/robert-forster-filming-new-twin-peaks/|title=Robert Forster On Filming The New Twin Peaks: "Whatever It Is David, Here I Come!"|date=2016-06-14|website=Welcome to Twin Peaks|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-12|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504032327/https://welcometotwinpeaks.com/actors/robert-forster-filming-new-twin-peaks/|url-status=live}}
Forster appeared in the TV series Alcatraz.
His final movie appearance was
in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, reprising the character of Ed the "Disappearer" from the Breaking Bad series. He died on the day the movie was released. According to Aaron Paul (the actor for Jesse Pinkman), they spoke on the day of his death. Forster had been able to see the film. Four months later, Forster again appeared posthumously as Ed in episode "Magic Man" of the fifth season of Better Call Saul. The episode ended with a dedication to "our friend Robert Forster." He also appeared in an episode "Dynoman and The Volt" of the rebooted Amazing Stories television series before his death; the episode was dedicated to Forster.{{cite web | url = https://deadline.com/2019/10/amazing-stories-apple-series-tribute-robert-forster-in-memory-of-1202767772/ | title = 'Amazing Stories' Apple Series To Pay Tribute To Robert Forster | first = Nellie | last = Andreeva | date = October 24, 2019 | access-date = October 24, 2019 | work = Deadline Hollywood | archive-date = November 16, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201116031416/https://deadline.com/2019/10/amazing-stories-apple-series-tribute-robert-forster-in-memory-of-1202767772/ | url-status = live }}
Personal life
Forster was married to June Forster (née Provenzano) from 1966 to 1975. The couple had met at their alma mater, the University of Rochester.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rochester.edu/pr/Review/V61N3/feature6.html|title=Third Act Surprise|website=University of Rochester's Rochester Review|first=Scott|last=Hauser|access-date=June 22, 2017|archive-date=July 12, 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160712125708/https://www.rochester.edu/pr/Review/V61N3/feature6.html|url-status=live}} The marriage produced three daughters. Robert was married to Zivia Forster from 1978 to 1980. He also had a son from a previous relationship. From 2004 to the time of his death, his longtime partner was Denise Grayson. He was a member of the high-IQ Triple Nine Society.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/10/robert-forster-obituary-el-camino-film-1202758555|title=Robert Forster Dies|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Bruce|last=Haring|date=October 11, 2019 |access-date=October 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200911183406/https://deadline.com/2019/10/robert-forster-obituary-el-camino-film-1202758555/ |archive-date=2020-09-11 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}
Death
In June 2019, Forster was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and he died from the disease at his home in Los Angeles on October 11, 2019, at the age of 78, on the day El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie was released.{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/robert-forster-dead-resurgent-oscar-nominee-jackie-brown-was-78-1218184 |title=Robert Forster, Resurgent Oscar Nominee From 'Jackie Brown,' Dies at 78 |first=Chris |last=Koseluk |date=11 October 2019 |access-date=13 October 2019 |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter |archive-date=October 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012054205/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/robert-forster-dead-resurgent-oscar-nominee-jackie-brown-was-78-1218184 |url-status=live }}
Filmography
= Film =
class="wikitable sortable" |
Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |
---|
1967
| Private L.G. Williams | |
1968
| Nick Tana | |
rowspan="2" | 1969
