Keith David

Keith David is one of my favorite working actors. Not to be confused with David Keith who is another one of my favorites and also part of the Not Very Famous...but should be crowd.

What I love about all of Keith David's work is the intense teamwork that shows in everything he does. No matter how large or small his role is, you can count on a performance that will elevate the level of whatever ensemble he's a part of.

His work in Platoon, The Thing and Requiem for a Dream are all great examples of how an actor can push the level of performance from the other actors he shares the screen with. He does this by his shear intensity given to any role he plays. He doesn't upstage, he embodies the character forcing any actor he plays opposite to up their game.

I'm always thrilled when I see Keith David's name in the credits of a movie or television show, for I know when his name appears, whatever I'm watching will be well worth the effort.

Kathleen Freeman

When I saw The Full Monty on Broadway I didn't recognize her name on the program, but when she made her first entrance, I noticed Kathleen Freeman instantly as that nameless character actress that appeared in so many Jerry Lewis movies that I saw as a child.

I was not alone, for when she entered, the entire audience went into a spontaneous mumble as the crowd all recognized Kathleen Freeman from so many older movies and television shows, in which she was usually cast as the teacher, maid, secretary, nurse, nun or snooping neighbor - and always with comic results.

Kathleen Freeman was the ultimate character actor. She was one of those actors whose face was more familiar than the name and no matter how small the role, she always delivered. Although Kathleen Freeman seemed to appear in everything between 1950 and 1990, her most high profile movies were The Nutty Professor and The Blues Brothers.

By the end of her career she mainly did character voice work in television cartoons. Her last was the recurring voice of Mrs. Gordon on As Told By Ginger.  She died in 2001 of lung cancer just five days after her final performance in The Full Monty on Broadway, making her an actor up until the very end.

I applaud you, Kathleen Freeman. And thanks for the laughs.

Linda Manz

With her thick east coast accent, small size and interesting look, Linda Manz is not as versatile as many of the actors in this blog, but she is every bit as talented.

Anyone who saw her 1978 film debut in Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven, knows the power and beauty that she added to that movie. And had her other films been as successful, more people might be aware of her talents.

In a recent interview in the Village Voice, she appears to have retired from the business and seems to have no interest in returning. That's a real shame, as her mere presence brings so much gritty realism to a project, opposed to the unrealistic looking Hollywood types that have taken over modern entertainment.

At least her films are still around. If you're not familiar with her work, I urge you to discover her. For starters take a look at Days of Heaven or Dennis Hopper's Out of the Blue and see for yourself the power, beauty and natural talent of Linda Manz.

ADDENDUM

Linda Manz lost her battle with lung cancer on August 14, 2020. In addition to the films already listed, you should also check out her work in The Wanderers, as well as her brief, but memorable appearance in Gummo. 

Antonio Fargas

Mainstream audiences may remember Antonio Fargas as the street smart informant, Huggy Bear from the 1970's television show Starsky and Hutch, but it's his roles in some of the most famous pop culture movies of the 1970's where his work is most prominent.

From Putney Swope to Next Stop Greenwich Village and from Foxy Brown to Car Wash, Antonio Fargas was a talent that was hard to miss. Most people didn't know his name, but his face was everywhere in the smaller budget films of that era. And his performances were always memorable.

Unlike a lot of the black actors from the 1970's, Antonio Fargas has remained active in movies and television, even though his recent roles have not brought him the exposure he once had.

He's still working, and because of that, I keep waiting for his big breakout movie or television performance. His past work has proven that he has the talent to be more well known, but history has shown that it probably will never happen. We can always hope, though.

Howard Morris

Howard Morris is best known as the mountain man Ernest T. Bass on the Andy Griffith Show, but that role didn't touch the surface of the versatility and comic talent that he had.

If given the chance to view some of the episodes of Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows, you will discover that Howard Morris was as funny, if not funnier than any modern day performer. And if you ever have the privilege to view the sketch, This is Your Story, from Your Show of Shows, you will see a man who upstages Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner at every turn.

