Albert Popwell (July 15, 1926 – April 9, 1999) was an American

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, and

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

r with a career spanning six decades.

Life and early career

Albert Popwell was born in New York City to South American and West Indian parents. He was nicknamed Poppy by his classmates in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

. Popwell was intrigued by acting at a young age and started as a professional dancer before taking up a career in acting. Popwell made his professional debut on Broadway at age 16 in ''The Pirate'' with

Alfred Lunt Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End thea ...

and

Lynn Fontanne Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End theatre, West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred i ...

. He went on star in future Broadway productions such as '' Mister Wonderful'' with Sammy Davis Jr. and '' Golden Boy''.

Later career

Popwell moved to Los Angeles in 1967 to further his career and actor-director

Carl Reiner Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, author, comedian, director and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. He was the List of awards and nominations received by Carl Reiner, recipient of many awards and ...

helped open doors for him upon moving to California. Popwell spoke of having three godfathers,

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

, Carl Reiner, and

Leslie Stevens Leslie Clark Stevens IV (February 3, 1924 – April 24, 1998) was an American producer, writer, and director. He created two television series for the ABC network, '' The Outer Limits'' (1963–1965) and '' Stoney Burke'' (1962–63), and ''Sea ...

who gave Popwell one of his first television roles in the series ''

Search Searching may refer to: Music * "Searchin', Searchin", a 1957 song originally performed by The Coasters * Searching (China Black song), "Searching" (China Black song), a 1991 song by China Black * Searchin' (CeCe Peniston song), "Searchin" (C ...

''. Popwell said that "These are people who have been quite inspirational in my career." At one point Carl Reiner was set to cast Popwell in a film called ''Summer Dreams'' opposite actress Beverly Todd. The film was to be about a psychiatrist who is approached by a police officer to help unravel a murder mystery. Popwell launched his start with

Malpaso Productions Malpaso Productions is Clint Eastwood's production company. It was established in 1967 as The Malpaso Company by Eastwood's financial adviser Irving Leonard (financial adviser), Irving Leonard for the film ''Hang 'Em High'' (1968), using profi ...

, Clint Eastwood's production company, after his role in 1968's '' Coogan's Bluff'' as a blade-wielding hippie. Popwell stated his performance impressed Eastwood and asked him to be part of his repertoire company since he liked his work. Popwell was featured on many television series, but is perhaps best known for his appearances in films opposite Clint Eastwood, with whom he appeared in five films, beginning with ''Coogan's Bluff'' (1968) and in the first four ''

Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American action-thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry (film series), ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first appearance as San Francisco Polic ...

'' films, playing a different character in each film. Popwell was the wounded bank robber at the receiving end of Eastwood's iconic "Do I feel lucky?"

monologue In theatre, a monologue (also known as monolog in North American English) (in , from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts ...

from ''

'' (1971). He was a murderous

pimp Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...

in '' Magnum Force'' (1973), appeared as militant Big Ed Mustapha in '' The Enforcer'' (1976), a film Popwell said he had not planned on being in. Another actor had been cast in the role of Mustapha in ''The Enforcer'' but director James Fargo felt the other actor did not have the proper feel for the role. With time getting down to the wire, Fargo and Eastwood immediately put in a call for their self-described "good luck charm." Popwell later portrayed Dirty Harry's detective colleague Horace King in '' Sudden Impact'' (1983). In 1988, Popwell was offered a role in '' The Dead Pool'' - the last film in the series - but could not appear due to a scheduling conflict. Popwell was also cast in another film by ''Dirty Harry'' director

Don Siegel Donald Siegel ( ; October 26, 1912 – April 20, 1991) was an American film director and producer. Siegel was described by ''The New York Times'' as "a director of tough, cynical and forthright action-adventure films whose taut plots centered o ...

, 1973's '' Charley Varrick''. Popwell had a small role in the film as a man who has his car repossessed by a ruthless mob enforcer named Molly (played by

Joe Don Baker Joe Don Baker (February 12, 1936 – May 7, 2025) was an American actor, known for playing "tough guy" characters on both sides of the law. He established himself as an action star with supporting roles in the Westerns '' Guns of the Magnificent ...

), getting punched out when he attempts to stop Molly from taking the car. Popwell's penultimate film role was with

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress and film producer. Known for primarily playing femmes fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the ...

in ''

Scissors Scissors are hand-operated shearing tools. A pair of scissors consists of a pair of blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles (bows) opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutting var ...

'' (1991).

Death

He died at age 72 in 1999, from complications following open-heart surgery.

Selected filmography

* '' Journey to Shiloh'' (1968) – Samuel * '' Coogan's Bluff'' (1968) – Wonderful Digby * ''

Night Gallery ''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, '' The Twilight Zon ...

'' (1970, episode: "The Nature of the Enemy") – Reporter * ''

'' (1971) - Bank Robber * ''The Peace Killers'' (1971) – Blackjack * ''

'' (1972) – Griffin * ''Glass Houses'' (1972) – Albert * '' Fuzz'' (1972) – Lewis * '' Cleopatra Jones'' (1973) – Matthew Johnson * '' Charley Varrick'' (1973) – Percy Randolph * '' Magnum Force'' (1973) – Pimp, J.J. Wilson * '' The Single Girls'' (1974) – Morris * ''Lost in the Stars'' (1974) * ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American Action fiction, action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing two situatio ...

'' (1975, episode: "905-Wild") – Officer Les Taylor * ''

Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold ''Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold'' is a 1975 American Adventure film, action-adventure film directed by Charles Bail and starring Tamara Dobson as Cleopatra "Cleo" Jones, Stella Stevens, and Norman Fell. The film is a sequel to the 1973 ...

'' (1975) – Matthew Johnson * ''

The Streets of San Francisco ''The Streets of San Francisco'' is an American television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ow ...

'' (1975, episode: "Poisoned Snow") – Nappy * '' Sanford and Son'' (1976, episode: "Sanford and Gong") – Doctor Davis * '' The Enforcer'' (1976) – Big Ed Mustapha * '' The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978) – Eddie * ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

'' (1978, episode: "The Deadly Dolphin") – Gaffer * ''Butterflies in Heat'' (1979) – Ned * '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' (1979, episode: "Cosmic Whiz Kid") – Koren * '' The Incredible Hulk'' (1980, episode: "Long Run Home") - Doctor * ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...

'' (1983, episode: "The Out-Of Towners") – Digger * '' Sudden Impact'' (1983) – Horace King * '' Magnum, P.I.'' (1986, episode: "Missing Melody") – David Crawford * ''

Who's That Girl Who's That Girl? may refer to: Film and television * Who's That Girl (1987 film), ''Who's That Girl'' (1987 film), an American film starring Madonna * ''Who's That Girl'', a List of Philippine films of 2011#Films, Philippine film of 2011 * "Who's T ...

'' (1987) – Parole Chairman * '' The Siege of Firebase Gloria'' (1989) – Jones * '' Wild at Heart'' (1990) – Barkeeper at Zanzibar (scenes deleted) * ''

'' (1991) - Officer * ''A Last Goodbye'' (1995) – O.C. Lee

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Popwell, Albert 1926 births 1999 deaths African-American male child actors American male child actors American male film actors American male stage actors Male actors from New York City American male television actors African-American male dancers 20th-century American male actors 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century dancers Broadway theatre people American theatre people Dancers from New York (state) Actors from New York (state)