Dean Stockwell | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Stockwell in 1965 | |
| Born | Robert Dean Stockwell (1936-03-05)March 5, 1936 Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Died | November 7, 2021(2021-11-07) (aged 85) Whangārei, New Zealand |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1945–2015 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Father | Harry Stockwell |
| Relatives | Guy Stockwell (brother) |
| Awards | See list |
Robert Dean Stockwell (March 5, 1936 – November 7, 2021) was an American actor with a career spanning seven decades.[1][2] As a child actor under contract toMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he appeared inAnchors Aweigh (1945),Song of the Thin Man (1947),The Green Years (1946),Gentleman's Agreement (1947),The Boy with Green Hair (1948), andKim (1950). As a young adult, he played a lead role in the 1957Broadway playCompulsion and its1959 film version; and in 1962 he played Edmund Tyrone in thefilm version ofLong Day's Journey into Night, for which he won twoBest Actor Awards at theCannes Film Festival. He was nominated for aGolden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for his starring role in the1960 film version ofD. H. Lawrence'sSons and Lovers.
He had the lead role in the film "The Werewolf of Washington" (1973) He appeared in supporting roles in such films asDune (1984);Paris, Texas (1984);To Live and Die in L.A. (1985);Blue Velvet (1986);Beverly Hills Cop II (1987); andTucker: The Man and His Dream (1988). He received further critical acclaim for his performance inMarried to the Mob (1988), for which he was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He subsequently had roles inThe Player (1992),Air Force One (1997),The Rainmaker (1997),Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000) andThe Manchurian Candidate (2004).
His television roles includeRear Admiral Albert "Al" Calavicci inQuantum Leap (1989–1993), Navy Secretary Edward Sheffield onJAG (2002–2004), andBrother Cavil onBattlestar Galactica (2004–2009). Following his roles onQuantum Leap andBattlestar Galactica, he appeared at numerousscience fiction conventions. He retired from acting in 2015 following health issues and focused his later life onsculpture and other visual art.[3]
Stockwell was born into a family of entertainers in theNorth Hollywood section of Los Angeles,[4] and grew up between there and New York City.[5][6] He was the younger son of Elizabeth "Betty" (Veronica) Stockwell, a vaudeville actress,[7][8][9] andHarry Stockwell, an actor and lyric baritone singer. His father appeared in New York productions ofCarousel andOklahoma!, and was the voice of the Prince in Disney's 1937 animated feature filmSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs.[10] His elder brother was television and film actorGuy Stockwell. His stepmother,Nina Olivette, was an actress, comedian, singer, and toe dancer inburlesque and theater in New York and throughout North America. His mother's family was Italian.[11][12]
Stockwell's father was appearing on Broadway inOklahoma! when he heard about a play,Innocent Voyage by Paul Osborne, that was looking for child actors. Stockwell's mother took their two sons down to audition, and both boys were successful. Stockwell's part was small and the play had only a short run, but it led to a contract withMGM.[13]
The studio cast him in a small role inThe Valley of Decision (1945), a popular melodrama. ProducerJoe Pasternak gave him a bigger part inAnchors Aweigh (1945) withFrank Sinatra andGene Kelly, where he played the nephew ofKathryn Grayson.[14]
The film was popular, and MGM gave him a key role inThe Green Years (1946) as Robert Shannon, anIrish Catholic orphan who grows up in aScottish Presbyterian household. It was a huge hit.[15] He also made a brief appearance in the MGM school room during the chase sequence ofAbbott and Costello in Hollywood (1945).[13]
20th Century Fox borrowed him forHome Sweet Homicide (1946) withPeggy Ann Garner where he was billed fourth. He co-starred withWallace Beery inThe Mighty McGurk (1947) at MGM, a remake ofThe Champ (1931) which Beery had made previously withJackie Cooper.[16] He also had the lead in the shortA Really Important Person (1947).
