Hey, guys. Quint here. Actor Henry Gibson died Monday at the age of 73 after a brief battle with cancer.
Like many of you out there, I’m sure, Mr. Gibson shaped my love of movies. As a child I obsessively watched the animated CHARLOTTE’S WEB. His voicework in that movie tugs at my heartstrings even now. But that’s not the image I have Mr. Gibson. In fact, it wasn’t until I looked up his credits for this obituary that I found out he in fact voiced Wilbur in the film.
No, I probably remember him most from THE ‘BURBS where he played the mysterious is-he-or-isn’t-he-a-killer neighbor to Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher. Dr. Klopek kinda freaked me out a little bit, I’m not ashamed to say. The way Gibson played him was note perfect… kind and gentle… innocent, but with something lurking underneath.
Gibson was a big part of my childhood actually, those two movies aside. In my pre-teen years I found and fell in love with two John Landis movies he appeared in. The first, and most well-known, is THE BLUES BROTHERS where Gibson gave us all a reason to hate Illinois Nazis. The second being KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE where his segment, a commercial for United Appeal For The Dead, was a stand-out in a movie filled with hilarious scenes.
It seems he was a favorite of directors, appearing in more than one film from John Landis, Joe Dante and Robert Altman. For Altman Gibson was featured in THE LONG GOODBYE, a Philip Marlowe story starring Elliot Gould, NASHVILLE, A PERFECT COUPLE and HEALTH.
For Dante, Gibson cameod in GREMLINS 2 and played a larger role in INNERSPACE as Martin Short’s boss.
Of Gibson’s more recent work, I particularly liked his scene with William H. Macy in Paul Thomas Anderson’s MAGNOLIA and his dryly funny Father O’Neil in THE WEDDING CRASHERS.
Gibson also has an impressive list of TV credits, including everything from Laugh-In to The Dick Van Dyke Show to Eerie, Indiana to The Beverly Hillbillies to The Love Boat to Tales From The Crypt.
I’m going to miss Gibson’s ability to straddle the thin line between funny and creepy. The man’s talent was his ability to shift into any kind of character. His Haven Hamilton in NASHVILLE is miles from his Dr. Klopek character which is a different sort of villain than his comical Illinois Nazi. He could do over-the-top and straight man humor, which isn’t as common as one might think. He could also handle drama with equal ease.
My thoughts are with Mr. Gibson’s friends, family and fans.
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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