“Well......bye.”
May 15, 2017 6:41 PM Subscribe
Powers Boothe, Actor Known for ‘Deadwood’ and Other Dark Roles, Dies at 68 [The New York Times] “Powers Boothe [wiki] [imdb], an actor best known for playing dark characters on television shows like “Deadwood” and in movies like “Sin City,” died on Sunday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 68. The death was confirmed by his publicist, Karen Samfilippo. She did not specify the cause. Mr. Boothe lent his burly frame and Texas drawl to numerous TV series beginning in the late 1970s. In addition to the acclaimed HBO series “Deadwood,” he was seen on shows including “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Nashville” and “24,” on which he played the vice president of the United States. Among the movies in which he appeared were “Red Dawn” (1984), “Marvel’s The Avengers” (2012) and Oliver Stone’s “Nixon” (1995), in which he played Alexander Haig.”
Oh gosh, this is sad -- I'm a massive Powers Boothe fan. You really haven't seen creeptastic until you've seen his turn as Jim Jones, and let me also be the first (of probably many) to call attention to his stellar work in Frailty, a small dynamite film also featuring the fantastic and also recently dead Bill Paxton.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:51 PM on May 15, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:51 PM on May 15, 2017 [7 favorites]
. Just one of those rare actors who excelled at being a villain.
posted by drezdn at 6:52 PM on May 15, 2017
posted by drezdn at 6:52 PM on May 15, 2017
He was so good at being the villain. The kind of bad guy you loved to hate.
posted by Fizz at 6:53 PM on May 15, 2017
posted by Fizz at 6:53 PM on May 15, 2017
My first impression of him was playing Jim Jones of Jonestown Massacre infamy in a TV mini-series. He won an Emmy for that and got in trouble for crossing a Screen Actors Guild picket line to accept it. At the time, I thought "well, we're not going to hear much from him anymore", but I was wrong. Talent will out, and maybe being a strikebreaker helped reinforce his reputation as a good actor to play bad guys.
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:58 PM on May 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:58 PM on May 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
I really only knew him as Jim Jones, but he made such a big impression on me I was very happy to see that he had a really solid career.
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posted by Room 641-A at 7:03 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by Room 641-A at 7:03 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oh, you even used the title I was going to.
I was so happy to recognize him in The Avengers and have him return in S.H.I.E.L.D.
Also only today I learned he was in Red Dawn.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:12 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
I was so happy to recognize him in The Avengers and have him return in S.H.I.E.L.D.
Also only today I learned he was in Red Dawn.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:12 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
I loved him in Sin City.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:13 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by cjorgensen at 7:13 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
The Emerald Forest! And yeah Jonestown ( or whatever the movie was called ). A great character he was.
posted by Liquidwolf at 7:16 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Liquidwolf at 7:16 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm seeing a lot of talk of the Tombstone role on social media but very little mention of his role in the nail-biting early 80s Southern Comfort. RIP Mr Boothe
posted by Ber at 7:30 PM on May 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Ber at 7:30 PM on May 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
I love a good, full, drawl. Well, and a handsome devil to boot, too soon for us. A fine resonance is lost.
posted by Oyéah at 7:33 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 7:33 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
I remember him in Southern Comfort as well as Deadwood. He was an amazing actor.
RIP, Mr. Boothe.
posted by jonmc at 7:44 PM on May 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
RIP, Mr. Boothe.
posted by jonmc at 7:44 PM on May 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
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posted by mondo dentro at 7:56 PM on May 15, 2017
posted by mondo dentro at 7:56 PM on May 15, 2017
He also voiced both Lex Luthor and Gorilla Grodd. The man was aces at being the villain.
posted by haileris23 at 7:57 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by haileris23 at 7:57 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
He had so many wonderful evil guys yet to play. Loved his voice so much.
posted by PussKillian at 7:58 PM on May 15, 2017
posted by PussKillian at 7:58 PM on May 15, 2017
He'll always be Philip Marlowe.
Yes, that's what I always think of him as. That series was my first introduction to Chandler and really to the whole idea of detective noir.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:04 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yes, that's what I always think of him as. That series was my first introduction to Chandler and really to the whole idea of detective noir.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:04 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
Such a great bad guy. I'm so happy to learn that was his real name!
posted by not_the_water at 8:07 PM on May 15, 2017
posted by not_the_water at 8:07 PM on May 15, 2017
A brief sharp remembrance from Sheila O'Malley.
posted by cgc373 at 8:08 PM on May 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by cgc373 at 8:08 PM on May 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ditto on the Marlowe. I have watched things I would normally skip, like Nashville, just to get to see him purr/growl through dialogue. He was always fascinating to watch and to listen to.
My sympathies and condolences to his family.
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posted by Ignorantsavage at 8:16 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
My sympathies and condolences to his family.
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posted by Ignorantsavage at 8:16 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 8:38 PM on May 15, 2017
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 8:38 PM on May 15, 2017
He was in a great Cold War thriller that was an HBO movie: By Dawn's Early Light. Powers Boothe was more of a supporting character, but the whole cast is great. Fantastic flick, it should've been released as a feature, it's that good.
posted by zardoz at 8:43 PM on May 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by zardoz at 8:43 PM on May 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
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posted by mstokes650 at 8:48 PM on May 15, 2017
posted by mstokes650 at 8:48 PM on May 15, 2017
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No love for Sudden Death in here?