He had supporting roles inThe Arnelo Affair (1947),The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947) (asJanet Leigh's brother), andSong of the Thin Man (1947), billed fourth as the son ofWilliam Powell andMyrna Loy's characters. He later said, "I have very positive feelings regarding both of them, they were very sweet people, especially Myrna Loy. And that cute little dog, Asta. I liked that little dog."[13]
Nevertheless, Stockwell found being a child actor difficult overall, stating, "I didn't enjoy acting particularly, when I was young. I thought it was a lot of work. There were a few films that I enjoyed, they were comedies, they were not important films, weren't very successful, so I was always pretty much known as a serious kid. I got those kind of roles and I didn't care for them very much."[13] He found that this work meant he didn't have any friends except his brother, and he was constantly working, with only one holiday in nine years. He said it was "a miserable way to bring up a child, though neither my parents nor I recognised it at the time".[8]
Fox borrowed him again to playGregory Peck's son inGentleman's Agreement (1947), a film which Stockwell "didn't like doing at all, because it was so serious. In other words, when I would find out I was going to do another movie, my mother would always bring that news to me, and the first question that I would always ask was, 'Is there a crying scene in the movie?' And there almost always was."[13]
He played an orphaned runaway longing to go to sea inDeep Waters (1948). He was then borrowed byRKO Pictures to play the title role inThe Boy with Green Hair (1948) directed byJoseph Losey, a notorious flop for theDore Schary regime. Stockwell said that "during the production, I did feel that I was part of something that meant something to me, it was important."[13]
Back at Fox, he was cast asLionel Barrymore's grandson andRichard Widmark's protégé inDown to the Sea in Ships (1949), before supportingMargaret O'Brien at MGM inThe Secret Garden (1949), a box office disappointment.[17] Stockwell later described the picture as "More crying scenes! And temper tantrums! But I enjoyed very much working with Margaret, she was a very talented little actress."[13]
In MGM's popularStars in My Crown (1950), which he did not enjoy doing, he was billed third afterJoel McCrea andEllen Drew.[18]
Stockwell was top billed inThe Happy Years, which lost a considerable amount of money for the studio, but then played the title role inKim (1950) alongsideErrol Flynn andPaul Lukas, a big commercial success.[17][19] During its filming, Flynn played a prank on him in a scene where he was supposed to hand him a bowl of food, instead handing him a bowl of camel dung.[8]
In 1951 Stockwell had a lead role withJoel McCrea in a Western at Universal,Cattle Drive.
Stockwell graduated fromAlexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, and attended theUniversity of California, Berkeley for a year before dropping out. "I was unhappy and could not get along with people," he later said.[18] At UC Berkeley, he immersed himself in music and wrote several small compositions.
He took a number of years off and resumed his acting career as an adult in 1956. He guest-starred on shows such asFront Row Center,Matinee Theatre,Schlitz Playhouse,The United States Steel Hour,Climax!,Men of Annapolis,Cimarron City,General Electric Theater, andWagon Train (in 1957 as "Jimmy Drew", brother toShelley Winters in "The Ruth Owens Story", S1E3, also in 1958, as Juan Ortega in “The Juan Ortega Story” S2E2 and again in 1959, as Rodney Lawrence in “The Rodney Lawrence Story”, S2E36). He had a supporting role in a Western,Gun for a Coward (1957), and the lead role in a low-budget teen melodrama,The Careless Years (1957), the feature directorial debut ofArthur Hiller. It was made for Bryna Productions, the company ofKirk Douglas.[20] He signed a five-year deal with the company, but this was the only film he made for them.[21]
In 1957, he starred as Judd Steiner in the Broadway adaptation ofCompulsion, based on theLeopold and Loeb story.[22] He reprised the role in the1959 film version, for which he and co-starsOrson Welles andBradford Dillman shared the 1959Cannes Film Award for Best Actor. Stockwell continued to work heavily in TV on such shows asPlayhouse 90,Johnny Staccato, andBuick-Electra Playhouse.
Stockwell married actressMillie Perkins on April 15, 1960. That year, he played coal miner Walter Morel's son Paul Morel in the British filmSons and Lovers, withTrevor Howard andWendy Hiller. He later called it "a very delightful film to do".[13] He continued to work mostly on television, including episodes ofCheckmate,The DuPont Show with June Allyson,Outlaws,Alfred Hitchcock Presents,Hallmark Hall of Fame (The Joke and the Valley),Bus Stop,The Twilight Zone ("A Quality of Mercy"),Alcoa Premiere,The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, andThe Dick Powell Theatre. He appeared with Millie Perkins onWagon Train as the lead character in the episode "The Will Santee Story".
