I just read the news that Peter Engel passed away yesterday. My Retro Television reviews started with four Engel-produced shows, California Dreams, One World, Hang Time, and City Guys. Right now, I’m reviewing one of his later shows, Malibu CA. I would be lying if I said all of those reviews have been positive. I loved California Dreams and Hang Time won me over but the only good thing about Malibu CA is that it’s not Pacific Blue.
But here’s the thing. Peter Engel, regardless of what I may think of some of his later shows. made pop cultural history with Saved By The Bell. When I was a kid, you couldn’t turn on a TV without finding Saved By The Bell reruns playing somewhere. (Myself, I only wish Saved By The Bell: The New Class was as easy to find.) Today, Saved By The Bell has faded a bit from our collective memory, a relic from the childhoods of many elder millennials and their Gen-X siblings. That reboot on Peacock was never quite as good as I used to tell myself it was. But the original show can still be found on Prime, just as California Dreams and Hang Time can be found on YouTube. The Engelverse will live forever.
Gene Hackman has passed away. He was 95 and reportedly found dead in his Santa Fe home, along with his wife and dog. That’s what the authorities are saying. They also say there’s no sign of foul play. I’m sure there will be a lot of online speculation about what that all means. That’s the way of the world nowadays and it’s a shame.
Gene Hackman was one of the greats. He went into acting after a stint in the Marines and, according to most accounts and his own interviews, he never lost that grit and that expectation of professionalism from everyone he worked with. A former roommate of Robert Duvall’s, a close friend of Dustin Hoffman’s (from the days when they were both unknown stage actors), Hackman went from doing episodic television to becoming one of our best film actors. He was hardly a traditional leading man but his talent was undeniable. His Popeye Doyle was the classic eccentric cop. His Lex Luthor was a great comedic villain while his performance as Little Bill Daggett in Unforgiven proved to be the perfect portrayal of the authoritarian impulse. Interestingly enough, he was reportedly set to make his directorial debut with The Silence of the Lambs but he withdrew from the project, saying he didn’t like the violence. (Reports vary on whether he would have also played Lecter or Jack Crawford.) Hackman was a liberal but of the old-fashioned, blue collar variety. He once said starring in The French Connection changed his whole view of policing. It takes courage to admit to having changed your mind on anything. It’s not something that a lot of celebs have the guts to do anymore.
I’ve always respected that Hackman retired under his own terms. Faced with spending the latter part of his career appearing in movies like Welcome to Mooseport, he said, “I’m done.” Someone would have to be the once great star who humiliated himself by taking the lead role in Dirty Grandpa but it wasn’t going to be Gene Hackman.
Gene Hackman, RIP. He had a great career and gave us many great performances and that’s all we can really ask of an actor.
Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his words Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words Killing me softly With his song
I heard he sang a good song I heard he had a style And so I came to see him, to listen for a while And there he was, this young boy A stranger to my eyes
Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his words Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words Killing me softly With his song
I felt all flushed with fever Embarrassed by the crowd I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud I prayed that he would finish But he just kept right on
Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his words Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words Killing me softly With his song
He sang as if he knew me In all my dark despair And then he looked right through me as if I wasn’t there And he just kept on singing Singing clear and strong
Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his words Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words Killing me softly With his song
Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his words Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words Killing me
He was strumming my pain Yeah, he was singing my life Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words Killing me softly with his song
Gene Hackman is a tremendous, multiple Oscar winning actor who has been in some of the best movies ever made. Of all that great work, the movie that means the most to me is HOOSIERS (1986). If you don’t believe me, just go ahead and follow me on X. I’m easy to find. My handle is @Hoosiers1986. I’ve shared before that my dad was a high school basketball coach at small schools here in Arkansas that weren’t much different from the one in Hickory, IN depicted in the film. Growing up in the Crain household, basketball was my life and my dad and HOOSIERS have always been such inspirations to me.
On his 95th birthday, I wanted to share this video I found of Hackman discussing his role as Coach Norman Dale in HOOSIERS, which includes clips from behind the scenes and of the film itself. I had never seen this material before so I found it especially interesting. He tells a really special story about a lady he met while on location. It was quite touching. Happy Birthday, Mr. Hackman! Enjoy!
Happy Birthday in heaven to Randolph Scott, who was born on January 23rd, 1898. The picture above is from probably my favorite Randolph Scott film, RIDE LONESOME (1959). Scott made so many great movies, but my personal favorites are the series of westerns he made with director Budd Boetticher from 1956 – 1960. I highly recommend that you search those films out!
