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Robert Wallace Foster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019), known professionally as Robert Forster, was an American actor. He made his screen debut as Private L.G. Williams in John Huston's Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), followed by a starring role as news reporter John Casellis in the landmark New Hollywood film Medium Cool (1969). For his portrayal of bail bondsman Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown (1997), he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Forster played a variety of both leading and supporting roles in over 100 films, including Captain Dan Holland in The Black Hole (1979), Detective David Madison in Alligator (1980), Abdul Rafai in The Delta Force (1986), Colonel Partington in Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Scott Thorson in The Descendants (2011), General Edward Clegg in Olympus Has Fallen (2013) and its sequel London Has Fallen (2016), Norbert Everhardt in What They Had (2018), and Sheriff Hadley in The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020).
He also had prominent roles in television series such as Banyon (1971–73), Nakia (1974), Karen Sisco (2003–04), Heroes (2007–08), (2017) and the Breaking Bad episode "Granite State" as Ed Galbraith, for which he won the Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television. He reprised the role in the film (2019) and Better Call Saul (2020).
Forster added an "R" to his surname as there was another member of the Screen Actors Guild named Robert Foster.
Forster's movie career began strongly, when John Huston cast him in the important role of Private Williams in Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando; there was a scene where Forster rode naked on a horse which became famous. Forster also appeared in episodes of the TV series N.Y.P.D., Judd for the Defense and Premiere, the latter also featuring Dustin Hoffman and Sally Kellerman. Forster was then cast in another key role in an important movie: part-Indian Army scout Nick Tana in Robert Mulligan's The Stalking Moon (1968); he was billed third, after Gregory Peck and Eva Marie Saint.
Forster had a key support role in Justine (1969), directed by George Cukor and starring Dirk Bogarde, which was a huge flop. He starred in the critically acclaimed film Medium Cool (1969), which was also a big hit commercially.
Forster played a tormented priest in Pieces of Dreams (1970) and a student filmmaker in Cover Me Babe (1970), which was a box office flop. He was cast in the pilot for a TV series Banyon, playing a private eye in late 1930s in Los Angeles. then starred in Journey Through Rosebud which was not released theatrically. He directed for the Rochester Community Theatre.
A year after the pilot for Banyon was made, it was picked up for a series but had only a short run. After this cancellation Forster said his career "started to slip and then it slipped and then it slipped."
In 1973, he briefly returned to Broadway playing Stanley Kowalski in a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire, opposite Julie Harris. Streetcar Named Desire 1973 at Playbill He also played Juror No. 3 in the first New York stage production of Twelve Angry Men at the Queens Playhouse.
Forster guest starred on shows such as Medical Story, Gibbsville and Police Story and played the lead in the TV movies Royce (1976), The City (1977) (with Don Johnson), Standing Tall and The Darker Side of Terror (1979). He toured in a stage production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and appeared in The Sea Horse on stage in Louisville.
Forster moved into lower-budgeted movies, starring in Stunts (1977) for Mark L. Lester and Avalanche (1978), the latter opposite Rock Hudson and Mia Farrow for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. Also for New World, Forster had an unbilled cameo in The Lady in Red (1979). This was written by John Sayles and directed by Lewis Teague who later collaborated on Alligator (1980), which starred Forster. He played a key support role in Disney's The Black Hole (1979).
Throughout the 1980s Forster alternated between television and low budget films. He was in the comedy Heartbreak High (1981), and the action films Vigilante (1983), Walking the Edge (1985), The Delta Force (1986), and Counterforce (1988). He wrote, starred in, produced and directed Hollywood Harry (1985), in which he invested all his savings. That year he stated "Not one of my movies made a dime. I've never had anything that approached a hit in my entire career of 15 movies and a lot of TV shows."
Forster appeared in the thrillers Satan's Princess (1989) and The Banker (1989), the mini series Goliath Awaits (1981), and episodes of Magnum, P.I., Tales from the Darkside, Hotel, Crossbow, and Jesse Hawkes. He was in the TV movie Mick and Frankie (1989).