| Justine | Narouz | |
Medium Cool
| John Cassellis | |
rowspan="2" | 1970
| Gregory Lind | |
Cover Me Babe
| Tony Hall | |
1972
| Frank | |
1973
| Frank Regalbuto | |
1977
| Stunts | Glen Wilson | |
1978
| Nick Thorne | |
rowspan="2" | 1979
| 'Turk' | Uncredited |
The Black Hole
| Captain Dan Holland | |
1980
| Detective David Madison | |
1981
| Coach Alan Arnoldi | |
1983
| Eddie Marino | |
1985
| Jason Walk | |
rowspan="2" | 1986
| Abdul Rafai | |
Hollywood Harry
| Harry Petry | Also producer and director |
1988
| Counterforce | The Dictator | |
rowspan="3" | 1989
| Lou Cherney | |
The Banker
| Dan Jefferson | |
Esmeralda Bay
| Madero | |
1990
| Yates | |
rowspan="5" | 1991
| Dr. Desmond Moore | |
Checkered Flag
| Jack Cotton | |
Diplomatic Immunity
| Stonebridge | |
29th Street
| Sergeant Tartaglia | |
In Between
| Vinnie | |
rowspan="4" | 1993
| Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence | Dr. Powell | |
South Beach
| Detective Ted Coleman | |
American Yakuza
| Littman | |
Cover Story
| Therapist | |
1994
| Point of Seduction: Body Chemistry III | Bob Sibley | |
rowspan="2" | 1995
| Captain Jack Bitters | |
Guns and Lipstick
| Captain Dimaggio | |
rowspan="4" | 1996
| The Method | Christian's Father | |
Original Gangstas
| Detective Slatten | |
Uncle Sam
| Congressman Alvin Cummings | |
Hindsight
| Michael Donahue | |
rowspan="4" | 1997
| Jake Nyman | |
Demolition University
| Gentry | |
Jackie Brown
| Max Cherry | |
Night Vision
| Teak Taylor | |
rowspan="2" | 1998
| Psycho | Dr. Fred Simon | |
Outside Ozona
| Odell Parks | |
rowspan="3" | 1999
| Tyler | |
Family Tree
| Henry Musser | |
Kiss Toledo Goodbye
| Sal Fortuna | |
rowspan="6" | 2000
| A.J. Marley | |
The Magic of Marciano
| Henry | |
Lakeboat
| Joe Litko | |
Cowboys and Angels
| Barbequeman At Wedding | Uncredited |
Me, Myself & Irene
| Colonel Partington | |
Diamond Men
| Eddie Miller | Also executive producer |
rowspan="3" | 2001
| Detective Harry McKnight | |
Human Nature
| Nathan's Father | |
Finder's Fee
| Officer Campbell | |
rowspan="3" | 2002
| Gus | |
Strange Hearts
| Jack Waters | |
Like Mike
| Coach Wagner | |
rowspan="3" | 2003
| Morgan Price | |
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
| Roger Wixon | |
Grand Theft Parsons
| Stanley Parsons | |
rowspan="3" | 2006
| Firewall | Harry Romano | |
Lucky Number Slevin
| Murphy | |
Wild Seven
| Wilson | |
rowspan="3" | 2007
| Lloyd | |
D-War
| Jack Wilson | |
Cleaner
| Arlo Grange | |
rowspan="3" | 2008
| George Patten | |
Jack and Jill vs. the World
| Norman / Narrator | Uncredited |
Touching Home
| Jim 'Perk' Perkins | |
rowspan="3" | 2009
| Lieutenant Sam Weber | |
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
| Sergeant Mervis Volkom | |
Middle Men
| Louie 'La-La' | |
rowspan="3" | 2010
| Mr. B | |
The Trial
| Ray | |
Kalamity
| Tom Klepack | |
rowspan="2" | 2011
| Dodge | |
The Descendants
| Scott Thorson | |
2012
| Jim Logan | |
rowspan="3" | 2013
| General Edward Clegg | |
Coffee, Kill Boss
| Walt Ford | |
Somewhere Slow
| Chris McConville | |
2014
| Autómata | Robert Bold | |
rowspan="3" |2015
| Survivor | Bill Talbot | |
Too Late
| Gordy Lyons | |
The Adventures of Biffle and Shooster
| James Burke / Lieutenant Frank Murphy | |
rowspan="4" | 2016
| General Edward Clegg | |
The Confirmation
| Otto | |
The American Side
| Sterling Whitmore | |
Bus Driver
| General Sorbin | |
rowspan="4" | 2017
| Steve Yendel | |
Small Crimes
| Joe Denton Sr. | |
The Case for Christ
| Walter Strobel | |
Acts of Vengeance
| Chuck | |
rowspan="4" | 2018
| Norbert Everhardt | |
Damsel
| Old Preacher | |
The Big Take
| Detective Aborn | |
Bigger
| Joe (2008) | |
rowspan="3" | 2019
| Phil | Bing Fisk | |
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
| |
QT8: The First Eight
| Himself | Documentary; Posthumous release{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/21-years-quentin-tarantino-director-reclaims-rights-1203137946/|title=Director Reclaims Rights to Documentary '21 Years: Quentin Tarantino' (EXCLUSIVE)|first=Dave|last=McNary|website=Variety|date=February 13, 2019|access-date=January 14, 2020|archive-date=January 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114014833/https://variety.com/2019/film/news/21-years-quentin-tarantino-director-reclaims-rights-1203137946/|url-status=live}} |
2020
| Sheriff Hadley | Posthumous release |
2021
| Don Whalen | Segment: "The Bridge Partner"; Posthumous release; Final film role |
== Short films ==
class="wikitable sortable" |
Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
---|
2000
| It's a Shame About Ray | Wally | |
2003
| Where's Angelo? | Bob | |
2007
| Grampa's Cabin | Grampa | |
2010
| Red Princess Blues | The Storyteller | |
rowspan="5" | 2015
| The Biffle Murder Case | James Burke | |
The Bridge Partner
| Don Whalen | |
Run Fast
| Peter Cirone | |
The Program
| Michael | |
Home
| Man | |
2018
| Nasty | Bob | |
= Television =
class="wikitable sortable" |
Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"|Notes |
---|
1967
| N.Y.P.D. | Tony | Episode: "To Catch a Hero" |
rowspan="2" | 1968
| Ray Elliott | Episode: "In a Puff of Smoke" |
Premiere
| Doug Payson | Episode: "Higher and Higher, Attorneys at Law" |
1971–73
| Banyon | Miles Banyon | 16 episodes |
rowspan="2" |1974
| Nakia | Deputy Nakia Parker | 14 episodes |
The Death Squad
| Eric Benoit | Television film |
1975
| David Corbin | Episode: "The Moonlight Heater" |
1975–77
| 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
| Commander Jeff Selkirk | Television film |
1985
| Tyler Peabody McKinney | 2 episodes |
rowspan="2" | 1986
| Gary Gooley | Episode: "The Milkman Cometh" |
Murder, She Wrote
| Gilbert Gaston | Episode: "The Perfect Foil" |
rowspan="2" | 1987
| Hotel | Steve Cameron | Episode: "Unfinished Business" |
Once a Hero
| Gumshoe | 7 episodes |
1987–88
| Aymong | 3 episodes |
1989
| Mick and Franki | Feinstein | Failed pilot |
rowspan="2" | 1991
| Ed Delaney | 2 episodes |
P.S. I Luv U
| Dan | Episode: "There Goes the Neighbourhood" |
1992
| In the Shadow of a Killer | Charles Galbis | Television film |
rowspan="2" | 1993
| Vince Riker | Episode: "Tough Love" |
Sex, Love and Cold Hard Cash
| Sid | Television film |
rowspan="3" | 1995
| Ricky Rickettes | Episode: "The Big Bingo Bamboozle" |
Murder, She Wrote
| Frank Roussel | Episode: "Big Easy Murder" |
One West Waikiki
| Gerard Foster | Episode: "Flowers of Evil" |
1997
| Lane Tillman | Episode: "Texas vs. Cahill" |
1998
| Detective Charlie Moore | Television film |
1999
| Major Forsberg (voice) | 3 episodes |
2000
| Jack Chapman, Police Officer (voices) | Episode: "Wedding Bells Blew" |
2001
| Like Mother Like Son | Ken 'Pappa' Kimes | rowspan="3" | Television film |
rowspan="2" | 2002
| Steve Carroll |
Due East
| Jesse Rapple |
2002–03
| Fastlane | Raymond Ray | 2 episodes |
rowspan="2" | 2003
| Scott Green | Television film |
Street Time
| Tony DeAngelo | Episode: "Cop Killer" |
2003–04
| Marshall Sisco | 10 episodes |
rowspan="2" | 2004
| The Grid | Jay Aldrich | 6 episodes |
Clubhouse
| Burt Austin | Episode: "Spectator Interference" |
2004–05
| Huff | Ben Huffstodt | 3 episodes |
rowspan="4" | 2005
| Tilt | Jimmy "Gentleman Jim" Towne | 2 episodes |
Justice League Unlimited
| The President (voice) | 2 episodes |
Bounty Hunters
| Jerry | Pilot |
The Hunt for the BTK Killer
| Detective Jason Magida | Television film |
rowspan="2" | 2006
| Numb3rs | Agent Thomas Lawson | Episode: "Protest" |
13 Graves
| Tom Ferris | Pilot |
rowspan="2" | 2007
| General Grayson | Episode: "Truth and Consequences" |
Desperate Housewives
| Nick Delfino | Episode: "Now I Know, Don't Be Scared" |
2007–08
| Heroes | Arthur Petrelli | 10 episodes |
2008
| Lucky Jim | Voice, episode: "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes" |
2011
| CSI: NY | Joe Vincent | Episode: "Indelible" |
rowspan="3" | 2012
| Alcatraz | Ray Archer | 4 episodes |
Transformers: Prime
| General Bryce | Voice, episode: "Grill" |
The Eric Andre Show
|Himself |Episode: "J-Moe" |
2012–18
| Bud Baxter | 10 episodes |
rowspan="3" | 2013
| Booth Whitman | Episode: "Unfrozen Agent Man" |
Breaking Bad
| Episode: "Granite State" |
Ironside
| Virgil's Father | Episode: "Hidden Agenda" |
2014
| Frank Shepherd | 2 episodes |
2014–15
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Jack J. Kurtzman (voice) | Voice, 4 episodes |
rowspan="2" | 2015
| Donald | Episode: "The 27 Club" |
Backstrom
| Sheriff Blue Backstrom | 2 episodes |
2016
| Divorce | Donald | 2 episodes |
rowspan="2" | 2017
| 10 episodes |
I'm Dying Up Here
| Guy Apuzzo | Episode: "Pilot" |
rowspan="2" | 2020
| Ed Galbraith | Posthumous release |
Amazing Stories
| Grandpa Joe Harris |
Partial stage credits
class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" | |||
Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Original venue !Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|
1965 | Mrs. Dally Had a Lover | Frankie | John Golden Theater, Broadway
| |
1971
|The Glass Menagerie{{Cite news |last=Klemesrud |first=Judy |date=4 June 1972 |title=Robert Forster-How To Succeed in Flops |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/06/04/archives/robert-forster-how-to-succeed-in-flops-about-robert-forster-robert.html |work=The New York Times}} | | |||
1972
|Juror No. 3 |Queens Playhouse, Off-Broadway | | |||
1973 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Stanley Kowalski | Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway
|Replacement |
2017 | Chasing Mem'ries | Franklin | Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles
| |
Awards and nominations
class="wikitable sortable" | ||
Award
! Year ! Category ! Nominated work ! Result ! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}} | ||
---|---|---|
Academy Awards
|1998 | {{nom}} | | ||
AARP Movie Awards
|2019 | Best Supporting Actor | {{nom}} | | ||
Chicago Film Critics Association
|1998 |Jackie Brown | {{nom}} | | ||
Chlotrudis Award
|2002 | Best Actor | {{nom}} | | ||
Gotham Awards
|2011 | Best Ensemble Cast
| rowspan="2" |The Descendants | {{nom}}
| |
Georgia Film Critics Association
|2011 | Best Supporting Actor | {{nom}} | | ||
Hamptons International Film Festival
|2000 | Special Recognition |Diamond Men | {{won}} | | ||
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award
|1998 | Best Supporting Actor |Jackie Brown | {{won}} | | ||
Newport Beach Film Festival
|2018 |Icon Award |Body of Work |{{Included|Awarded|align=center|style=|color=}} | ||
rowspan="3" | Saturn Awards
|1998 |Jackie Brown | {{nom}} | | ||
2008
| Heroes | {{nom}} | | ||
2014
| {{won}} | | ||
Screen Actors Guild Award
|2011 | Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture | rowspan="2" |The Descendants | {{nom}} | | ||
Southeastern Film Critics Association
|2011 | Best Ensemble | {{nom}} | | ||
Winter Film Awards
|2016 | Best Actor | The Bridge Partner | {{nom}} | |
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- Voisin, Scott, Character Kings: Hollywood's Familiar Faces Discuss the Art & Business of Acting. BearManor Media, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-59393-342-5}}.
External links
{{Commons}}
- {{Official website|http://www.robertforster.com}}
- {{IMDb name|0001233}}
- {{tcmdb name}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- [https://www.dvdtalk.com/robertforsterinterview.html DVD Talk Interview]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090104021252/http://www.housepetrelli.com/default.asp?Display=60 House Petrelli Interview 12/08, Part 1]
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Robert Forster
|list =
{{AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Grownup Love Story}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television}}
}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, Robert}}
Category:20th-century American male actors
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