R.I.P. Linda Manz

[Precious Doll]

Linda Manz also starred in the little seen Dennis Hopper film Out of the Blue (1980). The film earned good reviews at the time (and ecstatic ones for Manz personally) but never really found much of an audiences though it has developed cult following over the years. It is in the process of being restored for a Blu Ray release.

[Mister Tee]

Only one real credit (though I do remember her from The Wanderers; like dws, have no memory of her in The Game). But what an indelible one. Her flat, affectless narration was nearly as much a part of Days of Heaven's power as its images. "Nobody's perfect; there was never a perfect person around" has stuck in my head all these decades.

The fact that she fit so well in Malick's film, though, was no particular sign she had any versatility as an actress, which I guess her subsequent ill fortune bore out. She just happened to be absolutely right for one moment in film history. For which she rates an enthusiastic salute at departure.

[dws1982]

I actually just rewatched The Game a couple of weeks ago and have no memory of Manz in it. I do remember her in Gummo (which I DID. NOT. LIKE.) from that same year even though she's only in it for a few minutes.

I don't think Hollywood ever really knew what to do with her. I know Malick had not originally intended to feature her narration so prominently in Days of Heaven, but apparently in post-production he felt that the performances of Adams and Were weren't quite working so he began leaning more and more heavily into Manz and began having her record more narration.

[Big Magilla]

Apparently she wasn't in great financial shape and one of her sons has created a GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses. If you want to donate, it's located here.

Her last credit was in a minor role in David Fincher's The Game in 1997. Her obituary refers to her husband Robert L. Guthrie as "the camera operator" but his last credit as a camera operator was in 1986. He had one credit after that for "special effects" for Bob Clark's Loose Cannons in 1990. I wondered how they got by all these years.

According to IMDb:

"Upon her death, she was cremated and her ashes returned to her husband."

That was pretty fast work, considering she only died yesterday and the fundraiser is ongoing.

[dws1982]

Apparently she wasn't in great financial shape and one of her sons has created a GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses. If you want to donate, it's located here.

[danfrank]

Lung cancer. Sad. I can think of few film narrations as powerful and indelible as hers in Days of Heaven.

[Precious Doll]

Linda Manz from Days of Heaven has passed away aged 58:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Manz