Randolph Scott made the film RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY with director Sam Peckinpah in 1962 and then retired from acting. Through his work in film and his excellent investments, he would pass away in 1987 as one of the richest men in Hollywood. I’m so glad that my movie hero Charles Bronson was able to work with Scott in the 1954 film RIDING SHOTGUN. Rest in peace, Mr. Scott!
Quite simply, Rutger Hauer has been one of the most important actors in my life. I write about his movies every Sunday here on The Shattered Lens.
I first saw him in THE HITCHER when I was around 13 years old or so. I spent the night at a friend’s house where we watched the movie, and it scared the crap out of me. I will never, ever, ever pick up a hitchhiker I do not know because of this movie. Although I kept up with him after that fateful night, my next real meaningful memory of Hauer was from 1990 when, as an incoming senior in High School, I attended a six week summer program called Arkansas Governor’s School. We would watch movies every Sunday evening, and one of those movies was BLADE RUNNER (1982). After the movie, we would get together with an instructor to discuss the film. We all thought that Hauer had stolen the film from Harrison Ford, and we had a good time sharing theories about the doves and his character sticking the nail through his hand. I believe this was the first time I ever analyzed a film with a group of film lovers. None of my friends or family members in my “real life” cared about movies like I did.
I think it’s fair to say that I’ve been somewhat obsessed with Rutger Hauer from that point forward. I searched out his history of Dutch films and discovered important works like TURKISH DELIGHT (1973 -not one of my favorites) and SOLDIER OF ORANGE (1977 – one of my very favorites). I always wished Hauer would have worked with Director Paul Verhoeven again after 1985’s FLESH AND BLOOD. How cool would it have been to see Hauer as Robocop?! I delighted in seeing him steal the film NIGHTHAWKS (1981), his American debut, from Sylvester Stallone. After 1990, any time Rutger Hauer had a movie playing in a theater near me, I would be there. This included his early 90’s movies like SPLIT SECOND (1992 – where I was the only person in the theater), BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (1992), and SURVIVING THE GAME (1994), to his character roles in the 2000’s in movies like CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND (2002), SIN CITY (2005), and BATMAN BEGINS (2005). The last time I saw him on the big screen was in THE RITE (2011), where he co-starred with Anthony Hopkins.
Rutger Hauer has so many credits. Aside from his big screen credits, he worked on so many low budget direct to video features, made-for-TV films, as well as quite a few TV series. And I tried to watch them all. I saw some good films and some not so good films, but I always found Hauer interesting no matter what the material was. I remember being excited when it was announced that he would be joining the cast of the hit HBO series TRUE BLOOD (2008-2014), a series that I watched faithfully. The last two films of his that I was truly excited about were HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN (2010) and DRACULA 3-D (2012). It was satisfying to see him getting a lot of attention that late in his career.
I was sitting on the beach in Perdido Key, FL in 2019, when I got a notification on my phone that Hauer had passed away. It made me sad, as I had no idea he had been sick. It was also fitting that I was sitting in such a beautiful place, because Rutger Hauer had brought such joy to my life for over 30 years. Rest in peace, Mr. Hauer!
It was around 1986 or 1987, and I was around 13 years old. I had never heard of David Lynch, but I was at this video store at the Park Plaza mall in Little Rock when I came across a VHS tape of BLUE VELVET on sale for $1.99. The description looked very interesting, and it had Dennis Hopper in it. I recognized Hopper because he was in one of my favorite movies at the time, HOOSIERS. My dad was a high school basketball coach, so basketball was my life up until I graduated high school. Somehow, I was able to talk my mom into buying it for me. BLUE VELVET was probably the strangest film I had seen up to that point in my life, and there was no doubt that I didn’t understand what was going on in some parts of the film, but I was still mesmerized by it. I became an immediate fan of Lynch.
For the next decade or so, I was on the lookout for anything new from David Lynch, whether it be the TWIN PEAKS T.V. series, or even more importantly to me, WILD AT HEART, with Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern and Willem Dafoe. I’d watch the man’s work all by myself in my home in Toad Suck, Arkansas. It felt like I was in a gang of 1, as I’m not sure there was another person in my community who had any clue who David Lynch was, or who appreciated his work. But that was okay. I enjoyed his films and that’s all that matters.
I haven’t kept up with David Lynch that much over the last few years, but I’ve always recognized what a unique talent he was. Rest in peace, sir, and congratulations on a life well lived!
I’m truly devastated to hear the David Lynch, one of the few true visionaries of our age, has passed away. His death was not totally unexpected. He had recently opened up about his health difficulties. But it’s still hard to believe that David Lynch is no longer with us. He was 78 years old and he was one of the best. I’m sure we all have much more to write and share about him in the future. For now, I’m still coming to terms with the news.
Through the Shattered Lens 