In 1962, Stockwell and Perkins divorced. He appeared in an adaptation ofEugene O'Neill's playLong Day's Journey Into Night withKatharine Hepburn,Ralph Richardson andJason Robards, under the direction ofSidney Lumet. He later called it "as intense and rewarding an experience as I've had."[18] He subsequently guest starred onCombat!,The Greatest Show on Earth,The Defenders,The Eleventh Hour,Kraft Suspense Theatre,Burke's Law, had a six-episode arc onDr. Kildare, and had a supporting part in the featureRapture (1965).
In the mid-1960s, Stockwelldropped out of show business, becoming active in theTopanga Canyonhippie subculture as a close friend of visual artistsGeorge Herms andWallace Berman, fellow child actor and "dropout"Russ Tamblyn, and musicianNeil Young.[23][24] "I did some drugs and went to somelove-ins," he later said. "The experience of those days provided me with a huge, panoramic view of my existence that I didn't have before. I have no regrets."[13] Stockwell once said “The flower children and the love-ins … were the childhood I didn’t have."[25]
Stockwell returned to acting with a supporting role inPsych-Out (1968) co-starringSusan Strasberg andJack Nicholson. He guest starred onThirty-Minute Theatre in Britain,The FBI, andBonanza, and played the lead in AIP'sThe Dunwich Horror (1970) withSandra Dee.
He also had a key part inDennis Hopper'sThe Last Movie (1971). In 1985 Stockwell said this film "is a great picture. It was ahead of its time then – and it still is ... it will gain respect over the years. Dennis Hopper is a marvelous director."[18]
Stockwell guest starred onMannix,The FBI (again),Night Gallery,Orson Welles' Great Mysteries, andMission: Impossible and had the lead in some TV movies,Paper Man (1971) andThe Failing of Raymond (1971) as well as a support part inAdventures of Nick Carter (1972).
Stockwell had the lead in a biker movie,The Loners (1972), the last film ofSam Katzman, which Stockwell called "a mess",[13] and horror comedyThe Werewolf of Washington (1973), the script for which he said "had a brilliant edge to it. It was satirical, political, funny, witty and wonderful", but the director ruined it, according to Stockwell.[13]
During the mid-1970s, he designed the distinctive cover of Neil Young's albumAmerican Stars 'n Bars (1976).[23][26]
He continued to guest for TV shows such asPolice Surgeon,The Streets of San Francisco,Columbo,Joe Forrester,Three for the Road,Cannon,Ellery Queen,Police Story,McCloud,Tales of the Unexpected,Greatest Heroes of the Bible,Hart to Hart,The A Team, andSimon & Simon.
He appeared in the occasional feature such asThe Pacific Connection (1974),Win, Place or Steal (1974),Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976),Tracks (1976) with Dennis Hopper,One Away (1976),A Killing Affair (1977),She Came to the Valley (1979),Born to Be Sold (1981), andWrong Is Right (1982).
On December 15, 1981, Stockwell married his second wife, Joy Marchenko, a textiles expert who worked in Morocco.[27] The following year, Stockwell andNeil Young together directed and appeared inHuman Highway (1982). He starred inAlsino and the Condor, a Nicaraguan film, andTo Kill a Stranger (1983). By this time Stockwell had moved toTaos, New Mexico, and was depressed about the state of his career, turning to real estate to pay the bills.[13] On November 5, 1983, his wife gave birth to their son, Austin.
In 1984, he appeared inWim Wenders's critically acclaimed filmParis, Texas, and in the same year, inDavid Lynch's film version ofDune asWellington Yueh. In between he appeared inFox Mystery Theater. Stockwell later said "AfterParis, Texas andDune I think I've got a pretty good start on what amounts to a third career."[18]
Between 1985 and 1988, he was a busy character actor, appearing in 14 films and one telefilm.[28] In 1985, he turned in a brief but significant role as attorney Bob Grimes inWilliam Friedkin'sTo Live and Die in L.A.. He was also inThe Legend of Billie Jean (1985), an episode ofMiami Vice, andPapa Was a Preacher (1986). Stockwell's second child with wife Marchenko, Sophia, was born on August 5, 1985.
