Frederic Forrest

During the 1960s, Frederic Forrest appeared in TV shows like "Dark Shadows" and "Gunsmoke."

In 1966, Forrest began acting on stage in an off-Broadway production of Viet Rock. His film debut was in When the Legends Die (1972).^[3]

Forrest was known for his roles as Chef in Apocalypse Now,^[2] the neo-Nazi surplus store owner in Falling Down, a borderline-psychotic family man in the fact-based Right to Kill?, and Dashiell Hammett in Hammett (1982)^[2] and Citizen Cohn (1992).^[2] He had a role as the Native American bandit Blue Duck in the 1989 miniseries Lonesome Dove. He was Academy Award-nominated in the Supporting Actor category for his role in The Rose.^[4]

Forrest also appeared in Valley Girl,^[2] The Two Jakes,^[2] The Stone Boy, The Missouri Breaks, The Deliberate Stranger (TV), Promise Him Anything (TV), and horror maestro Dario Argento's first American film, Trauma.

On television, he played Captain Richard Jenko on the first season of the Fox Television series 21 Jump Street in 1987. Forrest was subsequently replaced by actor Steven Williams, who played Captain Adam Fuller for the remainder of the series. In 1990 he appeared as private investigator Lomax in the BBC miniseries Die Kinder. He played Sgt. McSpadden in the U.S. Civil War-themed movie Andersonville and real-life U.S. Army General Earle Wheeler in 2002's Path to War, the final film of director John Frankenheimer.

Forrest was born on December 23, 1936, in Waxahachie, Texas, the son of Virginia Allee (née McSpadden) and Frederic Fenimore Forrest, a furniture store owner^[2][5] whose greenhouses provided plants for sale in retail stores.^[3] He served in the United States Army and later attended Texas Christian University, graduating in 1960 with a bachelor's degree in fine arts.^[6] In 1993, he was a recipient of TCU's Distinguished Alumni Award.^[7]

Forrest was married three times: to his college girlfriend Nancy Whitaker from 1960 to 1963, to actress Marilu Henner from 1980 to 1983, and lastly to model Nina Dean in 1985. He did not have any children.^[6][8]

Forrest died at his home in Santa Monica, California, on June 23, 2023, at the age of 86.^[9][10]