Forster's films by this stage were almost entirely low budget ones: Peacemaker (1990), Checkered Flag (1990), Countdown to Esmeralda Bay (1990), Long Way Back (1990), Committed (1991), Diplomatic Immunity (1991), 29th Street (1991), In Between (1992), In the Shadow of a Killer (1992), (1993), South Beach (1993), American Yakuza (1993), Cover Story (1993), (1993), Scanner Cop II (1995), Guns & Lipstick (1995), The Method (1995), Original Gangstas (1996) (directed by Larry Cohen), Uncle Sam (1996), Hindsight (1996) and American Perfekt (1997).
He appeared in series such as Jake and the Fatman, P.S.I. Luv U, Silk Stalkings, Murder, She Wrote, One West Waikiki and Walker, Texas Ranger.
Forster continued to appear in lower budgeted productions like Night Vision (1997) along with the remakes of Rear Window (1998) and Psycho (1998).
He appeared in the made-for-television movie The Hunt for the BTK Killer, as the detective intent on capturing serial killer Dennis Rader. Forster also played the father of Van on the short-lived Fox series Fastlane.
Forster recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's Hip-Hop Literacy campaign, encouraging reading of books by Elmore Leonard, whose book Rum Punch was adapted as Jackie Brown. He appeared in the hit NBC series Heroes as Arthur Petrelli, the father of Nathan and Peter Petrelli, as well as the Emmy Award-winning AMC crime drama Breaking Bad as Walter White's new-identity specialist Ed Galbraith (a role he reprised in and Better Call Saul). He played Bud Baxter, father to Tim Allen's Mike Baxter, on the ABC (later Fox) hit comedy Last Man Standing. Forster was also a motivational speaker.
He was the first choice to play Sheriff Harry S. Truman in David Lynch's Twin Peaks, but had to turn it down due to a prior commitment to a different television pilot, and was replaced by Michael Ontkean. He appeared in Lynch's Mulholland Drive, a pilot for a TV series that was not picked up but was later turned into a critically acclaimed movie, and finally appeared in Twin Peaks, playing the brother of Sheriff Harry S. Truman, Sheriff Frank Truman, in , when Ontkean was not available to reprise his role.
About this, Forster said: "David Lynch, what a good guy he is. He wanted to hire me for the original, 25 years ago, for a part, and I was committed to another guy for a pilot that never went. So I didn't do the original Twin Peaks, which would have been a life-changer. It's a gigantic hit if you remember those years, a phenomenon. But I didn't do that. ... And this time, I got a call from my agents and they said, David Lynch is going to call you. When he called me five minutes later, he said, "I'd like you to come and work with me again." And I said, 'Whatever it is, David, here I come!'"
Forster appeared in the TV series Alcatraz.
His final movie appearance was in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, reprising the character of Ed the "Disappearer" from the Breaking Bad series. He died on the day the movie was released. According to Aaron Paul (the actor for Jesse Pinkman), they spoke on the day of his death. Forster had been able to see the film. Four months later, Forster again appeared posthumously as Ed in episode "Magic Man" of the fifth season of Better Call Saul. The episode ended with a dedication to "our friend Robert Forster." He also appeared in an episode "Dynoman and The Volt" of the rebooted Amazing Stories television series before his death; the episode was dedicated to Forster.
