Darwin Joston

Darwin Joston
Darwin Joston in Assault on Precinct 13 c.1976
Born	Francis Darwin Solomon (1937-12-09)December 9, 1937 Winston-Salem, North Carolina,U.S.
Died	June 1, 1998(1998-06-01)(aged 60) Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.
Other names	Darwin Jostin
Years active	1960–1986
Spouses	Josephine Cook (ex-wife at time of death) Janie Posey Swaim (fiancée at time of death)

Francis Darwin Solomon(December 9, 1937 – June 1, 1998) was an American actor known professionally asDarwin Joston(sometimes credited asDarwin Jostinduring the early years of his career). Joston began his career as a New York stage actor, and he appeared in many popular television shows during the 1960s, early 1970s, and mid-1980s, but he is best known for his performances inindependent filmsthat later achieved cult status, particularlyAssault on Precinct 13.

Biography

Early life and acting career

Joston was born inWinston-Salem, North Carolina,to US Navy veteran (Beauford) Odell Solomon (1914-2006), owner of the Odell Solomon Lawn and Garden Center, and (Mary) Elizabeth (known as "Lib"; 1912-2007), daughter of John Smith, ofKernersville, North Carolina.Joston had one brother, Talmadge Solomon, who became aChurch of Christminister.Joston attendedRobert B. Glenn High Schoolin Kernersville, where he was considered to be a talented athlete.He later studied drama at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hilland graduated from there in 1960.

After college, Joston moved toNew York Cityand began his professional career as a stage actor in various theater and summer stock productions.He lived and worked in New York for five yearsand then moved toLos Angeles, California,where, from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s, Joston acted primarily in television. He appeared in a number of popular series includingLassie(in which he had a recurring role),The Virginian,The Rat Patrol,Ironside,The Rookies,andMcCloud.He also had guest roles in episodes of the short-lived seriesLongstreetandGhost Story/Circle of Fear.

Joston also acted in genre films during this phase of his acting career. Of the two films that were released theatrically, the first was the 1971 western-themed, grindhouseexploitation film,Cain's Cutthroats,in which he played Billy-Joe, a psychopathic, mother-obsessed, sexually-warped Confederate soldier. The second film was the low-budget 1976 horror movie,Rattlers,in which he played a soldier who is killed by a horde of rattlesnakes.

Assault on Precinct 13

Joston is known for his iconic portrayal of Napoleon Wilson, the sardonic, shotgun-toting,anti-heroinAssault on Precinct 13,John Carpenter's 1976,Howard Hawks-inspired,action film.Carpenter has said that he wrote the Napoleon Wilson role with Joston in mind and imbued the character with some of Joston's personality traits. When Carpenter was writing the screenplay forAssault on Precinct 13,he and Joston both lived in the sameHollywood Hillsapartment building and became friends.Having gotten to know Joston and his dark sense of humor, Carpenter felt that his neighbor would make an interesting anti-hero.

This was Joston's largest role, and it is considered to have been his best. Joston's singular performance not only conveys Wilson's stoic toughness, but also emphasizes his irreverent, ironic sense of humor and slowly reveals the character's unexpected capacities for loyalty and tenderness, thereby adding emotional depth and humanity to what otherwise could have been a stereotypical action-hero role. Moreover, Joston's performance has been repeatedly singled out as the film's bestand is often cited as one of the primary reasons forAssault on Precinct 13's continued audience appeal.

Eraserhead,The Fog,Gunmen's Blues

During the five years following the release ofAssault on Precinct 13,Joston appeared in three more independent films. He played Paul, the beleaguered pencil-factory clerk, inDavid Lynch's classic 1977cult film,Eraserhead.According to Joston, Lynch wanted to cast him in the part after seeing one of his previous performances (though Joston did not know which one), and he contacted Joston about playing the role through a mutual friend.He worked with Carpenter again in the 1980horror film,The Fog,playing the coroner, Dr. Phibes. Shortly afterward,Eric Red,then a young filmmaker and a fan of Joston's performance inAssault on Precinct 13,cast Joston in the lead role of the world-weary hitman in Red's 1981short film,Gunmen's Blues.

Joston also worked on the transportation crews of two 1978 movies,The Buddy Holly StoryandRuby and Oswald.

Later career

In the 1980s, Joston's acting career became more sporadic, and he made a gradual transition from acting to working full-time as a teamster on film and television transportation crews.He had begun working as a teamster when he was between acting jobs, which, according to Joston, was much of the time; eventually, he became so busy working on film crews that he rarely had time to look for roles.After 1986, he worked primarily in transportation until his retirement in 1994.

In 1982, when Carpenter was scheduled to direct the film adaptation ofStephen King's novelFirestarter,Joston was considered for the role of John Rainbird, the Native-American assassin; but afterUniversal Picturesexecutives fired Carpenter from the project (following the commercial failure ofThe Thing) and replaced him withMark L. Lester,the role of Rainbird was given toGeorge C. Scott.

Joston's last film role was in the 1982B-movie(andMystery Science Theater 3000favorite)Time Walker(also known asBeing from Another Planet), in which he appeared with hisAssault on Precinct 13co-star,Austin Stoker;and the last two years of his acting career were spent playing guest roles in television series such asHill Street Blues,Spenser: For Hire,Knight Rider,andRemington Steele.He also performed as avoice actorinShowtime's short-lived, 1985 animated seriesWashingtoon.His final television role was in a 1986 episode of the comedy seriesALF.

From 1986 until 1994, he worked as a driver, driver captain, or transportation captain (sometimes with his son, Shawn Solomon) on various television productions and on films such asDown and Out in Beverly Hills(1986),La Bamba(1987), Lynch's 1990 filmWild at Heart,andThe American President(1995).

Death

After Joston retired, he moved from Los Angeles back to Winston-Salem. Several years later, on June 1, 1998, he died ofleukemiaatForsyth Medical Center.His funeral was held on June 4, 1998, at the Oaklawn Baptist Church in Winston-Salem; the services were conducted by his brother, Talmadge, and by Rev. Paul Riggs.

Legacy

Within several months of his death, Joston's friends and family established theF. Darwin Solomon Endowmentat theUniversity of North Carolina School of the Arts(then known as the North Carolina School of the Arts) in Winston-Salem to commemorate his life and career.

Some, including directorQuentin Tarantino,consider Joston to have been a vastly underrated actor whose talent was not duly recognized during his lifetime.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970	Cain's Cutthroats	Billy Joe
1976	Rattlers	Palmer
1976	Assault on Precinct 13	Napoleon Wilson
1977	Eraserhead	Paul
1980	The Fog	Dr. Phibes
1980	Coast to Coast	Drunken Trucker #2
1982	Time Walker	Lt. Plummer

External links

• Darwin JostonatIMDb
• Wells, Jeffrey (February 17, 2010)."Got a smoke?".Hollywood Elsewhere.Archived fromthe originalon April 3, 2010.