Scott Wilson (1942-2018), Versatile Actor with a Fifty-Year Career and Multiple Important Roles

[DonRocks]

Last night, I watched "In Cold Blood" (1967), the magnificent, black-and-white, artsy, non-fiction masterpiece for the second time, and was positively riveted by the performance of Robert Blake, just as I was before - maybe even more so: Blake was nearly perfect in this role.

But this is a two-man film, and the "other" co-star, Scott Wilson, was just as effective in his own swaggering, Elvis-like, cold-blooded role as sociopath Dick Hickock, and I began to wonder what, exactly, happened to this fine actor. Where has he been for the past fifty years?

So I looked him up, and I can honestly say that, in thirty-five years of being an amateur film scholar, and certainly in the past several years of being a very serious amateur film scholar, I have never experienced such a jaw-dropping moment in my life. Well, there was one other time that came close - when I found out that Merle in "The Walking Dead" was Henry in "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer." Seriously, I about peed my pants when I found that one out, and that's what inspired me to re-watch "Henry" after not having seen it since it was released in 1986. When I did re-watch it, I could see that, yes, Michael Rooker was both Henry and Merle, even though it took me a couple of days to recover from that shock.

But never, *ever* have I been so shocked as when I discovered that Scott Wilson, the man who portrayed Dick Hickock in "In Cold Blood," pictured here with co-star Robert Blake:

was the very same person who played, well, see for yourself ... but be forewarned: If you've seen "In Cold Blood" before, and if you're a fan of "The Walking Dead," prepare to have a heart attack.

[DonRocks]

"'Walking Dead' Actor Scott Wilson Dies at 76" by Dave McNary on variety.com

[DonRocks]

Scott Wilson was also the accused murderer in "In the Heat of the Night" (which I just finished watching for the second time about an hour ago).