R.I.P. John Saxon, B-movie stalwart
July 25, 2020 9:10 PM Subscribe
From AVClub: "John Saxon has died. A veteran actor, whose battles alongside Bruce Lee, and against Freddy Krueger, were just two major highlights of a 60-plus year career, Saxon appeared in nearly 200 films and TV shows. He played killers, teen heartthrobs, cops—a lot of cops—and many other parts during his long tenure in Hollywood and abroad, exploring pretty much every angle on genre cinema in the process. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Saxon died of pneumonia earlier today. He was 83."
Oh, man. He was one of those guys who was just everywhere in the seventies. He left a huge mark.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:14 PM on July 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:14 PM on July 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
"Wasn't John Saxon in this movie?"
posted by SansPoint at 9:34 PM on July 25, 2020 [12 favorites]
posted by SansPoint at 9:34 PM on July 25, 2020 [12 favorites]
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posted by Halloween Jack at 9:56 PM on July 25, 2020
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:56 PM on July 25, 2020
Oh man... This one hits me. A slight unfortunate coincidence for me as I'm wrapping up a month of watching Canadian movies and I was just contemplating whether or not to watch my second favourite John Saxon performance - Bob Clark's Black Christmas (my first favourite being Mario Bava's Girl Who Knew Too Much). And there was that great turn as the "Vampire" in that Starsky and Hutch episode.
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:14 PM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:14 PM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
Timing is everything. I'm that kid that saw pretty much every episode of Kung Fu in its initial TV run. So that's my immediate John Saxon go to.
Kung Fu: Caine vs John Saxon (Part 1)
Kung Fu: Caine vs John Saxon (Part 2)
posted by philip-random at 10:46 PM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
Kung Fu: Caine vs John Saxon (Part 1)
Kung Fu: Caine vs John Saxon (Part 2)
posted by philip-random at 10:46 PM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
"Wasn't John Saxon in this movie?"
"The scene where John Saxon's character is killed was removed in the edited version used for MST3K. Ironically, the writers made fun of a loose end in the film's plot which they created. Other cuts include the scene where Joe Don is sucking on Linda Evans' toes."
posted by Hicksu at 10:57 PM on July 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
"The scene where John Saxon's character is killed was removed in the edited version used for MST3K. Ironically, the writers made fun of a loose end in the film's plot which they created. Other cuts include the scene where Joe Don is sucking on Linda Evans' toes."
posted by Hicksu at 10:57 PM on July 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
Looking at his credits in IMDb and he was in so many things I watched growing up. I have absolutely no memory of him being on Falcon Crest, though!
And it looks like he was on several episodes of Fantasy Island, too. But no Love Boat. Not enough room for car chases or kung fu tournaments on the boat.
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posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:59 AM on July 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
And it looks like he was on several episodes of Fantasy Island, too. But no Love Boat. Not enough room for car chases or kung fu tournaments on the boat.
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posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:59 AM on July 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
Left a huge impression on The Six Million Dollar Man. Only two episodes? Yeah, huge.
posted by filtergik at 2:54 AM on July 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by filtergik at 2:54 AM on July 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
He was the dad in A Nightmare On Elm Street? Is that where I know that face from? Man, he was great in that movie, and he was great in so many things. A zillion things, apparently. I'm glad he was amongst us, because he did so much that was a part of my life.
Thanks, John! Rest in peace!
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posted by hippybear at 3:43 AM on July 26, 2020
Thanks, John! Rest in peace!
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posted by hippybear at 3:43 AM on July 26, 2020
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posted by Monster_Zero at 4:27 AM on July 26, 2020
posted by Monster_Zero at 4:27 AM on July 26, 2020
Ah man, it seemed like he was on tv almost every week in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. I knew nothing about him personally, but I had a little “ah, no!” moment when I saw the post title.
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posted by MexicanYenta at 4:57 AM on July 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by MexicanYenta at 4:57 AM on July 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
Looking at his credits in IMDb
I often do this when an actor passes away (or even doesn’t). I was surprised to see a gap in the form of a movie I saw exactly once on tv several decades ago, but recalled nothing about save for John Saxon’s presence. “Wait, John Saxon wasn’t in Brave New World (1980)?” No, child, it turns out he was in Strange New World (1975). Ah. Saxon was so ubiquitous in my misspent youth that it seems it was easier just to assume he was in everything.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:26 AM on July 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
I often do this when an actor passes away (or even doesn’t). I was surprised to see a gap in the form of a movie I saw exactly once on tv several decades ago, but recalled nothing about save for John Saxon’s presence. “Wait, John Saxon wasn’t in Brave New World (1980)?” No, child, it turns out he was in Strange New World (1975). Ah. Saxon was so ubiquitous in my misspent youth that it seems it was easier just to assume he was in everything.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:26 AM on July 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
John Saxon in Gene Roddenberry's Planet Earth.
Playing Dylan Hunt, a character later played by Kevin Sorbo in Andromeda.
posted by octothorpe at 6:39 AM on July 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
Playing Dylan Hunt, a character later played by Kevin Sorbo in Andromeda.
posted by octothorpe at 6:39 AM on July 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
The A.V. Club mentions his role in the 1974 Black Christmas as the antecedent of a long line of ineffectual cops in slasher movies. My fondness for this unprepossessing Canadian tax shelter movie is well-documented. This cannot be overlooked: he is the first cop ever to ask that the call be traced only to be told that the call is coming from inside the house. Much respect for the inaugural delivery of what would become a cliché.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:46 AM on July 26, 2020 [13 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:46 AM on July 26, 2020 [13 favorites]
"The scene where John Saxon's character is killed was removed in the edited version used for MST3K. Ironically, the writers made fun of a loose end in the film's plot which they created. Other cuts include the scene where Joe Don is sucking on Linda Evans' toes."