Vice President: What kind of lunatic are you?
Joshua Foss: [chuckles] The best kind!
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:00 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
No love for Sudden Death in here?
Vice President: What kind of lunatic are you?
Joshua Foss: [chuckles] The best kind!
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:00 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
I loved that some headlines and Tweeters were calling out his role in MacGruber.
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posted by rhizome at 10:10 PM on May 15, 2017
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posted by rhizome at 10:10 PM on May 15, 2017
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posted by Hiding From Goro at 10:14 PM on May 15, 2017
posted by Hiding From Goro at 10:14 PM on May 15, 2017
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posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:17 PM on May 15, 2017
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:17 PM on May 15, 2017
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God fucking dammit, with Bill Paxton and now Powers Boothe, it's been a hard year for fans of the scene-stealing Hydra villains on Agents of SHIELD.
Gideon Malick the calculating Hydra slimeball isn't going to be Powers Boothe's most remembered or celebrated role. But Boothe nonetheless took a brief movie cameo bit from The Avengers and spun it into a TV season character arc of a charming, ambitious bastard who comes to regret the consequences of his actions, and the degree that Malick works is 99% Powers Boothe's compelling screen presence. And his voice was always amazing. "I never saw my last rodeo being with SHIELD."
posted by nicebookrack at 12:31 AM on May 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
God fucking dammit, with Bill Paxton and now Powers Boothe, it's been a hard year for fans of the scene-stealing Hydra villains on Agents of SHIELD.
Gideon Malick the calculating Hydra slimeball isn't going to be Powers Boothe's most remembered or celebrated role. But Boothe nonetheless took a brief movie cameo bit from The Avengers and spun it into a TV season character arc of a charming, ambitious bastard who comes to regret the consequences of his actions, and the degree that Malick works is 99% Powers Boothe's compelling screen presence. And his voice was always amazing. "I never saw my last rodeo being with SHIELD."
posted by nicebookrack at 12:31 AM on May 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
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posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 1:18 AM on May 16, 2017
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 1:18 AM on May 16, 2017
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posted by mikelieman at 4:04 AM on May 16, 2017
posted by mikelieman at 4:04 AM on May 16, 2017
Marlowe fans might enjoy his remarks from the cemetery, before Cissy's forgotten ashes were placed in Ray's grave.
posted by Scram at 4:04 AM on May 16, 2017
posted by Scram at 4:04 AM on May 16, 2017
The scene in Deadwood with Kristen Bell, where he kills her character, is pretty much the most frightening, horrifying, gut-wrenching in my TV experience. This was also due to Bell, and this was the first time I'd seen her, who was brilliant and chilling. But while Booth's character had been frightening and sinister from the moment he first appeared on Deadwood, in that scene Booth just blew past what the audience expects from a screen villain and showed us something that was less scenery-chewing and more like a realist portrayal of malevolence personified. That is to say, evil. It was an inspired performance, if that is the appropriate word (it probably isn't).
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posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 4:34 AM on May 16, 2017 [5 favorites]
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posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 4:34 AM on May 16, 2017 [5 favorites]
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He was great in everything. I even remember his bit part in Cruising. Mostly the only part of the movie I remember.
Now I will never get my wish of seeing Powers Boothe, Michael Ironside and Clancy Brown together in a western.
posted by JohnFromGR at 4:36 AM on May 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
He was great in everything. I even remember his bit part in Cruising. Mostly the only part of the movie I remember.
Now I will never get my wish of seeing Powers Boothe, Michael Ironside and Clancy Brown together in a western.
posted by JohnFromGR at 4:36 AM on May 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
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posted by lalochezia at 5:01 AM on May 16, 2017
posted by lalochezia at 5:01 AM on May 16, 2017
WOLVERINES!
posted by zooropa at 5:04 AM on May 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by zooropa at 5:04 AM on May 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 6:41 AM on May 16, 2017
posted by JoeXIII007 at 6:41 AM on May 16, 2017
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posted by Token Meme at 7:44 AM on May 16, 2017
posted by Token Meme at 7:44 AM on May 16, 2017
Probably the last thing that I saw him in was MacGruber, which wasn't much of a much--pretty average for the SNL Sketch Dragged Out To A Full-Length Movie subgenre--but Booth seemed to have a lot of fun taking the piss out of his own go-to character, the coldly charismatic military man.
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posted by Halloween Jack at 7:53 AM on May 16, 2017
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posted by Halloween Jack at 7:53 AM on May 16, 2017
WOLVERINES
"Shoot straight for once...you...army pukes."
posted by Ogre Lawless at 2:37 PM on May 16, 2017
"Shoot straight for once...you...army pukes."
posted by Ogre Lawless at 2:37 PM on May 16, 2017
From Jim Jones to Nashville and so many in between.... I've always liked me some Powers Boothe. Even his name. Just damn.
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posted by spilon at 5:03 PM on May 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by spilon at 5:03 PM on May 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
He was also a lead in "The Final Season," about the Norway, IA, high school baseball team. This is the only role of his I've seen mentioned on any hometown friend's Facebook post about his death.
Iowans. Tell our stories and we will love you forever.
posted by epj at 5:48 PM on May 16, 2017
Iowans. Tell our stories and we will love you forever.
posted by epj at 5:48 PM on May 16, 2017
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posted by Fizz at 6:42 PM on May 15, 2017 [13 favorites]