I close my eyes, then I drift away
November 9, 2021 8:19 AM Subscribe
Dean Stockwell, veteran actor of stage and screen whose career spanned over seventy years, died on Sunday, November 7, at the age of 85.
Stockwell began his career on Broadway at the age of seven, and was a successful child actor, taking hiatuses and then returning to show biz at least twice in his long career. Among his many, many roles were stints in science fiction television (Quantum Leap and Battlestar Galactica) and roles in David Lynch movies (Dune and Blue Velvet.) [CW: violence, language] After retiring from show biz in 2015, he took up a career as an artist.
Stockwell began his career on Broadway at the age of seven, and was a successful child actor, taking hiatuses and then returning to show biz at least twice in his long career. Among his many, many roles were stints in science fiction television (Quantum Leap and Battlestar Galactica) and roles in David Lynch movies (Dune and Blue Velvet.) [CW: violence, language] After retiring from show biz in 2015, he took up a career as an artist.
Also, he was the cute kid in “Anchors Aweigh.”
posted by Melismata at 8:25 AM on November 9, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 8:25 AM on November 9, 2021 [4 favorites]
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posted by LindsayIrene at 8:30 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by LindsayIrene at 8:30 AM on November 9, 2021
I have loved him since I was quite young—not sure what I saw him in first, though. It might have been Quantum Leap that cemented him in my mind, and after that I saw him everywhere. I was always glad to see him.
posted by Orlop at 8:31 AM on November 9, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Orlop at 8:31 AM on November 9, 2021 [3 favorites]
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posted by dannyboybell at 8:44 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by dannyboybell at 8:44 AM on November 9, 2021
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posted by pianoblack at 8:47 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by pianoblack at 8:47 AM on November 9, 2021
Dean Stockwell was, to my mind, a kind of Steve Buscemi actor, or perhaps vice versa. He could be a lead, but was better playing those odd characters that he could make seem like they were written just for him. He could own a role so well you couldn’t see them played any other way. He had a singular look and style that kept him from being a That Guy.
Goodbye, Al. You finally get to make a leap.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 8:49 AM on November 9, 2021 [5 favorites]
Goodbye, Al. You finally get to make a leap.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 8:49 AM on November 9, 2021 [5 favorites]
Also, he was the cute kid in “Anchors Aweigh.”
As well as the titular Boy with Green Hair!
He also had a role in one episode of Enterprise, just so he and Scott Bakula could share the screen again.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:54 AM on November 9, 2021 [13 favorites]
As well as the titular Boy with Green Hair!
He also had a role in one episode of Enterprise, just so he and Scott Bakula could share the screen again.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:54 AM on November 9, 2021 [13 favorites]
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posted by WalkerWestridge at 8:57 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by WalkerWestridge at 8:57 AM on November 9, 2021
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posted by lalochezia at 8:59 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by lalochezia at 8:59 AM on November 9, 2021
He was a solid actor who always took a chance on interesting roles in interesting projects. I might have to throw on my recently-acquired Blu-ray of Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas tonight, just so I can see him act alongside fellow That Guy emeritus Harry Dean Stanton and appreciate the humanity both of them put into every role.
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posted by Strange Interlude at 9:25 AM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
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posted by Strange Interlude at 9:25 AM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
Scene of Dean Stockwell, in Battlestar Galactica. (Spoiler for seasons 1, 2, 3)
He reacts to each other! The editing and the performance(s) together are amazing.
posted by otherchaz at 9:27 AM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
[slyt]
Dean Stockwell playing two Cavils in the same scene (one an emissary from Cylon fleet, the other a Cylon spy among the human fleet)He reacts to each other! The editing and the performance(s) together are amazing.
posted by otherchaz at 9:27 AM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
(Side note: I absolutely attribute my tendency to smack the side of my smart phone whenever my cellular data connection is acting flaky to Stockwell doing the same with his see-thru Ziggy handset on Quantum Leap. I used to do the same thing with my graphing calculator in high school too.)
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:29 AM on November 9, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:29 AM on November 9, 2021 [10 favorites]
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posted by OHenryPacey at 9:34 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by OHenryPacey at 9:34 AM on November 9, 2021
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posted by Mister Moofoo at 9:49 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by Mister Moofoo at 9:49 AM on November 9, 2021
I absolutely attribute my tendency to smack the side of my smart phone whenever my cellular data connection is acting flaky to Stockwell doing the same with his see-thru Ziggy handset on Quantum Leap.
