RIP Robert Swan

 

Robert Swan, 'The Babe' and 'The Untouchables' Actor, Dead at 78

Swan also appeared in 'Natural Born Killers,' 'Hoosiers' and 'Who's That Girl'

People

By David Chiu

August 9, 2023

 

Actor Robert Swan, whose credits include such films as Hoosiers, Rudy, The Untouchables and The Babe, has died at 78.

Swan died Wednesday of liver cancer at his home in Rolling Prairie, Indiana, Betty Hoeffner, a friend of Swan's, confirmed to PEOPLE and multiple outlets.

Born in Chicago, Swan began his career by acting locally in theater and also appeared on Broadway in The Freedom of the City in 1974.

His first film role was in the 1980 movie Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. He continued to work in film and TV, appearing in The Twilight Zone, Spenser for Hire, Doctor Detroit, Who’s That Girl, The Equalizer and Olivier Stone's violent classic Natural Born Killers.

Among the high-profile movies that Swan appeared was 1986’s Hoosiers, in which he played Rollin Butcher, an assistant to Hickory High School basketball coach Norman Dale (played by Gene Hackman). In 1987’s The Untouchables, directed by Brian De Palma, Swan played a Canadian Mountie. For 1992’s The Babe, starring John Goodman in the title role, Swan portrayed Babe Ruth’s father, George Herman Ruth Sr.

Hoeffner wrote in her Facebook post that an event will be held at an undetermined date to honor Swan, with a reading of his screenplay by Hill Street Blues actor Daniel J. Travanti as Johnson.

“He was a great friend," Hoeffner, who says she knew Swan since 2006, tells PEOPLE. "Loved animals, was extremely creative, an opera singer, produced operas. He could do anything and everything, and he helped people out all the time."

"His biggest passion was being a screenwriter," she continued. "I talked to him yesterday as he knew he was going to be passing soon. I said, 'When you go on the other side Bob, please find me some angels. They’re gonna help me get your screenplay turned into a film.' And he gave me a thumbs up. Once you met him, you would never forget him."

Swan is survived by his wife, two brothers, a sister-in-law, and three nephews, per The Hollywood Reporter.

SWAN, Robert

Born: 10/20/1944, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

Died: 8/9/2023, Rolling Prairie, Indiana, U.S.A.

 

Robert Swan’s western – actor:

Wildside (TV) – 1985 (Hayes)