"They Shoot Horses...." star, Michael Sarrazin dead at 70

[cali]

Horses".' star Michael Sarrazin dies at 70


Mon Apr 18, 2011 8:02pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Michael Sarrazin, best known for starring opposite Jane Fonda in 1969's "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?," has died in Montreal after a brief battle with cancer. He was 70.

Sarrazin died Sunday surrounded by family.

In Sydney Pollack's Depression era-set "Horses," which was nominated for nine Oscars and won a single statuette for Gig Young's supporting role, Fonda played a suicidal woman who heads to Hollywood and meets up with Sarrazin's character, an aspiring director. The two enter a grueling dance marathon, during which she tries to convince him to shoot her and put her out of her misery.

Among Sarrazin's other memorable roles were Irvin Kershner's 1967 con-artist movie "The Flim-Flam Man," in which he played the reluctant apprentice to grifter George C. Scott, and the Paul Newman-directed 1970 film "Sometimes a Great Notion," playing Newman's misunderstood half-brother.

"Michael was one of the most talented, generous and committed actors I have ever worked with," George Mihalka, who directed Sarrazin in 1993's "La Florida," told the Montreal Gazette. "He never stopped surprising me with his wit, charm and, above all, his humility and simple decency."

<snip>

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/19/us-sarrazin-idUSTRE73I00920110419

RIP, Michael.

Added his brother, Pierre Sarrazin, who produced "La Florida": "He wasn't a particularly good student. But he was a great actor. His first high school role was in The Bishop's Candlestick, and he was very upset when he came offstage and everyone in the crowd was laughing. He thought they were laughing at him. They were laughing with him."

[CBGLuthier]

1. Gumball!!

Also made a very good Frankenstein's monster in a tv version from the 70's or so.

Good in Harry in Your Pocket and Flim-Flam man.

Always liked him.

[devilgrrl]

2. :-(

RIP

[skypilot]

3. Oh, hell

Michael Sarrazin was my very first crush. I was all of about 4 or 5 years old and I adored him. RIP Michael.

[pipi_k]

4. I saw that movie but remember him better in

"The Reincarnation of Peter Proud"

Probably not on a par with "Horses", but "Reincarnation" was filmed in my old home town and it was cool to see so many familiar landmarks.

[joeybee12]

9. He was gorgeous...hard to believe he was that old when you look back at his old movies...

RIP, Michael.

[Armstead]

5. I saw him once at a waterfront restaurant -- He was very striking

In person he was one of those people who you couldn't help looking at, as he had a very vivid physical presence.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. I loved him in "For Pete's Sake" with Barbra Striesand.

[soleft]

10. Fonda and Streisand shared a lot of leading men in the 70's

Redford
Sarazin
Kristofferson
George Segal

I liked For Pete's Sake alot, the economic message is kind of timely at the moment. Same for Fun with Dick and Jane.

[no_hypocrisy]

11. Remember the scene where the bank turned Henri down for a loan,

making snide remarks about how due to her economic hardship, she had no right to buy a pot roast?

[jtuck004]

7. "Why'd you do it kid?" "Because she asked me to." "Obliging Bastard"...

Rest in peace, and thank you for your work.

[raccoon]

8. I remember him also in a 1973 made-for-TV version of FRANKENSTEIN.

Frankenstein: The True Story http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070074/

He was Frankenstein's monster.

[Doctor_J]

12. Lucky bastard lived with Jacqueline Bisset for years

in her prime, which as primes go, was very prime.

Best wishes.

[Skittles]

13. smoldering good looks overshadowed his acting talent

yes INDEED


very good intro to his IMDB mini-biography:
Owning a pair of the most incredibly soulful and searching eyes you'll ever find, Michael Sarrazin's poetic drifters crept into Hollywood unobtrusively on little cat's feet, but it didn't take long for him to make his mark on film. Quiet yet uninhibited, the lean, laconic, fleshy-lipped actor with the intriguingly faraway look and curiously sunken features enhanced a number of quality offbeat fare without ever creating too much of a fuss. While Hollywood couldn't quite pigeonhole him, they also weren't sure what to do with him. Out-and-out stardom would prove elusive.

[Hannah Bell]

16. i don't think those looks aged especially well.

but tshdt was a great movie. you don't see it much anymore.

[Skittles]

17. the soulful eyes stayed

yes INDEED

[suffragette]

14. My other mother always said that was the one film that depicted

the Great Depression honestly.

She hated films that she felt glamorized people who had taken advantage of others' desperation.

RIP.

[Raine]

15. Sad News ... I loved they shoot horses

R-I-P :-(