Albert Popwell (July 15, 1926 – April 9, 1999) was an American stage, television and film actor and dancer with a career spanning six decades.[1]

Life and early career

Albert Popwell was born in New York City to South American and West Indian parents.[2] He was nicknamed Poppy by his classmates in Harlem.[2]

Popwell was intrigued by acting at a young age[2] and started as a professional dancer before taking up a career in acting. Popwell made his professional debut on Broadway at age 16 in The Pirate[1] with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.[2] He went on star in future Broadway productions such as Mister Wonderful with Sammy Davis Jr. and Golden Boy.[2]

Later career

Popwell moved to Los Angeles in 1967 to further his career and actor-director Carl Reiner helped open doors for him upon moving to California.[2]

Popwell spoke of having three godfathers, Clint Eastwood, Carl Reiner and Leslie Stevens who gave Popwell one of his first television roles in the series Search.[2] Popwell said that "These are people who have been quite inspirational in my career."[2]

At one point Carl Reiner was set to cast Popwell in a film called Summer Dreams opposite actress Beverly Todd.[2] The film was to be about a psychiatrist who is approached by a police officer to help unravel a murder mystery.[2]

Popwell launched his start with Malpaso Productions, Clint Eastwood's production company, after his role in 1968's Coogan's Bluff as a blade-wielding hippie. Popwell stated his performance impressed Eastwood and asked him to be part of his repertoire company since he liked his work.[2]

Popwell was featured on many television series,[3] but is perhaps best known for his appearances in films opposite Clint Eastwood, with whom he appeared in five films, beginning with Coogan's Bluff (1968)[1] and in the first four Dirty Harry films, playing a different character in each film.[1] Popwell was the wounded bank robber at the receiving end of Eastwood's iconic "Do I feel lucky?" monologue from Dirty Harry (1971).[4] He was a murderous pimp in Magnum Force (1973),[3] appeared as militant Big Ed Mustapha in The Enforcer (1976),[3] a film Popwell said he had not planned on being in.[2] Another actor had been cast in the role of Mustapha in The Enforcer but director James Fargo felt the other actor did not have the proper feel for the role. With time getting down to the wire, Fargo and Eastwood immediately put in a call for their self-described "good luck charm."[2] Popwell later portrayed Dirty Harry's detective colleague Horace King in Sudden Impact (1983).[1] In 1988, Popwell was offered a role in The Dead Pool, the last film in the series, but could not appear due to a scheduling conflict.[5]

Popwell's final film role was with Sharon Stone in Scissors (1991).[6]

Death

He died at age 72 in 1999, from complications following open-heart surgery.[1]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Albert Popwell, Dancer and Actor, 72". The New York Times. April 26, 1999. Archived from the original on March 31, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Williams, Ken (January 9, 1977). "Poppy almost home!". The Journal News. Hamilton, Ohio. p. 15.
  3. ^ a b c "Albert Popwell Filmography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
  4. ^ Hathaway, Benjamin (July 10, 2023). "14 Most Iconic Heroic Action Movie Lines of the 1980s". MovieWeb.
  5. ^ Palan, Michael (April 12, 2022). "Dirty Harry Actors You Might Not Know Passed Away". Looper.
  6. ^ "Scissors Cast". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Popwell
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