Passages

I see via Electronic Cerebrectomy that character actor Roscoe Lee Browne has died. He had a long and productive career on TV and in voiceover work; for me, his most memorable role was in an episode of Magnum, PI in which some eccentric and mean rich guy fakes his own death to find out which of his mansion staff is out to get him, or something like that; Browne played the butler. I first knew of Browne by his voice on, of all things, a record album called The Story of Star Wars. This was an album that told the tale of the film through bits of dialogue, sound effects, music, and Browne's narration to tie the whole thing together.

I'm not sure when the last time was that I saw Browne in something, but that's the point of good character acting, I suppose. Filmed entertainment would grind to a halt if not for all the "Hey, it's that guy!" or "Hey, it's that lady!" actors, many of whom I sometimes suspect are actually more talented than the top-billed "stars".