Pat "The Bartender" Hingle
If there is one profession that I have to respect, it is that of bartender. I mean, really! And Pat Hingle has played many a bartender, to perfection. If there is a character actor that I trust to pour me a drink, he is the man. And of course, he also can play other men of the cloth, as need be: cops, judges, police chiefs, etc.
Naturally, Hollywood tapped him to play Commisioner Gordon in the Batman movies, not to mention the police chief in "Sudden Impact". He ably portrayed the judges in "Hang 'em High" and in "Shaft", and also fulfilled his authoritarian duties in "The Gauntlet", "The Grifters", "Running Scared", and even in "Citizen Cohn" as J. Edgar Hoover!
But still, his batender roles keep bubbling up to the forefront. In "On the Waterfront". In "The Quick and the Dead". And even in a guest shot on "Cheers" as Gus O'Malley, the pre-Sam-Malone tender! Toss in his great turns on "Magnum PI" (as the immortal Garwood Huddle) and the movie "Elvis" (as Colonel Tom Parker) and you have one heck of a career.
Pat Hingle, the TNMC hoists a martini glass and a bar rag in your honor! May your white apron of honor always fly at full staff!!
