McGavin. Kochack. RIP.
Darren McGavin, best known for the 1970s Night Stalker series, is dead at age 83.
McGavin’s one of my favorites. He’s massive as top-notch, irascible reporter Carl Kochack who traced his footsteps through the dark corners of the supernatural. He wore a sepulchral face, drawn-out, as if the tired years clinged to him. He’s trapped inside the same seersucker suit. The straw hat that nestled on top of his head. And he’s forever cast in that part.
It's been a bad week for actors. Don Knotts. Dennis Weaver. McGavin. Insterestingly, all in a two years' age range.
Hearing the news of his death on Saturday, Feb. 25, reminds me of my, and everyone else’s, mortality. I forget that he’s just a person like anyone else. Even though his Kochack seemed larger-than-life. A stalwart, towering titan in the horror hall-of-fame. Thanks to his great acting instinct. The man was born to play the part.
Perhaps it’s because he played a curmudgeon who sassed back at his bosses. He’s a bellyache nobody wanted. The headache that employers complained about. The cops couldn't stand him. So he told them off. Darren McGavin did it in style.
Maybe that’s how people identity with him. We see a little bit of ourselves in McGavin. The everyday man. The reluctant hero.
If nobody would believe him, he’ll prove he's right at his own admission. Even if that means stalking the night to get his answers. Even if it meant risking his neck. There dwells the charm in his character.
There’s a great moment in one of the early Night Stalker TV movies. He finally made his way into the underground city beneath Seattle, buried like a tomb, where the past remained a stagnant thing. He’s on his own. Like always. It’s a tour though the ghostly remains of a forgotten world. Kochack’s at his wits’ end. But he believed that he could do some good by finding the monster. Is he staking the supernatural killer? Or is he being stalked himself?
Nobody else could pull this part off. But when McGavin did it, it’s a gem. He’s very believable in the part. He may be a nobody like the rest of us. He might just be an average bloke. But he remained steadfast in his pursuits for truth. He’ll put up a good fight. And that’s like so many of us. We’re wiling to give it our best.
Just watch him in the original Night Stalker series. He played it to perfection. He wrapped humor with charm, tension with suspense. And he’s done it years before the X-Files came out.
They tried recreating the part of Kochack for new audiences earlier in 2005. It didn’t work. There were too many comparisons to McGavin’s infinitely superior charm. So the new Night Stalker set off to limbo. And we’re left with another cancelled series.
But McGavin imparted us with a small gift. He played the part of Kochack in a couple of TV movies and a handful of episodes in the following series. The shows finally made a recent DVD cut to keep his memory in our hearts. Find them. Cherish them. Sure, he’ll be remembered for playing the crotchety father in “The Christmas Story” for years to come.
But I like to think of McGavin as the old spook who braved his way into the most dangerous places. Testing the creaking step on the scary stairs towards the cellar. Finding the last nail to pound into the coffin.
McGavin’s one of my favorites. He’s massive as top-notch, irascible reporter Carl Kochack who traced his footsteps through the dark corners of the supernatural. He wore a sepulchral face, drawn-out, as if the tired years clinged to him. He’s trapped inside the same seersucker suit. The straw hat that nestled on top of his head. And he’s forever cast in that part.
It's been a bad week for actors. Don Knotts. Dennis Weaver. McGavin. Insterestingly, all in a two years' age range.
Hearing the news of his death on Saturday, Feb. 25, reminds me of my, and everyone else’s, mortality. I forget that he’s just a person like anyone else. Even though his Kochack seemed larger-than-life. A stalwart, towering titan in the horror hall-of-fame. Thanks to his great acting instinct. The man was born to play the part.
Perhaps it’s because he played a curmudgeon who sassed back at his bosses. He’s a bellyache nobody wanted. The headache that employers complained about. The cops couldn't stand him. So he told them off. Darren McGavin did it in style.
Maybe that’s how people identity with him. We see a little bit of ourselves in McGavin. The everyday man. The reluctant hero.
If nobody would believe him, he’ll prove he's right at his own admission. Even if that means stalking the night to get his answers. Even if it meant risking his neck. There dwells the charm in his character.
There’s a great moment in one of the early Night Stalker TV movies. He finally made his way into the underground city beneath Seattle, buried like a tomb, where the past remained a stagnant thing. He’s on his own. Like always. It’s a tour though the ghostly remains of a forgotten world. Kochack’s at his wits’ end. But he believed that he could do some good by finding the monster. Is he staking the supernatural killer? Or is he being stalked himself?
Nobody else could pull this part off. But when McGavin did it, it’s a gem. He’s very believable in the part. He may be a nobody like the rest of us. He might just be an average bloke. But he remained steadfast in his pursuits for truth. He’ll put up a good fight. And that’s like so many of us. We’re wiling to give it our best.
Just watch him in the original Night Stalker series. He played it to perfection. He wrapped humor with charm, tension with suspense. And he’s done it years before the X-Files came out.
They tried recreating the part of Kochack for new audiences earlier in 2005. It didn’t work. There were too many comparisons to McGavin’s infinitely superior charm. So the new Night Stalker set off to limbo. And we’re left with another cancelled series.
But McGavin imparted us with a small gift. He played the part of Kochack in a couple of TV movies and a handful of episodes in the following series. The shows finally made a recent DVD cut to keep his memory in our hearts. Find them. Cherish them. Sure, he’ll be remembered for playing the crotchety father in “The Christmas Story” for years to come.
But I like to think of McGavin as the old spook who braved his way into the most dangerous places. Testing the creaking step on the scary stairs towards the cellar. Finding the last nail to pound into the coffin.
posted by K.M. Paters at 1:25 PM
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