An actor you have probably seen on screen in some of the biggest hits of our time but never knew who he was, has passed away.
Robert Swan, who played Rollin Butcher in “Hoosiers,” died on Wednesday morning, reported Fox News.
Swan was 78 years old.
Died Peacefully
According to his family, Swan’s later years were filled with pain, so this may have actually come as a relief.
His wife, Barbara, stated, "Although he had many years of being in pain and otherwise incapacitated, he never gave up the drive.”
Swan had been fighting cancer for years.
A friend of the family, Betty Hoeffner, added, "He had been suffering from cancer and for a very, very, very, very long time. And he's been in hospice for the last two weeks.
"He was my best friend, he was a great actor, amazing producer, singer."
According to his IMDb profile, Swan got started in acting in 1979 in a single episode of “The Duke.”
He had some odd roles in movies and TV leading up to playing Butcher in “Hoosiers,” a role that clearly got people’s attention.
Another brief but notable role was the Mountie Captain in “The Untouchables,” as well as playing Father Zajak in “Rudy.”
Swan retired in 2012, with his last credited role as The Driver in a movie called, “The Owner.”
Of all those roles, I believe it will be “Hoosiers” that will make most people remember him.
He had a standout scene when the fathers of several of the basketball players were about to run Gene Hackman, who played the head coach, right out of the gym.
It was Butcher, who towered over everyone else in the scene, that told the coach to do what he does, chasing the other fathers out of a “closed” practice.
Swan may have never gotten that lead role he surely cherished, but he was accomplished and made a difference in every movie I have ever seen him play in.
It is those character roles that make the movies, and he surely did his part to ensure the movies he was in were a success.
Rest in peace, sir.
