Ed Lauter, one of Hollywood’s greatest ever below-the-line players, passed away on October 16 at the age of 74, succumbing to the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma. Over his 42-year career, the New York native played a lot of characters prefixed by ‘Sheriff’ or ‘Sargeant’ or ‘Colonel’ or ‘General’ or ‘Major’. Such titles suitably surmise his standing amongst the casting directors, actors and filmmakers who have worked with him over the last four decades.
Lauter’s distinctively ambiguous facial features (a trademark of all the great bit players) could convey warmth or menace, fear or affection with the cock of a brow. Amongst the 204 roles against his name were scores of TV guest-spots, from his 1971 acting debut in Mannix to his six episode arc on ER; he wisely, even effortlessly, picked scene-stealing parts in a plethora of B-movies (The Chicken Chronicles, 1977; Extreme Justice, 1993; Nobody Knows Anything, 2003).
From his big-screen debut in 1972’s The Magnificent Seven Ride! to his most recent appearance opposite long-time friend Clint Eastwood in Trouble With The Curve, not a single decade has passed since the 1970s that hasn’t featured a memorable character role for the late, great Ed Lauter…
The 1970’s:
Lauter became the must-have support player very early on in his career, with no less than four roles in 1972 – The New Centurions (opposite George C Scott, who would direct him that same year in Rage);the Bill Cosby vehicle, Hickey & Boggs; and, most significantly, Robert Benton’s ground-breaking western Bad Company, starring Jeff Bridges. In 1973, he solidified his reputation as the hot-wired ‘Hawk Feather’ in Richard C Sarafian’s Lolly-Madonna XXX (pictured, right), leading to several years of steady work in such commercial fare as The Last American Hero (1973), The Longest Yard (1974), The French Connection 2 (1975) and Breakheart Pass (1975). The decade culminated in two of his most memorable roles – as the hot-wired ‘Maloney’ in Alfred Hitchcock’s final film, Family Plot (1976); and, as ‘Duke’, holding his own against an unhinged Anthony Hopkins in Richard Attenborough’s Magic (1978).
The 1980’s:
Lauter kicked off the new decade by indulging his unforeseen comedic skills in Ira Miller’s fake-trailer anthology Loose Shoes (co-starring a pre-stardom Bill Murray), before delving back into the action-thriller genre parts with Death Hunt (1981), opposite Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin, and The Amateur (1981), starring John Savage. He side-tracked into arthouse cinema with Nicholas Roeg’s Eureka (1983) in the same year that he took on the role of Joe Camber in Lewis Teague’s Cujo (pictured, left), a short but compelling performance that many consider amongst his finest parts. Hollywood responded; in quick succession, he was cast in the Tom Selleck vehicle Lassiter and director Richard Lester’s all-star farce Finders Keepers (both 1984), the studio comedies Real Genius and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (both 1985) and such star vehicles as Rob Lowe’s Youngblood and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Raw Deal (both 1986). Deeply appreciative of Lauter’s talent. the A-list directors soon came calling; before the end of the decade, he would feature in Roland Joffe’s Fat Man and Little Boy and Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July (both 1989).
The 1990’s:
The booming home video market and the expansion of cable-TV provided Lauter with a bottomless pit of character parts (he did guest spots in The X-Files, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Highlander and Walker, Texas Ranger). But by this stage of Lauter’s career, the casting agents of influence knew his worth. The last decade of the old millennium was a busy time, with Lauter securing major roles opposite Steve Martin in Herbert Ross’ My Blue Heaven (1990); Jennifer Connelly in Joe Johnston’s The Rocketeer (1991; pictured, right); Brendan Fraser (and a young Matt Damon) in Robert Mandel’s School Ties (1992); Oscar-winner Nicholas Cage in Mike Figgis’ Leaving Las Vegas (1995); and, Nick Nolte in Lee Tamahori’s Mulholland Falls (1995).
The 2000’s:
Lauter focussed to a greater extent on TV commitments in his final decade, but film roles would come his way that personified the rock-solid professionalism and industry standing he had etched out over his career. A pivotal role in Roger Donaldson’s Cuban missile drama, Thirteen Days (2000); the provider of well-executed cheap laughs as ‘The Coach’ in Joel Gallen’s parody, Not Another Teen Movie (2001); solid if smaller roles in Seabiscuit (2003), Seraphim Falls (2006) and The Number 23 (2007). Finally, Oscar recognition attached itself to Lauter when he co-starred as the faithful butler to Berenice Bejo’s Peppy in the Best Picture winner, The Artist (2011).
The late Ed Lauter has four films ‘in the can’ awaiting release, amongst them Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s much-anticipated remake of The Town That Dreaded Sundown. All to appropriately, he plays a sheriff; of the remainding films, his character names are ‘Pastor’, ‘Mr’ and, ignominiously, ‘Snub Nose’. They will be played to perfection, no matter how small, bolstering the work of everyone around him. It is what Ed Lauter, and all the truly great character actors, did best.