Robert Forster

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Birth Name: Robert Wallace Foster Jr.

Born: 13 July 1941 Died: 11 October 2019

Country of origin: United States

Height: 5' 10"

Relationship Status: In a relationship

Partner: Denise Grayson

Lists

128 votes

They talk with their eyes (100 items)
list by jeffpsych

Published 13 years, 9 months ago

21 comments

98 votes

Gone, but not forgotten (1954 items)
list by Agent Kermit D. Fonz

Published 7 months, 2 weeks ago

10 comments

56 votes

Male Actors Piñata (364 items)
list by milica

Published 12 years, 4 months ago

4 comments

48 votes

Rest in Peace (486 items)
list by ercer

Published 14 years ago

3 comments

48 votes

The Simpsons' Special Guests (407 items)
list by diabolical dr voodoo

Published 16 years, 4 months ago

6 comments

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Description: Robert Forster was born Robert Wallace Foster, Jr. in Rochester, New York, to Grace Dorothy (Montanarella) and Robert Wallace Foster, Sr., who worked as an elephant trainer and baking supply company executive. He is of English, Irish, and Italian descent. Forster first become interested in acting while attending Rochester's Madison High School, where he performed as a song-and-dance man in musical revues. After graduating in 1959, Forster attended Heidelberg College, Alfred University and the University of Rochester on football scholarships and continued to perform in student theatrical revues. After earning a BA in Psycholog Robert Forster was born Robert Wallace Foster, Jr. in Rochester, New York, to Grace Dorothy (Montanarella) and Robert Wallace Foster, Sr., who worked as an elephant trainer and baking supply company executive. He is of English, Irish, and Italian descent. Forster first become interested in acting while attending Rochester's Madison High School, where he performed as a song-and-dance man in musical revues. After graduating in 1959, Forster attended Heidelberg College, Alfred University and the University of Rochester on football scholarships and continued to perform in student theatrical revues.

After earning a BA in Psychology from Rochester in 1963, Forster took an apprenticeship at an East Rochester theater where he performed in such plays as "West Side Story". He moved to New York City in 1965, where his first big break came when he landed the lead in the two-character play "Mrs. Dally Has a Lover" opposite Arlene Francis. However, after the play ran its course work was hard to find in the theater. Forster returned to Rochester, where he worked as a substitute teacher and construction worker until an agent from 20th Century-Fox offered him a five-picture deal. His movie debut was a small part in the drama Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando. Forster went on to appear in small and minor roles alongside some top Hollywood actors in films like The Stalking Moon (1968) and Medium Cool (1969), and a large part in Justine (1969). Although he continued to act in feature films, he took the part of a hardboiled detective in the short-lived TV series Banyon (1971)

Forster also appeared in notable parts in The Black Hole (1979), Avalanche (1978) and as the lead in the cult horror flick Alligator (1980), and played the part of a factory worker-turned-vigilante in the thriller Vigilante (1983). Forster also took the lead as a taxi driver in Walking the Edge (1985) by director Norbert Meisel. A series of action flicks followed, the most notable being The Delta Force (1986), starring Chuck Norris. By the late 1980s Forster's acting career had begun to slide, and he was getting less and less work; if there was any, he would be cast in small parts playing villains. Forster then began to work as a motivational speaker and an acting coach in Hollywood film schools.

However, in the mid-'90s, Forster's career was resurrected by writer-director Quentin Tarantino, a big fan of Forster's early work, who offered him an audition for a part in his latest movie. After a seven-hour audition, Tarantino cast Forster in the role of the tough but sympathetic bail bondsman Max Cherry in Jackie Brown (1997), which netted him an Academy Award nomination and some nationwide recognition. His success landed him more high-profile starring roles, in such films as All the Rage (1999), Gus Van Sant's Psycho (1998)--a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film--and Supernova (2000). Forster continues to act in many big-budget Hollywood productions, playing many charming characters who often steal the scene. ... (more)