Posts from Gorch in thread „Strother Martin“

Strother was terrified of both Peckinpah and John Ford. Denver Pyle tells about working on Liberty Valance. He related that Ford used to unnerve Strother by calling him Stroker. Pyle's chair was next to Pyle's one morning and Ford commented that Martin was getting used to him. Pyle asked "How's that, Mr. Ford?"
Ford replied "He doesn't jump as high now when I call him." Ford yelled "STROKER MARTIN!" Strother flew about three feet in the air and scrambled over to Ford, who turned to Pyle and said "He didn't jump nearly as high as he used to, did he?"

We deal in lead, friend.

Sam Peckinpah kept Strother on edge during the whole filming of "Wild Bunch". He would whisper "Stother" when he wanted him which kept the poor guy on his toes. According to L. Q. Jones, that scene on the town rooftop before the opening gunfight where Strother kisses his rifle was an ad lib which accurately reflected Strother's state of mind.
God, how I miss all these great character actors.

We deal in lead, friend.

Strother certainly was everything one could wish for as a character actor. Even a couple of minutes of screen time stands out when he's in it, although most of his roles were craven and sniveling. He once said of himself "Whenever the audience sees me, they know I'm heading for a cheap funeral".
To see a complete change of pace for him, check out "Brotherhood of Satan" in which he stars with L. Q. Jones, who also directed.
There are just no more great characters like Strother, Jack Elam, Lee Van Cleef, Bruce Dern and Warren Oates.

We deal in lead, friend.