A shame to see Robert go but at least the last 22 years of his career were amazing after spending the previous 18 or so in the movie-making ghetto (direct-to-video, craptacular horror stuff, etc.). Giving underrated actors a second act is one of the few good things Quentin Tarantino does with his cliche-ridden flicks.
Robert did go out on a good note. Last night was the world premiere of El Camino which was the sequel or epilog to Breaking Bad, letting us know what happened to the beloved Jesse Pinkman. It’s not a spoiler to say Robert returned as the vacuum-cleaner repairman who operates the private disappearance/new identity service. His character was still alive when Walter met his Macbeth-esque end.
Before Jackie Brown though, I only remembered him as Captain Dallas from The Black Hole which I think was his last good role until QT cast him as Max Cherry. However, the gang at MST3K recently riffed Avalanche in which Robert was the scientist-like character warning Rock Hudson about the danger coming thanks to clear cutting the mountain’s forrest for Rock’s ski resort. While he did this, his hero seduced Mia Farrow.
Thanks for everything Robert. The Black Hole remains a favorite to this day, even though we seem to know more about the real stellar objects and I’m glad you were rescued from obscurity. Your acting in Jackie Brown was so amazing! I remember genuinely hoping throughout the movie’s second half that QT would surprise me and not have Samuel L. Jackson kill Max; altruistic people often die in Elmore Leonard stories.