Me too. For years I've wanted a big flashing phone case that made my phone look like Ziggy but I suppose that's not too practical.
posted by downtohisturtles at 9:49 AM on November 9, 2021 [3 favorites]
Me too. For years I've wanted a big flashing phone case that made my phone look like Ziggy but I suppose that's not too practical.
posted by downtohisturtles at 9:49 AM on November 9, 2021 [3 favorites]
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posted by zengargoyle at 9:55 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by zengargoyle at 9:55 AM on November 9, 2021
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posted by Token Meme at 10:01 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by Token Meme at 10:01 AM on November 9, 2021
I really enjoyed the Stargate SG-1 episode, "Shadow Play", in which he played Dr. Kiernan, Jonas' mentor. For a one-off episode, he was a really interesting character.
posted by xedrik at 10:04 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by xedrik at 10:04 AM on November 9, 2021
He's legendary among Columbo fans. He was on only two episodes--one where he was the victim and another where he was set up to look like the murderer--but was great both times. The second episode, Troubled Waters was one of the best and a fan favorite (Patrick Macnee! Bernard Fox! Robert Vaughn! Directed by Ben Gazzara! Featuring the amazing hair of Dean Stockwell!).
Dean Stockwell was everywhere on TV when I was a kid in the 70s and early 80s. And Al was such a wonderful character. He will be missed.
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posted by ceejaytee at 10:07 AM on November 9, 2021 [6 favorites]
Dean Stockwell was everywhere on TV when I was a kid in the 70s and early 80s. And Al was such a wonderful character. He will be missed.
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posted by ceejaytee at 10:07 AM on November 9, 2021 [6 favorites]
a great actor who never met a scene he couldn’t steal
His role in The Player was some fun to watch, although it didn't hurt to have Richard Grant to riff off of.
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posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:15 AM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
His role in The Player was some fun to watch, although it didn't hurt to have Richard Grant to riff off of.
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posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:15 AM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by Silvery Fish at 10:29 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by Silvery Fish at 10:29 AM on November 9, 2021
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posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 10:38 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 10:38 AM on November 9, 2021
R.I.P. Dean Stockwell.
If you were curious, there's no better time than now to watch the movie he made with Neil Young, Devo, a reportedly extremely-dangerous Dennis Hopper and a handful of Lynch regulars: "Human Highway." It's an extremely important document that at brief times almost resembles a film.
posted by HunterFelt at 11:00 AM on November 9, 2021 [10 favorites]
If you were curious, there's no better time than now to watch the movie he made with Neil Young, Devo, a reportedly extremely-dangerous Dennis Hopper and a handful of Lynch regulars: "Human Highway." It's an extremely important document that at brief times almost resembles a film.
posted by HunterFelt at 11:00 AM on November 9, 2021 [10 favorites]
Fukiyama: The best dramatic scene on TV
Well now I'm crying for two reasons.
posted by tzikeh at 11:16 AM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
Well now I'm crying for two reasons.
posted by tzikeh at 11:16 AM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
Al's outfits proved that Quantum Leap's 1990s were the same universe as the 1990s depicted in Hackers.
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posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 11:18 AM on November 9, 2021 [3 favorites]
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posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 11:18 AM on November 9, 2021 [3 favorites]
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posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:21 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:21 AM on November 9, 2021
Not mentioned in his obits so far is that Stockwell made art for most of his life and, in the 50s and 60s, was an important participant in the visual arts end of LA's counterculture, especially the group centered around Wallace Berman. Michael Duncan et al's Semina Culture: Wallace Berman & His Circle vividly captures that scene and Stockwell's participation in it.
On a personal note, as a DC guy, I have a soft spot for his absolutely ridiculous 1973 exploitation outing "The Werewolf of Washington".
posted by ryanshepard at 11:44 AM on November 9, 2021 [5 favorites]
On a personal note, as a DC guy, I have a soft spot for his absolutely ridiculous 1973 exploitation outing "The Werewolf of Washington".
posted by ryanshepard at 11:44 AM on November 9, 2021 [5 favorites]
As was mentioned above he seemed to be everywhere in the 70s when i was a kid but seeing him in Blue Velvet soon after I turned 20 was a revelation and I paid more attention after that.
