The Best of Dean Stockwell

                                                                  Robert Dean Stockwell

                                                                         1936 - 2021

1) The Boy With Green Hair                  (Joseph Losey)     1948

2) Stars in My Crown                         (Jacques Tourneur)   1950

3) Compulsion                                   (Richard Fleischer)     1959

4) Sons and Lovers                                (Jack Cardiff)        1960

5) Long Day's Journey Into Night      (Sidney Lumet)       1962

6) Paris, Texas                                       (Wim Wenders)      1984

7) To Live and Die in LA                    (William Friedkin)      1985

8) Blue Velvet                                        (David Lynch)         1986

9) Married to the Mob                        (Jonathan Demme)   1988

10) The Player                                     (Robert Altman)        1992

Son of two Broadway veterans, born and raised in North Hollywood, Stockwell would have been considered a significant contributor to the cinema even if he had driven his Cadillac off Highway 1 into the Pacific fifty years ago. Happily, he weathered lean years in the 60s and 70s to leave us a rich legacy. His juvenilia includes memorable turns in Anchors Away, Gentlemen's Agreement, Kim, and The Secret Garden. He worshipped Errol Flynn and disliked Gregory Peck. He seized his chance for an adult career by triumphing onstage in Compulsion and then repeating the role in the film. Then the 60s' various jolts and doses commenced. He kicked booze, but has no credits during 1966 and 1967 in a career that otherwise numbers over two hundred film and television roles.

His wilderness years were not fruitless. Connoisseurs of counterculture errata should check out his appearances in Psych-Out, The Last Movie, The Dunwich Horror, and Tracks. His casting in Paris, Texas revived his career and he delivered a series of scene stealing supporting roles. His role in Married to the Mob, his only Oscar nomination, displayed a puckish humor heretofore untapped. His role in the television series Quantum Leap took advantage of this comic bravado and became the role he was best known for. He was a welcome sight in any film or show. I particularly treasure his guest spot on Hunter and relished his appearances in Human Highway, Dune, and Chasers. Like his pals Dennis Hopper and Neil Young, Stockwell was a questing spirit whose artistic impulses could not be solely channeled into his primary vocation.