Never to be Forgotten:Daniel von Bargen 1950-2015

Daniel von Bargen, well-known to TV viewers from his supporting roles on Seinfeld and Malcolm in the Middle, died this weekend at 64 from complications of a long illness. He made news three years ago when he survived a self-inflicted gunshot wound, depressed that toes were going to be amputated due to his diabetic condition.

This picture of him is as the sheriff who was in pursuit of our heroes in O Brother Where Art Thou?, my favorite of all his many roles. I don't count the movie as genre, but there are hints in the script that von Bargen's character is Satan. One hint is the fire reflected in his sunglasses in this scene. Another is that Tommy Johnson, who says he sold his soul to the devil, describes the devil as white. The last hint is when he finds our heroes at the end and is going to hang them even though they have been pardoned, he has the line "The law? The law is a human institution."

For all these hints, I don't count everything that has the devil as a character as genre. The productions of his I do count are S1mOne, Universal Soldier: The Return, The Faculty, The X-Files, The Postman, Thinner, Lord of Illusions and RoboCop 3.

As much as I loved his work, Mr. von Bargen's death hits me particularly because he is about a week older than my brother. Death comes to every one in its own time, but this is a scary reminder that it does come to everyone and the time might be sooner than we think.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Daniel von Bargen, from a grieving and sobered fan. He is never to be forgotten.