You may not know his name, but you alsot certainly know his face. Henry Gibson has been appearing on our film and TV screens for over 45 years, giving memorable supporting turns in over 130 productions. However sadly he has now passed away, aged 73.
Gibson started out working in the Navy in the late 50s, but became an actor in the early 60s, soon getting guest spots in TV shows and scoring his first movie role in Jerry Lewis’ The Nutty Professor in 1963. He became a regular performer on the classic American comedy show, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-in, from 1968-1971, for which he scored a Golden Globe nomination. He also wrote comedy material for the show.
He later became a regular in Robert Altman films, appearing in Nashville (for which he scored another Golden Globe nomination), The Long Goodbye, A Perfect Couple and Heath. Other memorable roles include playing the leader of the Illinois Nazis in The Blues Brothers, a creepy turn as the villain in Joe Dante’s The ‘Burbs, as well as appearing in Innerspace, Gremlins 2 and Magnolia.
In more recent years we’ve seen him in Wedding Crashers and Big Stan, while he’s been regularly seen by fans of TV’s Boston Legal, as a gay judge who is shocked by everything and refuses to accept he’s gay. His hangdog expression, small stature (he was 5ft 3in) and slightly arch, deadpan delivery, have ensured that he was always in demand when anyone needed a slightly eccentric characters.
The Pennsylvania born native lost his battle with cancer and died at his Malibu home. He will be sadly missed.