Though mainly a television actor, Howard Morris did turn in a wonderful performance in the 1998 film version of the Ray Bradbury story The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit. In his later years, he voiced a lot of cartoons and was the original voice of the Hamburglar on the famous McDonald's commercials of the 1970's.

Howard Morris is forgotten by many today, but if you ever are able to watch old episodes of Your Show of Shows, he will stay in your memory forever.

Steve Inwood

Steve Inwood is one of the many talented actors that seems to have disappeared from the film and television industry. As far as I know he's still alive, but appears to have not made a movie in over ten years.

One of the reasons people may not have heard of him is because most of his work was either as a guest star in numerous television shows, co-starring roles in movies that not many people saw, like Prince of the City, or smaller roles in high profile films like Fame where the young ensemble had much more screen time. In Fame, he played the sleazy photographer that gets Irene Cara to take her top off. He only has two scenes, but he's hard to keep your eyes off of in them.

He also has probably gone unnoticed all of these years because he completely changes in appearance from role to role. For what's it's worth, I've noticed his work and am extremely impressed.

Check out his work in Staying Alive, The Human Shield, Fame and the made-for-television movie A Question of Honor and see for yourself why Steve Inwood is my pick today for Not Very Famous...but should be.

Oh, and Mr. Inwood; if you should happen to stumble upon this, let us know what you're up to.

LaWanda Page

LaWanda Page is better known as Aunt Esther from the 1970's television show Sanford and Son, but she had a very colorful career as an entertainer before and after that series aired.

Had she been born twenty years later, I believe that she could have had a Whoopi Goldberg type career. Unfortunately, LaWanda Page was working in a time when black character actresses were regulated to second banana roles, which she mastered to perfection.

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With the exception of Sanford and Son, LaWanda Page was rarely given the opportunity to shine, but based on her work in that series, as well as her short but memorable moments in the films Friday, Shakes the Clown and Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, she proved that she was a gifted actress that made the most of every opportunity, no matter how small the part was.

I salute the talents of LaWanda Page. Whatever she was in I found myself always wanting more, and now that she's gone I can't help but wonder of the amazing work she could have left the world, had she had the opportunities of today.

Dennis Christopher

Dennis Christopher is one of the most underrated actors working today. He's probably most remembered for his role as the passionate bike rider in the wonderful little film from 1979, Breaking Away, but he had done impressive work before that film and has contributed a lot of great performances to films and television shows since then.

Although his work in Breaking Away is quite good, I'm much more impressed with his whole body of work opposed to just one movie. From Fade to Black to Deadwood, this guy delivers time and time again, and yet he is far from being a household name, which I'm sure is fine with him.

Quentin Tarantino must agree with me as he cast Dennis Christopher in the pivotal role of Leo Moguy in his Oscar nominated film, Django Unchained. Since mainstream Hollywood rarely looks beyond the flavor of the week, let's hope that his relationship with Tarantino will continue on with other worthy roles.

Dennis Christopher is a working actor, and a good one at that. And in discovering his work in both movies and television, one will come to the realization that an actor doesn't have to be famous to be one of the best, which is something that readers of this blog already know.

Frances Bay

Frances Bay is probably most remembered as either Adam Sandler's grandmother in Happy Gilmore or the old woman with the marble rye that Jerry robs in Seinfeld. What audiences don't realize, though, is that she had been acting on the stage since before World War II.

Her film work didn't begin until 1978, when she played a small part in the Chevy Chase film, Foul Play. From there she showed up in a lot of smaller roles on television and the movies, usually as older women. She can be seen in old Happy Days episodes as Fonzie's Grandmother.

Her most interesting work, though, was with David Lynch, with memorable scenes in Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks, and the Twin Peaks spin off movie Fire Walk with Me. In those, she proved that she was just not an older face, but a pretty good actress as well.