I knew about the former but not the later, so thanks for THAT image with my morning coffee, Hicksu!
But seriously, the man was a legend. And he seemed tailor made for genre film. Every once in a while I'll see posters or stills for his classic Hollywood work like The Reluctant Debutante and my brain has trouble processing it.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 7:18 AM on July 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
I knew about the former but not the later, so thanks for THAT image with my morning coffee, Hicksu!
But seriously, the man was a legend. And he seemed tailor made for genre film. Every once in a while I'll see posters or stills for his classic Hollywood work like The Reluctant Debutante and my brain has trouble processing it.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 7:18 AM on July 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
Saxon had the remarkable ability to bring some immediacy and weight to even the dumbest of B-movie characters. (Example: in Enter the Dragon, the only hook for his character is that he has too much luggage. Saxon made it work, though.) “There are no small acting parts, only small actors.” Saxon was a BIG actor.
posted by SPrintF at 7:22 AM on July 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 7:22 AM on July 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
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My favorite actors are troupers. They’re almost always in character roles, not leads, and they often take parts in terrible movies. But by God, they bring it, every time. I learned about John Saxon from MST3k movies, but I knew he was a real one.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:45 AM on July 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
My favorite actors are troupers. They’re almost always in character roles, not leads, and they often take parts in terrible movies. But by God, they bring it, every time. I learned about John Saxon from MST3k movies, but I knew he was a real one.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:45 AM on July 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
Saxon / Carradine, Part 1. yeah, Saxon was....holy crap! is that little kid Kurt Russell?
Anyhow, RIP John Saxon.
posted by mule98J at 8:09 AM on July 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
Anyhow, RIP John Saxon.
posted by mule98J at 8:09 AM on July 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
RIP.
Tip of the hat to the weird, underseen War Hunt.
posted by doctornemo at 8:29 AM on July 26, 2020
Tip of the hat to the weird, underseen War Hunt.
posted by doctornemo at 8:29 AM on July 26, 2020
Not Kurt Russell. I think it is Brandon Cruz, "Eddie" from The Courtship of Eddie's Father.
posted by Windopaene at 8:30 AM on July 26, 2020
posted by Windopaene at 8:30 AM on July 26, 2020
Not just The Six Million Dollar Man, but also (of course) The Bionic Woman, which was totally my jam in the 70s.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 8:45 AM on July 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 8:45 AM on July 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
I also like him in the underrated and largely unseen Edgar G. Ulmer film The Cavern (with Larry Hagman of all people, based on a Leon Uris novel, written by Jon Pertwee's older brother Michael & Jack Davies and produced & shot in Italy).
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:46 AM on July 26, 2020
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:46 AM on July 26, 2020
In truth, there was only one John Saxon-type.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:12 AM on July 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:12 AM on July 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by Token Meme at 12:16 PM on July 26, 2020
posted by Token Meme at 12:16 PM on July 26, 2020
Surely his single greatest role was as the bad guy Sador in Battle Beyond the Stars?
Posts like this make me miss "Hey, it's that Guy!" on the old Fametracker site.
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posted by hearthpig at 1:30 PM on July 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
Posts like this make me miss "Hey, it's that Guy!" on the old Fametracker site.
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posted by hearthpig at 1:30 PM on July 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
Came here to celebrate him as Sador of the Malmori in Battle Beyond the Stars. Hopefully he still has that guy's left foot. (cheers hearthpig)
posted by LeafToe at 1:43 PM on July 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by LeafToe at 1:43 PM on July 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
He wasn't as tough as Bruce Lee, no shame in that, but he was just as cool in Enter the Dragon. So many great performances in that film.
posted by Beholder at 5:44 PM on July 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Beholder at 5:44 PM on July 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
Not many actors earn having the audience say, when they appear in Nightmare on Elm Street, "Hey, it's the guy from Enter the Dragon!"
(Saxon was also great in Wes Craven's New Nightmare, in which he really sells the on-screen transformation between John-Saxon-as-himself and John-Saxon-as-the-dad-from-Nightmare.)
posted by Gelatin at 7:25 AM on July 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
(Saxon was also great in Wes Craven's New Nightmare, in which he really sells the on-screen transformation between John-Saxon-as-himself and John-Saxon-as-the-dad-from-Nightmare.)
posted by Gelatin at 7:25 AM on July 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
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With some actors who were everywhere when I was growing up in the 70s it was always, "hey there's that guy"! But with John Saxon, it was always, "hey there's John Saxon"! He was memorable in everything he did, even if it was a very small part.
posted by ceejaytee at 11:17 AM on July 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
With some actors who were everywhere when I was growing up in the 70s it was always, "hey there's that guy"! But with John Saxon, it was always, "hey there's John Saxon"! He was memorable in everything he did, even if it was a very small part.
posted by ceejaytee at 11:17 AM on July 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 1:49 PM on July 27, 2020
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 1:49 PM on July 27, 2020
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