Robert Forster(1941-2019)

Robert Forster was born Robert Wallace Foster, Jr. in Rochester, New York, to Grace Dorothy (Montanarella) and Robert Wallace Foster, Sr., who worked as an elephant trainer and baking supply company executive. He was of English, Irish, and Italian descent. Forster first became interested in acting while attending Rochester's Madison High School, where he performed as a song-and-dance man in musical revues. After graduating in 1959, Forster attended Heidelberg College, Alfred University and the University of Rochester on football scholarships and continued to perform in student theatrical revues.

After earning a BA in Psychology from Rochester in 1963, Forster took an apprenticeship at an East Rochester theater where he performed in such plays as "West Side Story". He moved to New York City in 1965, where his first big break came when he landed the lead in the two-character play "Mrs. Dally Has a Lover", oppositeArlene Francis.However, after the play ran its course work was hard to find in the theater. Forster returned to Rochester, where he worked as a substitute teacher and construction worker until an agent from 20th Century-Fox offered him a five-picture deal. His movie debut was a small part in the dramaReflections in a Golden Eye (1967),which starredElizabeth TaylorandMarlon Brando.Forster went on to appear in small and minor roles alongside some top Hollywood actors in films likeThe Stalking Moon (1968)andMedium Cool (1969),and a large part inJustine (1969).Although he continued to act in feature films, he took the part of a hard-boiled detective in the short-lived TV seriesBanyon (1971).

Forster also appeared in notable parts inThe Black Hole (1979),Avalanche (1978)and as the lead in the cult horror flickAlligator (1980),and played the part of a factory worker-turned-vigilante in the thrillerVigilante (1982).Forster also took the lead as a taxi driver inWalking the Edge (1985)by directorNorbert Meisel.A series of action flicks followed, the most notable beingThe Delta Force (1986),starringChuck Norris.By the late 1980s Forster's acting career had begun to slide, and he was getting less and less work; if there was any, he would be cast in small parts playing villains. Forster then began to work as a motivational speaker and an acting coach in Hollywood film schools.

However, in the mid-1990s, his career was resurrected by writer-directorQuentin Tarantino,a big fan of Forster's early work, who offered him an audition for a part in his latest movie. After a seven-hour audition, Tarantino cast Forster as the tough but sympathetic bail bondsman Max Cherry inJackie Brown (1997),which netted him an Academy Award nomination and a measure of recognition, both nationwide and within his own profession, landing him more high-profile roles in such films asAll the Rage (1999),Gus Van Sant'sPsycho (1998)--a remake ofAlfred Hitchcock's 1960 film--andSupernova (2000).Forster continued to act in many big-budget Hollywood productions for the next two decades.

Forster died on October 11, 2019, in Los Angeles, California, aged 78. His last film,El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019),was released on the day of his death. He is survived by four children (Bobby, Elizabeth, Kate and Maeghen), four grandchildren (Tess, Liam, Jack and Olivia), and his long-time partner, Denise Grayson. Denise has been Robert's long-time partner and they had been together for 16 years till Robert passed away at home in Los Angeles surrounded by family.