Frances Bay passed away on September 15, 2011. And although her name isn't well known, when her characters show up on the screen, her presence is long remembered, making her today's pick for Not Very Famous...but should be.

Stan Shaw

Stan Shaw is truly an overlooked actor. And this oversight is not just by the movie and television watching public, but by the entertainment industry as well.

Maybe this neglect is because he's often the co-star to the co-star. Maybe it's because he is so natural in secondary roles that one often doesn't realize that they are watching an actor. Or maybe, like so many wonderful talents before him, it just wasn't in the cards. Whatever the reason, it doesn't seem right.

His tragic performance as Toomer, the studdering poor kid from the 1979 overlooked Robert Duvall film, The Great Santini is still with me now some thirty years later. Other memorable work from Stan Shaw can be seen in the Viet Nam drama, The Boys in Company C and the television mini-series, Roots: The Next Generation.

Most of his latest work seems to be as a guest star on various television shows, but no matter what the medium or how far down in the movie credits his name may be, it's a guarantee that Stan Shaw will deliver. Keep an eye out for him. You won't be disappointed.

David Patrick Kelly

David Patrick Kelly's most memorable movie role came from his first film, The Warriors, and it's that movie that really showcased the potential of this wonderful actor. Other film roles followed like 48 Hours and Commando, but the best use of his talents seemed to have been utilized in live theater.

While that is a huge plus for theater audiences, it's a real shame for film goers, as this unique actor explodes with intensity and originality with whatever role he takes on.

Although David Patrick Kelly is a working actor, and a very good one at that, I feel that Hollywood has missed the boat where he's concerned because many of his roles just aren't big enough. He adds so much flavor, freshness and creativity to whatever role is given him; the audiences always want more. He could carry a film if just given the opportunity.

Check out his work in Twin Peaks, The Warriors and Spike Lee's, Crooklyn and see for yourself why David Patrick Kelly is my pick of the day for Not Very Famous...but should be.

Roberts Blossom

Mainstream audiences will probably recognize Roberts Blossom's face from the first Home Alone movie, but this guy was around long before that and made every movie he was in a little bit better. Actually, a lot better.

From Escape From Alcatraz to Christine, Roberts Blossom proved to be the ultimate character actor who added either weirdness or whimsy to almost every project he was associated with.

However, it was his staring role as Ezra Cobb, the murdering, grave robbing, taxidermist, in the 1974 movie, Deranged that puts him on my list of truly great actors. Had that movie been a mainstream film made ten years later, Roberts Blossom's performance would be mentioned as often if not more than Anthony Hopkins Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs.

Leading roles never followed, but wonderful character parts did, making the world of cinema a much richer place. Roberts Blossom is no longer with us, but his movies will live on. Spend some time to discover or rediscover him. It will be time well spent.

Gloria Hendry

With no disrespect to Pam Grier, I feel that Gloria Hendry was the best actress to emerge from the Blaxploitation era of movie making. And like so many of those wonderful actors from that period, her best work is lost in a time capsule that only old fans and curious film fanatics will ever discover.

Unlike Grier, Gloria Hendry rarely headlined a movie. She was usually the female lead to the Blaxploitation stars like Fred Williamson, Jim Kelly and Jim Brown, where she always managed to hold her own while stealing the scenes she was in.

In Black Caesar, her character went through the same emotions that earned Halle Berry an Oscar, but in 1973 no one seemed to notice. In Black Belt Jones, she used martial arts to capture our hearts, in much like the way Uma Thurman did in the Kill Bill movies, but the world was still color blind, and as that era faded, Gloria Hendry quietly slipped by with it.

Before all of this, she was a Bond girl in Live and Let Die, but it's Gloria Hendry's film work during the Blaxploitation era that convinces me that she had the talent to become a household name. In this day and age of youth, we'll now probably never know, but she still has time to get on the radar as an older character actress. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.