What a wonderful career he had, always good, like so many of these actors who are rarely the star, in everything I saw him in.
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posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 12:05 PM on November 9, 2021
What a wonderful career he had, always good, like so many of these actors who are rarely the star, in everything I saw him in.
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posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 12:05 PM on November 9, 2021
As a 14 year old he was in the 1950 film Kim, as Kim. Errol Flynn starred as the spy master Mahbub Ali. The film is actually much better than you would think from that description and has a neatly sewn up, quite happy ending (unlike the book.) It's respectful of the source material by which I mean it adopts Kipling's colonialist but fascinated and informed mindset.
A charismatic and professional guy. Im always interested to see him on screen.
posted by glasseyes at 1:06 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
A charismatic and professional guy. Im always interested to see him on screen.
posted by glasseyes at 1:06 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
I fell in love with him on Quantum Leap. So good at the comedy, so good at the pathos when it was needed.
posted by PussKillian at 1:22 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by PussKillian at 1:22 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 1:32 PM on November 9, 2021
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 1:32 PM on November 9, 2021
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posted by MexicanYenta at 1:37 PM on November 9, 2021
posted by MexicanYenta at 1:37 PM on November 9, 2021
I learned the meaning of "range" watching Dean Stockwell in both Quantum Leap and Paris Texas as a young teen.
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posted by piyushnz at 1:43 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by piyushnz at 1:43 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
Sheila O'Malley: The Mystery Was the Point: On the Life of Dean Stockwell (1936-2021). Excellent obituary that helped me understand his career as a whole from a major child actor to obscurity to a regular genre TV gig.
Stockwell's life featured multiple "disappearances"posted by Nelson at 2:18 PM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
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He seemed like no one had a bad word to say about him which is rare for such a long career.
RIP.
posted by Faintdreams at 2:30 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
He seemed like no one had a bad word to say about him which is rare for such a long career.
RIP.
posted by Faintdreams at 2:30 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 2:42 PM on November 9, 2021
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 2:42 PM on November 9, 2021
He's one of those character actors (Alan Rickman and John Hurt also come to mind) where they die and you're kind of like, "What, seriously? But, they've been great in everything, forever. How are they just not going to be around anymore? Like how's that even supposed to work?" It feels like somebody somewhere made a mistake.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:58 PM on November 9, 2021 [18 favorites]
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:58 PM on November 9, 2021 [18 favorites]
Just so great no matter where he showed up, I'll say kinda maybe like a Rip Torn.
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posted by rhizome at 7:18 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by rhizome at 7:18 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
I read up on him after seeing Paris Texas not too long ago (for the unknownth time) and found this:
American Stars N Bars
The album cover was designed by actor and Young's close friend Dean Stockwell, who had also written the screenplay that inspired After the Gold Rush. It features Connie Moskos, then the girlfriend of producer David Briggs, drooping with a bottle of Canadian whisky in her hand and an intoxicated Young with his face pressed against the glass floor....
There really have been (and are) some extraordinary people in the world.
posted by Richard Upton Pickman at 8:08 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
American Stars N Bars
The album cover was designed by actor and Young's close friend Dean Stockwell, who had also written the screenplay that inspired After the Gold Rush. It features Connie Moskos, then the girlfriend of producer David Briggs, drooping with a bottle of Canadian whisky in her hand and an intoxicated Young with his face pressed against the glass floor....
There really have been (and are) some extraordinary people in the world.
posted by Richard Upton Pickman at 8:08 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by Ignorantsavage at 8:10 PM on November 9, 2021
posted by Ignorantsavage at 8:10 PM on November 9, 2021
Mad respect for anyone who can successfully make the transition from child actor to adult actor. It’s a small but distinguished fraternity. He was in a lot of low budget stuff in the 1970s where he managed the same kind of magic that Vincent Price did, elevating the material through the strength of his performance.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:34 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:34 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
If we're lucky, maybe he'll float close to a resurrection ship.
Farewell, Brother Cavil.
posted by prepmonkey at 7:18 AM on November 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
Farewell, Brother Cavil.
posted by prepmonkey at 7:18 AM on November 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
This is a great 1995 interview with Mr. Stockwell that I came across recently which walks through the entirety of his long and unique career.
