Sadly, Robert Carradine passed away on 23 Feb. He had a long career in Hollywood, mainly known to Gen X’ers for his portrayal of Lewis Skolnick in the Revenge of the Nerds franchise.
To younger audiences he is probably best known as the Sam McGuire, Lizzie’s Dad on the hit show, Lizzie McGuire.
Throughout his career he starred in over 140 productions, with seven in the works. Below are five of my favorite movies starring Robert Carradine.
The Big Red One (1980)
There were two types of movies my dad would always watch, World War II and Westerns. I watched The Big Red One with my dad and loved it.
Samuel Fuller’s WWII epic, The Big Red One is cited among Carradine’s most notable and respected film roles. It features an all star cast including Lee Marvin and Mark Hamill.
The movie follows an infantry unit, 1st Infantry Division, through World War II, form Italy to the D-Day invasion. It’s a great movie and one of Carradine’s best roles.
Coming Home (1978)
From World War II to Vietnam, Coming Home is a critically acclaimed Vietnam War drama in which Carradine delivered a well‑regarded supporting performance.
Carradine starred in this Oscar winning film as Vietnam Vet Bill Munson. It’s a smaller role, early in Carradine’s career and eerily prophetic.
The Long Riders (1980)
The same year as The Big Red One, Carradine (and his brothers Keith and David Carradine) starred in The Long Riders. Another highlight in Robert Carradine’s long career.
It is a retelling of the exploits of the James-Younger gang with the Carradine brothers, David, Keith and Robert playing Cole, Jim and Bob Younger, respectively.
The movie is also notable for starring not only the Carradine brothers in starring roles but three other sets of brothers. James and Stacey Keech played Jesse James and Frank James. Dennis Quaid and Randy Quaid played Ed Miller and Clell Miller and Christopher Guest as Charley Ford and his brother, Nicholas Guest as Robert Ford.
It also featured Ever Carradine, Robert’s daughter in an uncredited role.
Number One with a Bullet (1987)
Buddy cop movies were all the rage in the 80’s and Carradine starred in Number One with a Bullet alongside Billy Dee Williams as two mismatched detectives investigating a string of murders
Number One with a Bullet hit theaters on 27 Feb 1987. Unfortunately it was quickly overshadowed by Lethal Weapon which hit theaters one week later on 06 March 1987.
It’s a highly underrated movie and one that could have made a good franchise.
Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
I love this movie. I watched it countless times growing up. The classic underdog story of a group of nerds who band together to fight back against the ‘jock’ fraternities and discover who they really are along the way.
This is Robert Carradine’s most iconic role as Lewis Skolnick, the defining performance of his career and a lasting cult classic.
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