| 1967 | Reflections in a Golden Eye | Private L.G. Williams | |
| 1968 | The Stalking Moon | Nick Tana | |
| 1969 | Justine | Narouz | |
| Medium Cool | John Cassellis | ||
| 1970 | Pieces of Dreams | Gregory Lind | |
| Cover Me Babe | Tony Hall | ||
| 1972 | Journey Through Rosebud | Frank | |
| 1973 | The Don Is Dead | Frank Regalbuto | |
| 1977 | Stunts | Glen Wilson | |
| 1978 | Avalanche | Nick Thorne | |
| 1979 | The Lady in Red | 'Turk' | Uncredited |
| The Black Hole | Captain Dan Holland | ||
| 1980 | Alligator | Detective David Madison | |
| 1981 | Heartbreak High | Coach Alan Arnoldi | |
| 1983 | Vigilante | Eddie Marino | |
| 1985 | Walking the Edge | Jason Walk | |
| 1986 | The Delta Force | Abdul Rafai | |
| Hollywood Harry | Harry Petry | Also producer and director | |
| 1988 | Counterforce | The Dictator | |
| 1989 | Satan's Princess | Lou Cherney | |
| The Banker | Dan Jefferson | ||
| Esmeralda Bay | Madero | ||
| 1990 | Peacemaker | Yates | |
| 1991 | Committed | Dr. Desmond Moore | |
| Checkered Flag | Jack Cotton | ||
| Diplomatic Immunity | Stonebridge | ||
| 29th Street | Sergeant Tartaglia | ||
| In Between | Vinnie | ||
| 1993 | Dr. Powell | ||
| South Beach | Detective Ted Coleman | ||
| American Yakuza | Littman | ||
| Cover Story | Therapist | ||
| 1994 | Point of Seduction: Body Chemistry III | Bob Sibley | |
| 1995 | Captain Jack Bitters | ||
| Guns and Lipstick | Captain Dimaggio | ||
| 1996 | The Method | Christian's Father | |
| Original Gangstas | Detective Slatten | ||
| Uncle Sam | Congressman Alvin Cummings | ||
| Hindsight | Michael Donahue | ||
| 1997 | American Perfekt | Jake Nyman | |
| Demolition University | Gentry | ||
| Jackie Brown | Max Cherry | ||
| Night Vision | Teak Taylor | ||
| 1998 | Psycho | Dr. Fred Simon | |
| Outside Ozona | Odell Parks | ||
| 1999 | It's the Rage | Tyler | |
| Family Tree | Henry Musser | ||
| Kiss Toledo Goodbye | Sal Fortuna | ||
| 2000 | Supernova | A.J. Marley | |
| The Magic of Marciano | Henry | ||
| Lakeboat | Joe Litko | ||
| Cowboys and Angels | Barbequeman At Wedding | Uncredited | |
| Me, Myself & Irene | Colonel Partington | ||
| Diamond Men | Eddie Miller | Also executive producer | |
| 2001 | Mulholland Drive | Detective Harry McKnight | |
| Human Nature | Nathan's Father | ||
| Finder's Fee | Officer Campbell | ||
| 2002 | Lone Hero | Gus | |
| Strange Hearts | Jack Waters | ||
| Like Mike | Coach Wagner | ||
| 2003 | Confidence | Morgan Price | |
| Roger Wixon | |||
| Grand Theft Parsons | Stanley Parsons | ||
| 2006 | Firewall | Harry Romano | |
| Lucky Number Slevin | Murphy | ||
| Wild Seven | Wilson | ||
| 2007 | Lloyd | ||
| D-War | Jack Wilson | ||
| Cleaner | Arlo Grange | ||
| 2008 | Expecting Love | George Patten | |
| Jack and Jill vs. the World | Norman / Narrator | Uncredited | |
| Touching Home | Jim 'Perk' Perkins | ||
| 2009 | Thick as Thieves | Lieutenant Sam Weber | |
| Ghosts of Girlfriends Past | Sergeant Mervis Volkom | ||
| Middle Men | Louie 'La-La' | ||
| 2010 | The Bannen Way | Mr. B | |
| The Trial | Ray | ||
| Kalamity | Tom Klepack | ||
| 2011 | Girl Walks into a Bar | Dodge | |
| The Descendants | Scott Thorson | ||
| 2012 | Hotel Noir | Jim Logan | |
| 2013 | Olympus Has Fallen | General Edward Clegg | |
| Coffee, Kill Boss | Walt Ford | ||
| Somewhere Slow | Chris McConville | ||
| 2014 | Autómata | Robert Bold | |
| 2015 | Survivor | Bill Talbot | |
| Too Late | Gordy Lyons | ||
| The Adventures of Biffle and Shooster | James Burke / Lieutenant Frank Murphy | ||
