Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.

The first time I saw Michael Jeter’s work was in THE FISHER KING.

I guess it wasn’t technically the first time I saw him. His first film was Milos Forman’s HAIR in 1979, which I saw at the theater with my family. He was also onscreen in small roles in films like RAGTIME, ZELIG, and THE MONEY PIT, all of which I saw first-run. He made an appearance in MILLER’S CROSSING, a film I watched over and over with a near-religious zeal when it came out, but it was John Turturro and J.E. Freeman and Jon Polito and even Steve Buscemi who made impressions on me in that film. Not Jeter.

No... it was a year later when he finally played the role that made him impossible to overlook. In Terry Gilliam’s brilliant and lively THE FISHER KING, homeless lunatic Perry (Robin Williams) is obssessed with his dream girl, the eccentric and unapproachable Lydia (Amanda Plummer). He follows her, watching her, Gilliam’s New York practically morphing into a fantasy pop-up book all around her as seen through Perry’s eyes of love. Perry has no idea how to tell her what he’s been feeling, withdrawn in fear until burnt-out disc jockey Jack (Jeff Bridges), looking to make amends for ruining Perry’s life in the first place, prods him into taking action. Perry being Perry, his courting skills are rather unique, and he sends in another homeless man, an excessively flamboyant drag queen who Perry rescues from a gay-bashing. His job is to deliver Lydia with notification that she’s won “first prize” in a fake contest.

Jeter is a remarkable sight gag when he makes his way through the publishing company where Lydia works, a massive balloon boquet clenched in his tiny, bony fist. He looks like the balloons are about to carry him away, but the moment he starts belting out a medley of show tunes, all customized so the lyrics are about Lydia, he’s enormous, a titan, one of the great movie moments of that year. It was enough to guarantee that I never had to try to remember Michael Jeter again; he was impossible to forget.

TV viewers got to know Jeter as Herman Stiles, a supporting player on EVENING SHADE, the Burt Reynolds sitcom from the early ‘90s. At the same time, he continued to turn in strong supporting work in films like WATERWORLD, MOUSE HUNT, and (in an especially hilarious cameo) FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS.

The first time I actually saw Michael Jeter work was on the set of Frank Darabont’s THE GREEN MILE.

That set was like a master’s class in the art of film acting for an observer like me. I was given free reign to skulk about the sets, watching. They shot the majority of the film less than five minutes from my house. Tom Hanks, one of the biggest movie stars in the world, was the very definition of generosity in terms of his work with the exceptional supporting cast. David Morse, Graham Greene, Jeff DeMunn, Harry Dean Stanton, James Cromwell, Bonnie Hunt, Sam Rockwell, and Doug Hutchison all did memorable work in the movie, but the thing that fascinated me most on set was the work by Jeter as Eduard Delacroix. For anyone who knew the novella by Stephen King, Del was one of the key characters of the piece, if only for his relationship with Mr. Jingles, a small white mouse, or perhaps for his notorious “bad death.”

Jeter was hilarious when cameras weren’t rolling, a man with a wicked wit and an open, approachable manner. Both of my parents are from Memphis, which is where Jeter, a Tennessee native, went to college, and his recollections of the city made for several long conversations.

The last time I saw Michael Jeter was at the GREEN MILE premiere.

He was already sick by that point, but he was determined not to let it stop him. He made flip remarks about the bad news that doctors kept delivering, sure that he’d outlast any of their predictions. He did, too, and he kept working. THE GIFT, JURASSIC PARK III, and WELCOME TO COLLINWOOD all benefitted from his presence, and although I didn’t watch it myself, he evidently connected with a new, younger generation of viewers in his role as “Mr. Noodles” on SESAME STREET.

Production was shut down at the start of the week on THE POLAR EXPRESS, the Robert Zemeckis film currently shooting at the Sony Studios in Culver City, a project which reunited Jeter with Tom Hanks. Sony issued a statement saying Jeter had completed all but one scene, and adjustments will be made to guarantee that his work makes it into the final film. The picture isn’t set for release until Christmas 2004. In the meantime, he’s also in Kevin Costner’s upcoming Western, OPEN RANGE.

Great character actors improve every film they’re in with the integrity and the honesty of their work. Jeter also improved every set he was on with the force of his personality. He will be sorely missed by friends, family, and fans. He was 51 years old.