I know he passed away in a motorcycle accident last week but given what a heavy week was last week, I put him off with some others out of respect for our four-legged fuzzballs, still missing them.
Treat was a pretty cool actor who made even mediocre flicks better. I just didn’t appreciate his skill at raising quality until I saw him in the lead for Deep Rising, the Horror movie that got Stephen Sommers the opportunity to be make the best Mummy movie in 1999. I’d say Treat’s acting alongside Wes Studi and Kevin J. O’Connor are what put this over the top from meh to hilarious and awesome.
Other roles I recall and loved Treat in before and after Rising which I also saw out of chronological order. 1941, he’s the asshole soldier trying to *ahem!* assault a woman who just came to win a dancing contest with her draft ineligible boyfriend; The Phantom, which should’ve been a success but he was great as the hero’s nemesis; Things to do in Denver When You’re Dead, he was funny in a very gross way yet memorable; Dead Heat, a failed vehicle to make Joe Piscopo a movie star. This wasn’t Treat’s fault, I side with Joe Bob’s explanation, when mix two genres like Horror-Comedy, it needs to be 80/20 of one with the other, never 50/50; on The Simpsons, he got to be himself with a joke about himself; and if you ever get a chance to see it, I highly recommend The Ritz in which he’s a PI hired by Jerry Stiller to bust James Coco in a gay bath house. It’s actually a comedy which may not have aged well since Coco is hiding there because Stiller is trying to murder him. Lastly, I never knew this until the great Mark Hamill posted it on his Twitter feed in honor of this hardworking, modest and well-loved guy. Treat was an uncredited Hoth rebel in The Empire Strikes Back!
Farewell Treat! You made the world a better place through all your work and characters! You contributed to so much which is why so many in Hollywood will miss you!