| 2016 | London Has Fallen | General Edward Clegg | |
| The Confirmation | Otto | ||
| The American Side | Sterling Whitmore | ||
| Bus Driver | General Sorbin | ||
| 2017 | Small Town Crime | Steve Yendel | |
| Small Crimes | Joe Denton Sr. | ||
| The Case for Christ | Walter Strobel | ||
| Acts of Vengeance | Chuck | ||
| 2018 | What They Had | Norbert Everhardt | |
| Damsel | Old Preacher | ||
| The Big Take | Detective Aborn | ||
| Bigger | Joe (2008) | ||
| 2019 | Phil | Bing Fisk | |
| Ed Galbraith | |||
| Himself | Documentary; Posthumous release | ||
| 2020 | The Wolf of Snow Hollow | Sheriff Hadley | Posthumous release |
| 2021 | Grave Intentions | Don Whalen | Segment: "The Bridge Partner"; Posthumous release; Final film role |
| 2000 | It's a Shame About Ray | Wally | |
| 2003 | Where's Angelo? | Bob | |
| 2007 | Grampa's Cabin | Grampa | |
| 2010 | Red Princess Blues | The Storyteller | |
| 2015 | The Biffle Murder Case | James Burke | |
| The Bridge Partner | Don Whalen | ||
| Run Fast | Peter Cirone | ||
| The Program | Michael | ||
| Home | Man | ||
| 2018 | Nasty | Bob |
| 1967 | N.Y.P.D. | Tony | Episode: "To Catch a Hero" |
| 1968 | Judd, for the Defense | Ray Elliott | Episode: "In a Puff of Smoke" |
| Premiere | Doug Payson | Episode: "Higher and Higher, Attorneys at Law" | |
| 1971–1973 | Banyon | Miles Banyon | 16 episodes |
| 1974 | Nakia | Deputy Nakia Parker | 14 episodes |
| The Death Squad | Eric Benoit | Television film | |
| 1975 | Medical Story | David Corbin | Episode: "The Moonlight Heater" |
| 1975–1977 | Police Story | Various roles | 5 episodes |
| 1977 | The City | Lieutenant Matt Lewis | Pilot |
| 1978 | Standing Tall | Luke Shasta | Television film |
| 1979 | The Darker Side of Terror | Paul Corwin | Television film |
| 1981 | Goliath Awaits | Commander Jeff Selkirk | Television film |
| 1985 | Magnum, P.I. | Tyler Peabody McKinney | 2 episodes |
| 1986 | Tales from the Darkside | Gary Gooley | Episode: "The Milkman Cometh" |
| Murder, She Wrote | Gilbert Gaston | Episode: "The Perfect Foil" | |
| 1987 | Hotel | Steve Cameron | Episode: "Unfinished Business" |
| Once a Hero | Gumshoe | 7 episodes | |
| 1987–1988 | William Tell | Aymong | 3 episodes |
| 1989 | Mick and Franki | Feinstein | Failed pilot |
| 1991 | Jake and the Fatman | Ed Delaney | 2 episodes |
| P.S. I Luv U | Dan | Episode: "There Goes the Neighbourhood" | |
| 1992 | In the Shadow of a Killer | Charles Galbis | Television film |
| 1993 | Silk Stalkings | Vince Riker | Episode: "Tough Love" |
| Sex, Love and Cold Hard Cash | Sid | Television film | |
| 1995 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Ricky Rickettes | Episode: "The Big Bingo Bamboozle" |
| Murder, She Wrote | Frank Roussel | Episode: "Big Easy Murder" | |
| One West Waikiki | Gerard Foster | Episode: "Flowers of Evil" | |
| 1997 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Lane Tillman | Episode: "Texas vs. Cahill" |
| 1998 | Rear Window | Detective Charlie Moore | Television film |
| 1999 | Todd McFarlane's Spawn | Major Forsberg (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2000 | Jack Chapman, Police Officer (voices) | Episode: "Wedding Bells Blew" | |
| 2001 | Like Mother Like Son | Ken 'Pappa' Kimes | Television film |
| 2002 | Murder in Greenwich | Steve Carroll | |
| Due East | Jesse Rapple | ||
| 2002–2003 | Fastlane | Raymond Ray | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | Undefeated | Scott Green | Television film |
