His Laugh-In bits mystified me more than they amused me, and hence, I was pretty much thoroughly unprepared for the sinister qualities he brought to 1973’s The Long Goodbye and particularly 1975’s Nashville. Robert Altman really knew the depths of this character actor. When you think about it, he almost is the kind of de facto lead of Nashville; his venal paterfamilias Haven Hamilton is, along with the unseen Hal Phillip Walker, the force that binds the film’s world. “If the music makes the movie, as more than one film critic has surmised, then the movie is a lie,” wrote Robert Christgau (who’s listened to more country music than you and I and several other guys put together) of the film’s soundtrack. He’s right, but one of the many miraculous things Gibson does in his performance is sell the music, at least in context.
The man was a welcome presence wherever he turned up, but it seems most of the filmmakers he worked with after Altman didn’t understand quite what a treasure he was. Joe Dante, Paul Thomas Anderson, Keith Gordon and maybe sorta John Landis being notable exceptions.
UPDATE: My old friend Joseph Failla reminds me of Gibson’s presence in Jerry Lewis’ The Nutty Professor (Lewis’ Professor Culp actually refer to his character as Gibson)…
I always enjoyed Gibson’s poet routine on LAUGH-IN, although I didn’t realize just how zany it was at the time. Looking back now, they’re just sheer genius, short and sweet. So perhaps we shouldn’t have been all that surprised when he turned out to be such an compelling film presence just a few years later.
His casting in THE LONG GOODBYE went against all logic, but in retrospect makes perfect sense. I’ll never forget the scene where he viciously slaps Sterling Hayden across the face, that was the moment when the audience stopped laughing and began to take the film and Gibson seriously. Why more great things didn’t happen for him after NASHVILLE, I can’t say, but those two Altman roles tapped into an immense talent that we were just getting to know.
It’s impossible not to notice him among the crowd in Jerry Lewis’ NUTTY PROFESSOR, and equally as fun to discover his pre LAUGH-IN appearances on popular television shows like THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, where he’s positively surreal as pint sized cowboy star Quirt Manly (you can check out a clip on Youtube). Or THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW when he first recites “Keep A‑Goin’ ” as a poem. Otherwise, I take very much to his work for Dante and Landis. His creepy neighbor in THE ‘BURBS and Illinois Nazi in THE BLUES BROTHERS are ironic plays on his once innocent image.
I suppose it’s saying quite a bit to note that it was Gibson’s cameo that momentarily brought to life, the over 3 hours long, MAGNOLIA for me. It was a vivid reminder of his contribution to Altman’s work, which of course that film was often compared to.
Joe also adds this curio:
Haven Hamilton is a turd, but let’s not forget his bravery and honest inspiration at the end. I’m not saying he’s a good guy, but that ending does muddy the waters a bit.
Anyway, RIP Henry Gibson. A truly unique and surprising talent.
I should quickly add that I understand there’s quite a lot of irony intended in the inspirational qualities of NASHVILLE’s ending. All I’m saying is that Hamilton’s behavior is not that of a totally wretched human being.
Kael had an interesting observation about Gibson’s character – that his conduct at the end demonstrates that his earlier song “Keep A‑Goin’ ” turns out to be not a facile ditty, but his genuine worldview.
Haven Hamilton rates as one of my favorite film characters of all time. The way he nails the rags-to-rhinestones life of a Country-Western star is spot-on. His seemingly easy-going, home-spun, open-arms demeanor masking an ‘I‑made-somethin-of myself’ arrogance. I have older Southern relatives just like the guy.
I, too, believed that Gibson was criminally underused. He was always memorable in anything he was in.
I’ll raise a glass to Gibson’s brutally accurate barstool queen in “Magnolia.”
Note that the Times obit doesn’t even mention Long Goodbye.
Don’t forget his voice work in the original film version of “Charlotte’s Web” a childhood favorite of mine.
And I second your Joe Dante comment, Mr. Kenny. “The ‘burbs” is such an underrated little comedy.
“Write the check, Roger!”
The unabashed fierceness with which Henry Gibson’s quack doctor in “The Long Goodbye” snaps out this line and then smacks Sterling Hayden’s character across the face, even though the latter is twice his size, is another prime Gibson moment.
Gibson was a great presence, and a terrific actor. It took amazing acting chops to sell the audience on the idea that he could physically and emotionally dominate Sterling Hayden, a quintessential man’s man on-screen. Of course, Hayden was great as well.
And I am happy to be the first to mention his turn as the leader of the “Fucken Illinois Nazis” in “The Blues Brothers”. He was the only antagonist in the film to bring real menace to his character, and he was the funniest because of that.
RIP
And how wonderful was he as the quirky judge on “Boston Legal?” I first met him on the set of a Dante film. When we were introduced, I told him I’d been a fan of his since “The Joey Bishop Show.” Joe piped up, “Betcha don’t hear THAT too often!” Henry proceeded to regale me with tales of working on that late, lamented sitcom, and insisted I stay for lunch. What a lovely man.
Gibson also stole several scenes – with barely a single spoken word, unless I’m mistaken, in WEDDING CRASHERS.