Miguel Ferrer, who will go down in history as the guy who snorted coke off a hooker’s breasts and soon after got shot and blowed the fuck up by Kurtwood “Dumb-Ass” Smith in RoboCop, died today of cancer at the age of 61. Ferrer, who was George Clooney’s cousin (which has always made my head explode a little), was one of those great character actors who always made everything he was in more interesting, and his breakout role as Bob Morton made RoboCop all the more of the classic it is. Ferrer was a good bad guy because he wasn’t terribly attractive, but he had a magnetism that was alluring even as he was being a complete asshole. I know we’re a pop culture blog, so his role in RoboCop should be enough to get him mentioned, but he actually wrote some comics, too! Along with fellow actor Bill Mumy (Will Robinson on Lost in Space), Ferrer wrote Comet Man in 1987, with a young Kelley Jones on art; Trypto the Acid Dog, with Steve Leialoha doing the art; and Dreamwalker, a Marvel graphic novel drawn by the great Gray Morrow. I haven’t read Trypto, but it looks pretty wacky, and the other two are decent comics. Ferrer and Mumy didn’t write a lot of comics, but it’s very neat that they did so when comics weren’t as “cool” as they are now.
So rest in peace, Miguel Ferrer. Let’s hope you’re somewhere where you can chill with 1980s hookers without fearing that Robert Sean Leonard’s douchey dad is going to come in and ruin your fun. That’s all any of us can hope for, right?
I first saw him in ROBOCOP but loved him in everything. Even shitty things like the new BIONIC WOMAN or that horrific JLA pilot. But his finest hour was Albert Rosenfeld on TWIN PEAKS.
Awww, no! He was such a terrific and prolific actor.
I hope he was able to complete his scenes in the upcoming TWIN PEAKS: REVIVAL before his death.
He will be missed.
Tom: I saw somewhere that they have already completed filming, so he’ll be in that. Apparently the Log Lady is in it, too, and she died recently as well.
Since I actually found out about his death here, his greatest career moment:
https://youtu.be/_hBk7MixiOc
He also got to play the “we’re all gonna die” role in Deep Star Six next to the delectable Nia Peeples. Gonna miss that guy.
I just rewatched Twin Peaks for the first time in ten years. Very sad to hear this news today.
You missed a major career milestone: Miguel Ferrer was drummer for the Comic-Con house band, Seduction of the Innocent. The band also included Bill Mumy (guitar), Max Allan Collins (keyboards), and Steve Leialoha (bass). Ferrer came up with the name, according to Collins.
http://www.beatbrothersrecords.com/web/cd/cd_seduction_background.html
Jim: I knew he was a drummer, but I didn’t know about the band. Very, very cool!
Yeah, sad news. For the longest time I didn’t even know his name, but readily recognized him in any movie or TV show. He was one of those actors who had that rare ability to convincingly play a range of different character types: scary evil villain, slimy jerk, by-the-book cop/authority figure, likeable rogue…
Much like his father, a great, great actor.
When you posted this, Greg, it came as an unpleasant shock particularly as something had brought Miguel Ferrer to mind recently. Cancer, Goddamnit. I agree with G. Hatcher above, Miguel was great as Albert in Twin Peaks and it’s nice that we will get to see him in the revival. Nicer yet if he hadn’t suffered that illness and died, but… Another sad and shocking and too-young death (Carrie Fisher’s being the worst). One undiminished by all the other things occurring in this world. Everything matters (except assholes and monsters, that is… )