He’s Not Dead, He’s Just Drawn That Way

Bob Hoskins, best remembered as Mario in Super Mario Bros., has died of pneumonia at the age of 71. Notable for often playing heavies because of his look and because he was British, Hoskins turned in a comic tour-de-force performance in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? as a toon-hating Sam Spade for which he received a Golden Globe nomination. Had Robert DeNiro not reconsidered turning down the role of Al Capone in The Untouchables, Hoskins would have been the one that wanted Kevin Coster dead, his family dead, his house burned to the ground. Instead Brian de Palma sent him a check for six figures, prompting Hoskins to call de Palma and ask if there were any other roles he didn’t want him to have. Other appearances that were strictly financially based included Smee in Hook and again in Neverland, J. Edgar Hoover in Nixon, Ginger Spice’s disguise in Spice World, and Winston’s voice in Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties.