John Heard dead

[mothman]

72. Not a bad innings but not great. Was only watching Home Alone the other day...

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jul/22/john-heard-home-alone-sopranos-dies-72

[Sin Agog]

Anyone else here a fan of Cutter's Way?  I'm dead certain the Coens either consciously or subconsciously half-inched a ton of things from it for The Big Lebowski- what with the Nam-crazy Vet and the feckless slacker played by Jeff Bridges in both unwittingly getting sucked into a crime mystery.  I haven't seen it for years (may remedy that right now actually as I've got a couple of free hours), but I used to think it one of those rare unvarnished gems you'd find ensconced in the early '80s between all the latest Andrew McCarthy releases.  John Heard was a total ball of fire in it.  RIP it up and start again.

[mothman]

That's a film I remember liking when I saw it the best part of 30 years ago. Never had the opportunity to see it again. For some reason I never remember it's John Heard - I always think it's John Savage.

[worldsgreatestsinner]

Cutter's Way is one of my favourite films. Incredible performance from Heard. He's also excellent in Between the Lines and Chilly Scenes of Winter from the late 70s.

[Custard]

Sad news

He was also excellent in his Sopranos role. Bringing both sleaziness and pathos to an angry and lonely policeman on Tony Soprano's payroll

RIP

[Bazooka]

Yeah great actor.

[mothman]

My goodness, I'd completely forgotten he was in Battlestar Galactica...

I'm the same age he was in Home Alone. He looked quite young and fit in that film. As do I! But then in many of his subsequent roles he seemed to visibly age and put on weight. Time for a post-dinner walk, I think!

[worldsgreatestsinner]

First I've ever heard of this rumour, but an amazing little thing from Heard about Cutter's Way

And the producer—who's still a friend of mine—was convinced that Ivan Passer was not Ivan Passer, and that he'd actually been killed by a border guard getting out of Czechoslovakia, and the guard had taken on his identity and come to the States. So there was a lot of drama on Cutter's Way, let's put it that way.

http://www.avclub.com/article/john-heard-lizzie-borden-chronicles-sopranos-shark-216267

[Sin Agog]

Haha oh wow.

I've just rewatched half of it (I know it's bad form not doing it in one go, but I have to get up very early), and it's just as unique as I remember it being.  Foreigners always make the best films about America.

[Monsieur Verdoux]

I mainly remember him from Cat People, where he seemed like the lone human being in that crazy fucking film.

[Sin Agog]

I canne believe I forgot about that ending, with Heard storming through the effete garden party on a white horse.  Actually quite sad he's gone now, as that was one king hell of a performance, and the new way I plan to bow out of life when my time comes.

I watched the war on TV like everybody else. Thought the same damn things. You know what you thought when you saw a picture of a young woman with a baby lying face down in a ditch, two gooks. You had three reactions, Rich, same as everybody else. The first one was real easy: 'I hate the United States of America'. Yeah. You see the same damn thing the next day and you move up a notch. 'There is no God'. But you know what you finally say, what everybody finally says, no matter what? 'I'm hungry.'

What else can I remember him being in without consulting IMDB...Big, right?  Total formative movie in my childhood.  And I remember an obit mentioning him in After Hours...as the bartender who's a calming anchor in turbulent waters.  It's a drag that Hollywood's not as suited for character actors as it thinks it is.

[Custard]

He's probably best known for being the dad in Home Alone 1&2

[Sin Agog]

I meant of the things not mentioned in the thread.  'course I remember him as the guy who, along with Catherine O'Hara, allowed his child to fend off Joey LaMotta, a beardy, potentially fiddly old man neighbour, aftershave, and Daniel Stern from Home Alone.