Character actor Ed Lauter has passed away at the age of 74.
A character actor is commonly defined as an actor whose
distinctive voice and appearance limit their roles. Such a label does not have
to be negative, because Ed Lauter made a career out of it which spanned over
four decades.
Ed Lauter was an actor who could convey authority with just
one stern look; from a ship captain to a hockey coach to a brutal prison guard,
Lauter’s characters were not the type you wanted to mess with. His long list of
film credits include THE LONGEST YARD (1974), KING KONG (1976), HOW THE WEST
WAS WON (1978), CUJO (1983), YOUNGBLOOD (1986), BORN OF THE FOURTH OF JULY
(1989), THE ROCKETEER (1991), LEAVING LAS VEGAS (1995), SEABISCUIT (2003), and
THE ARTIST (2011). He had the honor of starring in Alfred Hitchcock’s final
film (FAMILY PLOT, 1976), and he also found success on the small-screen.
*
The first time Ed Lauter left a powerful impression on this
Blogger was in 1986, when he starred as a tough hockey coach in YOUNGBLOOD. When
the lead character fell for the coach’s daughter, you knew that things were
going to get nuts because Lauter was not only a hardass hockey coach who would
hit you with a stick, but he was also a stone-fisted father who would pound you
into the ground. Ed Lauter spent a career and a lifetime playing characters who
demanded respect, and we will always be willing to give it to him.
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