Dean Stockwell and Gregory Peck in Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
The death has been announced of former child starDean Stockwell, who went on to maintain a steady career as an adult and even get a third act on TV in his 50s. Stockwell, who died on Sunday, was 85.
Stockwell's career started as a young boy, in movies I've mentioned here before such as Anchors Aweigh and Gentleman's Agreement (pictured above), the latter of which has him playing the son of Gregory Peck who is passing himself off as Jewish for a story on anti-Semitic discrimination that ultimately affects Stockwell's character too. I've tried gettin through The Boy With Green Hair but have always found that tough; there's also his role as a child in the first half of The Green Years that comes to mind.
As a twentysomething, there was Compulsion (that's Stockwell on the left) that sees him as one of a pair of young men who commit a thrill killing, the other being played by Bradford Dillman. Orson Welles defends them in court in a movie based on the Leopold and Loeb trial. Over at Fox, he did Sons and Lovers with cinematographer-turned-director Jack Cardiff; I saw that one ages ago when FXM was still the Fox Movie Channel.
Then, in the 1980s, Stockwell had a resurgence in movies like David Lynch's Blue Velvet, before winding up in the roles that younger people might best remember him, on the small screen in shows like Quantum Leap or Battlestar Galactica.
A couple of months back TCM did a spotlight on child stars and had a night of Stockwell's movies, so they've got enough to do a small tribute if they want. I'd guess that when TCM has its night in December of people who passed away this year he'd be more likely to get one movie there.
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