In 1986, Stockwell made an appearance in another Lynch production, theneo-noir thrillerBlue Velvet. He was in episodes ofHunter andMurder, She Wrote, and the filmsGardens of Stone (1987) (directed byFrancis Ford Coppola),Beverly Hills Cop II (1987),Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues (1987),The Time Guardian (1987),Banzai Runner (1987), andThe Blue Iguana (1987).
In 1988, he was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance asMafia boss Tony "the Tiger" Russo in the comedyMarried to the Mob. Stockwell later called it "the favorite part I've ever had in a film. I just felt that that part was just perfect for me and I had a way to approach it that I thought was just right and it turned out that way."[13]Jonathan Demme, who directed the film, said that what made Stockwell special was that he was a "chameleon" and had a "mercurial presence."[25]
He also had roles inTucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) from Coppola,Smokescreen (1988), the BrazilianThe Long Haul (1989), the reboot ofThe Twilight Zone,Buying Time (1989), andLimit Up (1989).[29]
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In 1989, Stockwell appeared as second lead in the showQuantum Leap, which ran for five seasons. During the series' run, Stockwell appeared inCatchfire (1990) directed by Hopper,Citizen Soldier (1990, originally shot in 1976),Sandino (1991),Son of the Morning Star (1992),The Player (1992),Shame (1992),Captain Planet and the Planeteers,Friends and Enemies (1992), andFatal Memories (1992).
Following the end ofQuantum Leap, Stockwell appeared inBonanza: The Return (1993),Caught in the Act (1993),In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance (1994),Chasers (1994),Vanishing Son II (1994),Justice in a Small Town (1994),The Innocent (1994),Madonna: Innocence Lost (1994),Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan (1995), andThe Langoliers (1995).
He tried another regular series,Street Gear (1995) but it only lasted 13 episodes. Stockwell was in episodes ofSnowy River: The McGregor Saga,Nowhere Man,The Commish,Can't Hurry Love, andInk.
He had roles in the comedyMr. Wrong (1996),Naked Souls (1996),Twilight Man (1996),Unabomber: The True Story (1996),Last Resort (1996),Close to Danger (1997),Living in Peril (1997),McHale's Navy (1997),Midnight Blue (1997),Air Force One (1997),The Shadow Men (1997),The Rainmaker (1997), andSinbad: The Battle of the Dark Knights (1998).
Stockwell had a regular role onThe Tony Danza Show (1998) which only ran 14 episodes.
He was inRestraining Order (1999),Water Damage (1999),The Venice Project (1999),Rites of Passage (1999), andWhat Katy Did (1999),The phenomenon the lost archives. (1999).
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Stockwell's performances in the 2000s includedThey Nest (2000),In Pursuit (2000),Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000),The Flunky (2000),Italian Ties (2001),CQ (2001) directed by Coppola's son Roman,The Quickie (2001),Buffalo Soldiers (2001),Inferno (2002),The Manchurian Candidate (2004),The Deal (2007), andThe Nanny Express (2008).
He guest starred onFirst Monday,Star Trek: Enterprise (reunited withScott Bakula fromQuantum Leap),Stargate SG-1,JAG, andCrash with Hopper. He had a semi-regular part onBattlestar Galactica from 2006 asJohn Cavil.
He made a minor appearance in a new 2009 adaptation ofThe Dunwich Horror, followed by roles in the filmsC.O.G. (2013),Max Rose (2013),Deep in the Darkness (2014), andPersecuted (2014). As of 2015, Stockwell remained a resident of Taos.[3] He reunited with Bakula in a 2014 episode ofNCIS: New Orleans, titled "Chasing Ghosts," and the following year appeared in the filmEntertainment (2015).
Stockwell lived inTaos, New Mexico late in life, and exhibited some of his art there in 2009.[3]
It was reported in January 2017 by his ex-wife Joy, that he had suffered and recovered from a stroke in 2015 and was retired from acting.[30]
Stockwell was an "avowed environmentalist".[31] He campaigned for theDemocratic Party in the1992 U.S. presidential election.[32]
Stockwell died ofnatural causes inWhangārei in New Zealand, where his daughter lived,[33] on November 7, 2021, at the age of 85.[34][35][36][37][38]
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