R.I.P. Robert Swan, veteran character actor known for Hoosiers, The Untouchables

Robert Swan, who appeared in Rudy and Natural Born Killers, has died at age 78

By Mary Kate Carr  |  August 9, 2023 | 4:24pm
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R.I.P. Robert Swan, veteran character actor known for Hoosiers, The Untouchables
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Robert Swan in Natural Born Killers Screenshot: Warner Bros

Robert Swan, the character actor known for roles in The Untouchables and Hoosiers, has died. A family friend confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Swan died on Wednesday at his home in Rolling Prairie, Indiana after a long battle with cancer. He was 78 years old.

“He was my best friend, he was a great actor, amazing producer, singer,” friend and neighbor Betty Hoeffner told Fox News. “I hope he gets the due he deserves because he was such a versatile actor and was a multi-talented human being.” She told Variety Swan’s dream had been to produce his screenplay about Samuel Johnson, the man first credited with creating the modern dictionary.

Per THR, Swan got his start in the theater in Chicago, eventually making his Broadway debut in The Freedom Of The City in 1974. He made his film debut in 1980’s Somewhere In Time, eventually going on to appear in such films as Rudy, Natural Born Killers, The Babe, and more. On television, he had guest roles on shows like The Twilight Zone, All My Children, and The Equalizer.

Swan was also an accomplished singer who founded the Harbor Country Opera in Michigan. According to the La Porte County Herald-Dispatch, Swan’s screenplay about Samuel Johnson, The Saint And The Scoundrel, won the Jury Prize in the Paris Screenplay Awards and Best Screenplay in the Toronto Art Film Spirit Awards and was a finalist in several other competitions earlier this year.

“It’s been gratifying to have gotten this [recognition] in such an entirely new field for me,” he told the outlet in March. “And it’s kind of important for me as well, getting this belief from other people who may want to support my efforts in making a movie.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, an upcoming celebration of Swan’s life will include a reading of the screenplay with Hill Street Blues star Daniel J. Travanti as Johnson and Si Osborne as his biographer. Per the outlet, Swan is survived by his wife, Barbara; brothers David and Charles; sister-in-law Elizabeth; nephews Christopher, Bryan and Daniel; and dogs Baci and Chico.

 
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