What Happened to Albert Popwell?
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c-huddleston — 18 years ago(October 23, 2007 10:04 PM)
I'm sure he would have had a role had he been available - but he was already making another movie that was released a couple of months before Dead Pool - can't remember the name of it, it was with the drill instructor who was in Full Metal Jacket.
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commanderblue — 18 years ago(March 18, 2008 04:52 PM)
I can't see him as a celebrity getting killed cuz that would be like a repeat of Magnum Force when he was the pimp and the cop killed him.
I'd probably wanna see him in a cameo at Johnny Square's funeral scene or maybe even a hitman working for Janero.
"I'm your huckleberry."-
Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in
Tombstone -
pninson — 17 years ago(June 07, 2008 08:09 PM)
Yes, but he died in 1999, 11 years after THE DEAD POOL was made. He appeared in WHO'S THAT GIRL in 1987 and DEADLY EMBRACE in 1989, and went on to make three more films after that.
It's interesting how he graduated from being a petty thief in the first movie, to being a pimp in the second one (with more screen time), to a black militant leader (no longer a criminal) in THE ENFORCER to being Harry's partner in SUDDEN IMPACT.
We report, you decide; but we decide what to report. -
Not_Even_Dreams — 17 years ago(June 15, 2008 01:00 AM)
That was my favorite thing about a lot of actors in the series, especially Popwell. It is a shame He missed the Dead Pool though, he was badass, or Jive Ass.
"If you come back in here, I'm gonna hit you with so many rights you're gonna beg for a left." -
egb5000 — 17 years ago(June 18, 2008 09:19 AM)
He could have done a quick cameo role as either a celebrity at Johnny Squares' funeral, expressing a eulogy or possibly his name could have been shown on the Dead Pool list, if he couldn't make a cameo.
OBVIOUSLY -
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jmoira-1 — 17 years ago(February 27, 2009 09:20 PM)
He was working on two features although small parts during that period,
one being in the Philippines.
It was simply logistics and being unable to commit to a role and a schedule.
Clint Eastwood is scrupulously invested in using the same crew and the same character actor friends in as many films as he can include.
He doesn't like to, or have the time to start out all over with different folk.
His style is tight and well defined, and he moves very quickly through a shooting schedule, making any Malpaso film a great investment.
Conversely, by having folk he can trust to perform a certain way,
he is then able to just let folk do their job and He relaxes at the helm.
Masterful control, easy going and a nice guy.
Albert Popwell (Poppy) was one of those folk he just loved to have in his films.
but, as mentioned above, there would have need to be a specific committment
for him to appear just for a those few days that he would be needed,
and typically for the Dirty Harry films, this meant one, maybe two Days in San Francisco and one or two days back at Warner Bros maybe weeks later.
Lotta travel and tough connections make a difficult commitment for what might be as little as two days work in two different cities. Sigh.
Keep in mind that Poppy was 61 in 1987,
So globe hopping at that pace, even for an old friend, was no longer easy to accomplish.
Poppy was a great guy, EXTREMELY NICE, and it should be mentioned that his health suffered a bit in his later years.
Out of respect, i would not go into any detail.
He was 73 when he died, the average life span for somebody born in those years
and survived The great Depression and a World War.
Suffice to say when he passed away he died in peace and was missed by many friends.
I'm sure it was not an easy choice for him to make to miss being in the film.
I'm also sure he's VERY grateful to know his fans did appreciate his absence.
I wish he was still with us. -
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tehck — 9 years ago(September 13, 2016 11:31 AM)
My take is this. Popwell could appear as a different minor villain (not part of the main plot) in every movie, which he did until he played Harry's partner in Sudden Impact. Once he died as a named partner he couldn't come back as someone else because Harry's former partners may be gone, but they are not forgotten. I base this on the fact that John Mitchum returns as Harry's first partner, DiGiorgio, in the next two films and that there are always references to Harry's former partners in all the films, even if not by name.
Having Popwell return as a villain would be no different than doing that with Bradford Dilman or Hal Holbrook. It just doesn't work in the world of Dirty Harry.