End Credits #101: Cinema's 2021 Lost Treasures Bertrand Tavernier, Larry McMurtry, Jessica Walter, George Segal, Yaphet Kotto
These are some of Cinema's sad departures of 2021 taken from my personal notes soon after the events took place:
French director, screenwriter, producer, author and film critic Bertrand Tavernier has died at age 79. His cinematic achievements include The Clockmaker of St. Paul (1974), The Judge and the Assassin (1976), Coup de Torchon (1981, one of my most cherished film watching experiences), A Sunday in the Country (1984), ‘Round Midnight (1986), Life and Nothing But (1989), L.627 (1992), Captain Conan (1996), It All Starts Today (1999), Safe Conduct (2002), and In the Electric Mist (2009). His unlimited movie loving spirit was evident whenever he spoke or wrote on the subject. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting this erudite and gentlemanly film scholar when he visited Perth Australia.
Noted author and film noir expert Eddie Muller posted this heartfelt tribute on Facebook:
BERTRAND TAVERNIER. I met him on a crowded stairway at the St. Malo Festival of books in France. His first words to me were “In your book 'Dark City' you named Karl Kamb as the writer of 'Pitfall.' It was Bill Bowers. You need to fix that in the next edition.”
Such was my introduction to one of the greatest film directors in the world, and surely the planet’s most knowledgeable and passionate cinephile. I was joyously surprised when Bertrand sat next to me on the train-ride back to Paris, during which we shared hours of conversation about—what else—books and movies. It was the start of a lovely friendship, one that found us reuniting in various places over the years. We introduced films together in Montreal. He stayed at my house when visiting the Bay Area, arriving with an extra suitcase filled with DVDs of rare films he generously left behind. He graciously served as my interpreter several times at the Cinematheque Français while I was presenting my “Perles Noires” series in 2011. In Lyon, Paris, and Bologna my wife Kathleen and I enjoyed languorous dinners with Bertrand and his wife Sarah, filled with food and film talk and often featuring drop-in visits from some of the world’s finest filmmakers.
He was inarguably the most significant figure in his nation’s cinema, not just for his own brilliant films, but for the loving way he connected classic and contemporary French film. He had a breathtaking feel for the depth and breadth of history, the discipline and precision of a skilled craftsman, the vision and empathy of a true artist, and the compassionate and humane heart of a genuinely fulfilled person. His passion for cinema, for its art and its artists, has been an extraordinary inspiration to me.
Frankly, ever since that first day in St. Malo I could never quite believe that this exceptional man was so generous and kind to me, so accepting of me as a colleague and a friend. Now I can’t believe he is gone. It truly feels like a light has gone out in my life. Fortunately, Bertrand left behind a radiant spirit, and that light and warmth will always be within me. Of course, all around the world other people are feeling the same things today about their dear friend Bertrand. I think that’s the way it’s supposed to work when you've done it right.
RIP, mon frere. Congratulations on a life well and fully lived.
Bertrand Tavernier (April 25, 1941 - March 25, 2021) R.I.P.
Acclaimed novelist, screenwriter and producer Larry McMurtry has died at age 84. His novel “Horseman, Pass By” was successfully adapted for the screen by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr renamed Hud (1963) starring Paul Newman. Other translations of McMurtry novels included Terms of Endearment (1983), the TV mini-series Lonesome Dove (1989, his novel having won the Pulitzer Prize), Texasville (1990) and The Evening Star (1996). McMurtry first became involved in adapting his own work (along with the film’s director Peter Bogdanovich) on the elegiac The Last Picture Show (1971, both individuals Academy Award nominated for Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium). His screenwriting continued with 2 episodes of the TV mini-series The Murder of Mary Phagan (1988), his sole authorship of the TV movie Montana (1990), co-adapting from Shelby Foote’s novel the TV movie Memphis (1992), his sole authorship of the film Falling from Grace (1992), his co-written screenplay along with Diana Ossana from a short story by E. Annie Proulx of the film Brokeback Mountain (2005, both screenwriters winning the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, the film for which McMurtry served as Executive Producer) and Joe Bell (2020, also written with Ossana). Larry McMurtry (June 3, 1936 – March 25, 2021) R.I.P.
Vivacious actress Jessica Walter, who just a few months ago we wished a Happy Birthday, has died at age 80. Her first acting experiences occurred on stage, both on and off-Broadway. After guesting on a few TV series in the mid-60s, Jessica made notable appearances in the motion pictures Lilith (1964), The Group (1966, as the self-assertive Libby for director Sidney Lumet), Grand Prix (1966, for director John Frankenheimer), Bye Bye Braverman (1968, costarring George Segal who passed away only one day prior to her own death, the film also directed by Sidney Lumet), Play Misty for Me (1971, pictured in her most remembered film role as psycho-stalker Evelyn for first time director Clint Eastwood) and The Flamingo Kid (1984). TV viewers may fondly recall her as Lucille Bluth on the sitcom Arrested Development (2003 - 2019) and for providing the voice of Malory Archer on the FX animated series Archer (2009 - 2020). Jessica Walter (January 31, 1941 - March 24, 2021) R.I.P.
The versatile but always charismatic actor George Segal has died at age 87. He started off as a stage actor before securing his first prominent film role in The Young Doctors (1961). Important and always distinctive ‘Segal’ characterisations that followed, equally adept at comedy or drama even in the same film, graced The Longest Day (1962), Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964), Ship of Fools (1965), King Rat (1965), Death of a Salesman (1966, the TV movie as Biff Loman to Lee J. Cobb’s Willy Loman), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966, recipient of a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination), The Quiller Memorandum (1966), The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1967), Bye Bye Braverman (1968, for director Sidney Lumet), No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), Loving (1970), Where’s Poppa? (1970, an outrageous black comedy directed by Carl Reiner), The Hot Rock (1972), Blume in Love (1973, an underrated bittersweet romance/drama), A Touch of Class (1973, pictured), California Split (1974, for director Robert Altman) and Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978). Notable TV roles included those seen in Murphy’s Law (1988 - 1989), Just Shoot Me! (1997 - 2003) and The Goldbergs (2013 - 2021). George Segal (February 13, 1934 - March 23, 2021) R.I.P.
The authoritatively smooth, physically arresting and typically soft spoken Harlem born actor Yaphet Kotto has died at age 81. He drew his acting inspiration from, at a young age, having seen Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront and became an understudy to James Earl Jones in a Broadway production of “The Great White Hope”. Notable film credits include The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), 5 Card Stud (1968), The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970, a particularly formidable presence), Across 110th Street (1972, more than holding his own with co-star Anthony Quinn), Live and Let Die (1973, pictured as James Bond’s arch-enemy), Report to the Commissioner (1975), Raid on Entebbe (1976, the TV movie as President Idi Amin Jr.) Blue Collar (1978), Alien (1979, probably the actor’s most recognised film role), Brubaker (1980), Othello (1980, reprising his titular stage role), The Star Chamber (1983), The Running Man (1987) and Midnight Run (1988, depicting still another non-stereotypical character). TV viewers will undoubtedly remember Kotto for his role as Al Giardello in the series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993 - 1999). Yaphet Kotto (November 15, 1939 - March 15, 2021) R.I.P.