"Dean Stockwell: Interview"
by Craig Edwards
Psychotronic Video, 1995
Including this on Blue Velvet
... the guy calls up and says 'would you like this part?' and you can do anything you want. I made that whole character up. I did the wardrobe, I did the makeup, everything. Made it up out of my own demented head. I knew this guy should be weirder than Dennis' character. But it fit the project.
and this on the reality of being the kind of child actor that got the serious roles:
... when I would find out I was going to do another movie, my mother would always bring that news to me, and the first question that I would always ask was, 'Is there a crying scene in the movie?' And there almost always was, and then I would be totally depressed about that. I hated the idea of it, but I was under contract and I couldn't get out of it. And there was very definitely a crying scene in this picture, and I had to sort of do a little softshoe to divert the director away from me. He was coming over to me and saying, 'Try to think of a puppy dying,' and all this shit. He was from the Actor's Studio, Kazan. And I just sort of nodded yeah, yeah, yeah, and then I would go off by myself and irritate my eyes, bring tears, and go in and do the damn scene. I didn't want to think about dead puppies, for Christ sake!
Also:
Psyche Out -- hippie with attitude
Growing Up and Older on Screen
"The first glimpse I had of acting was seeing other people around me doing this. Saying the same words over and over again and making believe this was real. And I suppose I just adapted to that, and found that I could do that. That was what was required in the situation, and I was in the situation. I didn't know why."
posted by philip-random at 7:50 AM on November 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
"Dean Stockwell: Interview"
by Craig Edwards
Psychotronic Video, 1995
Including this on Blue Velvet
... the guy calls up and says 'would you like this part?' and you can do anything you want. I made that whole character up. I did the wardrobe, I did the makeup, everything. Made it up out of my own demented head. I knew this guy should be weirder than Dennis' character. But it fit the project.
and this on the reality of being the kind of child actor that got the serious roles:
... when I would find out I was going to do another movie, my mother would always bring that news to me, and the first question that I would always ask was, 'Is there a crying scene in the movie?' And there almost always was, and then I would be totally depressed about that. I hated the idea of it, but I was under contract and I couldn't get out of it. And there was very definitely a crying scene in this picture, and I had to sort of do a little softshoe to divert the director away from me. He was coming over to me and saying, 'Try to think of a puppy dying,' and all this shit. He was from the Actor's Studio, Kazan. And I just sort of nodded yeah, yeah, yeah, and then I would go off by myself and irritate my eyes, bring tears, and go in and do the damn scene. I didn't want to think about dead puppies, for Christ sake!
Also:
Psyche Out -- hippie with attitude
Growing Up and Older on Screen
"The first glimpse I had of acting was seeing other people around me doing this. Saying the same words over and over again and making believe this was real. And I suppose I just adapted to that, and found that I could do that. That was what was required in the situation, and I was in the situation. I didn't know why."
posted by philip-random at 7:50 AM on November 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
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One of the earlier roles not mentioned was his 1962 Twilight Zone episode 'A Quality of Mercy', alongside several That Guys (and Leonard Nimoy, still a That Guy at that point), where he plays a gung-ho but green American officer on the last day of WW 2 in the Pacific theater, leading a troop trying to dislodge a Japanese unit holed up in a cave, who suddenly finds himself transported/transmuted into a Japanese officer in 1942 facing the same situation re an American unit. He does his usual great job despite the potentially cringe-y premise (yellowface and all.)
posted by Philofacts at 6:22 AM on November 13, 2021
One of the earlier roles not mentioned was his 1962 Twilight Zone episode 'A Quality of Mercy', alongside several That Guys (and Leonard Nimoy, still a That Guy at that point), where he plays a gung-ho but green American officer on the last day of WW 2 in the Pacific theater, leading a troop trying to dislodge a Japanese unit holed up in a cave, who suddenly finds himself transported/transmuted into a Japanese officer in 1942 facing the same situation re an American unit. He does his usual great job despite the potentially cringe-y premise (yellowface and all.)
posted by Philofacts at 6:22 AM on November 13, 2021
I remembered today that Dean Stockwell was the first person I ever heard say the word "ass" on network television.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:31 AM on November 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:31 AM on November 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 7:14 PM on November 15, 2021
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 7:14 PM on November 15, 2021
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I like the sentiment in this tweetposted by Nelson at 8:22 AM on November 9, 2021 [25 favorites]