| Street Time | Tony DeAngelo | Episode: "Cop Killer" | |
| 2003–2004 | Karen Sisco | Marshall Sisco | 10 episodes |
| 2004 | The Grid | Jay Aldrich | 6 episodes |
| Clubhouse | Burt Austin | Episode: "Spectator Interference" | |
| 2004–2005 | Huff | Ben Huffstodt | 3 episodes |
| 2005 | Tilt | Jimmy "Gentleman Jim" Towne | 2 episodes |
| Justice League Unlimited | The President (voice) | 2 episodes | |
| Bounty Hunters | Jerry | Pilot | |
| The Hunt for the BTK Killer | Detective Jason Magida | Television film | |
| 2006 | Numb3rs | Agent Thomas Lawson | Episode: "Protest" |
| 13 Graves | Tom Ferris | Pilot | |
| 2007 | Army Wives | General Grayson | Episode: "Truth and Consequences" |
| Desperate Housewives | Nick Delfino | Episode: "Now I Know, Don't Be Scared" | |
| 2007–2008 | Heroes | Arthur Petrelli | 10 episodes |
| 2008 | The Simpsons | Lucky Jim | Voice, episode: "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes" |
| 2011 | Joe Vincent | Episode: "Indelible" | |
| 2012 | Alcatraz | Ray Archer | 4 episodes |
| General Bryce | Voice, episode: "Grill" | ||
| The Eric Andre Show | Himself | Episode: "J-Moe" | |
| 2012–2018 | Last Man Standing | Bud Baxter | 10 episodes |
| 2013 | Booth Whitman | Episode: "Unfrozen Agent Man" | |
| Breaking Bad | Ed Galbraith | Episode: "Granite State" | |
| Ironside | Virgil's Father | Episode: "Hidden Agenda" | |
| 2014 | Intruders | Frank Shepherd | 2 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Jack J. Kurtzman (voice) | Voice, 4 episodes |
| 2015 | Childrens Hospital | Donald | Episode: "The 27 Club" |
| Backstrom | Sheriff Blue Backstrom | 2 episodes | |
| 2016 | Divorce | Donald | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Sheriff Frank Truman | 10 episodes | |
| I'm Dying Up Here | Guy Apuzzo | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 2020 | Better Call Saul | Ed Galbraith | Posthumous release Episode: "Magic Man" |
| Amazing Stories | Grandpa Joe Harris | Posthumous release Episode: "Dynoman and The Volt" |
| John Golden Theater, Broadway | ||||
| 1971 | The Glass Menagerie | Theatre in the Tracks, Off-Off-Broadway | Also director | |
| 1972 | Twelve Angry Men | Juror No. 3 | Queens Playhouse, Off-Broadway | |
| Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway | Replacement | |||
| Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles | ||||
| Academy Awards | 1998 | Best Supporting Actor | Jackie Brown | ||
| AARP Movie Awards | 2019 | Best Supporting Actor | What They Had | ||
| Chicago Film Critics Association | 1998 | Best Supporting Actor | Jackie Brown | ||
| Chlotrudis Award | 2002 | Best Actor | Diamond Men | ||
| Gotham Awards | Best Ensemble Cast | ||||
| Georgia Film Critics Association | 2011 | Best Supporting Actor | |||
| Hamptons International Film Festival | 2000 | Special Recognition | Diamond Men | ||
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award | 1998 | Best Supporting Actor | Jackie Brown | ||
| Newport Beach Film Festival | 2018 | Icon Award | Body of Work | ||
| Saturn Awards | 1998 | Best Supporting Actor | Jackie Brown | ||
| 2008 | Guest Actor – Television | Heroes | |||
| 2014 | Guest Actor – Television | Breaking Bad | |||
| Screen Actors Guild Award | 2011 | Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture | The Descendants | ||
| Southeastern Film Critics Association | 2011 | Best Ensemble | |||
| Winter Film Awards | 2016 | Best Actor | The Bridge Partner | ||
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