RogerEbert.com: Harry Dean Stanton remembered
Harry Dean Stanton, the consummate character actor whose work spanned roles in more than 200 films over six decades, died Friday in Los Angeles at the age of 91. Tributes came in thick and fast from everywhere, some of the best from critics at RogerEbert.com.
From Brian Tallerico:
“2017 has been particularly cruel in the way it has taken away so many pillars of the American film industry. Sam Shepard, George Romero, Bill Paxton, Harry Dean Stanton — these men felt like they were a part of the foundation of cinema for the last half-century. They were always there, grounded and sincere in their creative outputs. In particular, Stanton felt like he knew something other people did not. There was a wisdom in his performances, a grounded sense of life-well-lived that others often seek to replicate but rarely do with an ounce of the truth he could muster. That’s the word for me with Stanton: truth. He never felt like he was putting on a show.”
From Sean Mulvihill:
“There was a timeless quality to Harry Dean Stanton. He had the kind of face that made you wonder if he was ever truly young. Though his career wasn’t filled with leading roles, it still feels so wrong to just refer to him as “a character actor.” He wasn’t a character actor, he was Harry Dean Stanton. The veteran actor had a screen presence that smelled of whiskey and cigarettes even if he was playing a character that we never see smoke or drink. … He may have left this plane of existence, but he leaves behind a lifetime of fantastic work and two final performances that are a swan song of empathy and quiet beauty. Smoke ’em if you got ’em, because there’s nobody to take the place of Harry Dean Stanton.”
