End Credits #67: Cinema's 2017 Lost Treasures Powers Boothe, Michael Parks

These are some of Cinema's sad departures of 2017 taken from my personal notes soon after the events took place: 

Powers Boothe, a dominant presence in all of his stage, motion picture and TV roles, has died at age 68. For the first 10 years or so of his career he was a respected Shakespearean stage actor. He won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Special early in his motion picture profession for his highly acclaimed dynamic portrayal of cult leader Jim Jones in the 1980 TV movie Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones. Boothe took command of the screen in films such as Southern Comfort (1981), The Emerald Forest (1985), Extreme Prejudice (1987), Stalingrad (1990), Tombstone (as 'Curly Bill' Brocius 1993), Mutant Species (reportedly the actor's favourite role 1994), Nixon (as Alexander Haig 1995), U Turn (1997), Men of Honor (2000), Frailty (directed by Bill Paxton, also recently lost to us and like Boothe, far too early 2001), Sin City (2005), and The Avengers (2012). Notable TV appearances include Phillip Marlowe, Private Eye (1983 - 1986), Family of Spies (TV Mini-Series 1990) Justice League (2002 - 2003) and Justice League Unlimited (2005 - 2006), Deadwood (as Cy Tolliver 2004 - 2006), 24 (2007), Hatfields & McCoys (TV Mini-Series 2012), Nashville (2012 - 2014), and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (his last role 2015 - 2016). Powers Boothe (June 1, 1948 – May 14, 2017) R.I.P.  

Michael Parks, one of the most naturally authentic actors to ever appear on the small or big screen, has died at age 77. He could convey all of the shy, boyish charm or quiet resolve of James Dean without the iconic star's apparent mannerisms. After making guest appearances in television, such as The Real McCoys and Gunsmoke, and his film debut, starring with Ann-Margret in writer William Inge's Bus Riley's Back in Town (1965), Parks found cult fame as the lone biker in the strikingly unique and deep exploratory character series Then Came Bronson (1969 - 1970), a true TV milestone. I was fortunate enough to tell this consummate actor and most humble gentleman how much I enjoyed him in the series upon our brief encounter in L.A. Mostly television appearances followed with a few film roles in, for example, The Last Hard Men (1976) with Charlton Heston and James Coburn, and North Sea Hijack (aka ffolkes 1980) with Roger Moore and James Mason, before landing another choice television role as Jean Renault in David Lynch's Twin Peaks (1990 - 1991). Parks additionally made distinguished appearances in director Mark Frost's Storyville (1992), and perhaps most recognisably in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez' From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) as Texas Ranger Earl McGraw, a character he would famously reprise in Tarantino's Kill Bill movies Vol. 1 (2003) & 2 (2004), (while simultaneously being almost unrecognisably cast as drug lord Esteban Vihaio in Vol. 2), Grindhouse (2007), and Death Proof (2007). He additionally made appearances in the noteworthy western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), the horror film Red State (2011) for director Kevin Smith, Academy Award Best Picture Argo (2012), Tarantino's Django Unchained (2012), another for director Smith, Tusk (2014), and alongside Mel Gibson in Blood Father (2016). Michael Parks (April 24, 1940 - May 10, 2017) R.I.P.