RIP Robert Loggia: 'Never underestimate the OTHER guy's greed!'

Robert Loggia

I am little bit late to this but I would be remiss if I didn't pay tribute to one of the great character actors of recent memory -- Robert Loggia.

He passed away this week, after what I've read was a long battle with Alzheimer's, and his distinct brand of tough guy grit will be sorely missed.

Loggia was one of those actors who always seemed very old and extremely imposing. I think most audiences probably first encountered him playing Richard Gere's deadbeat dad in An Officer and a Gentlemen and he will always be remembered for his iconic and infectious dance to "Chopsticks" with Tom Hanks on the giant keyboard in Big.

But for my money his best performance comes in one of my favorite movies of all time -- Scarface, as Al Pacino's ill-fated mentor in the criminal underworld, Frank Lopez.

He has several memorable lines and moments in this movie, and just oozes charm. He even is halfway plausible as a Latino gangster, which I attribute to his gravitas and acting gusto. I've always loved how he shouts "never underestimate the other guy's greed," in Pacino's ear and then erupts into laughter. There is literally nothing funny about this remark, which makes it all the more unforgettable when it elicits this reaction.

My other favorite Loggia scene from Scarface -- SPOILER ALERT -- is his death scene. Even that film's detractors have acknowledged that it is a virtuoso performance. It takes a hell of an actor to pitifully beg for one's life on screen without it seeming forced and phony. John Turturro pulls it off probably better than anyone in Miller's Crossing, but Loggia's crawling, groveling display is right on par.

It's especially effective because Loggia almost always projected such strength in all his roles -- to see him that vulnerable is disconcerting.

Take for instance his late career role in David Lynch's Lost Highway. He must have been in his 60s at the time, appears to look like he's in his mid-70s, and yet he is scary and formidable as hell. One of Lynch's most incredible sequences features Loggia savagely beating a man who was riding his tail before cutting him off on a stretch of road.

Loggia is so unhinged in the scene, it's hard to tell where the acting begins and ends.
He would go on to do a memorable turn on The Sopranos, but largely faded from the spotlight. Here's hoping a new generation of film fans will rediscover his best work in the years to come.