Hilary Duff and ‘Lizzie McGuire’ Cast, Jamie Lee Curtis, More Remember Robert Carradine: ‘Inherent Kindness’
The actor’s daughter Ever Carradine, his niece Martha Plimpton, Hilary Duff and Jamie Lee Curtis were among those who paid tribute to the star
The Lizzie McGuire Movie Cast during The Lizzie McGuire Movie - Premiere at The El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, California, United States. (Photo by L. Cohen/WireImage)
Following the death of Robert Carradine at the age of 71, the beloved actor’s family, his Lizzie McGuire co-stars and other Hollywood peers remembered his legacy in heartfelt tributes.
Carradine, who played the title character’s father Sam McGuire and featured on the show’s two-season run from 2001 to 2004, succumbed to bipolar disorder after battling it for nearly 20 years, his family announced Monday.
Hilary Duff, who starred as Lizzie, shared Instagram photos of her and Carradine on set alongside the caption: “This one hurts. It’s really hard to face this reality about an old friend. There was so much warmth in the McGuire family and I always felt so cared for by my on-screen parents. I’ll be forever grateful for that. I’m deeply sad to learn Bobby was suffering. My heart aches for him , his family, and everyone who loved him.”
Carradine’s daughter, actress Ever Carradine who starred in The Handmaid’s Tale and Commander in Chief, described him as being a rock in her life, recalling how Carradine never missed an opportunity to show up for the ones he loved.
“Growing up in the 70s and 80 with a single dad in Laurel Canyon is not exactly the recipe for a grounded childhood, but somehow mine was,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “Whenever anyone asks me how I turned out so normal, I always tell them it’s because of my dad. I knew my dad loved me, I knew it deep in my bones, and I always knew he had my back.”
Jamie Lee Curtis also paid tribute to Carradine, whom she remained close with along with his daughter Ever, after meeting Carradine on the set of The Dinah Shore Show and dating him in the late Seventies. “We became a little family, in a dirt floored house in Laurel Canyon, and it was my first experience with domesticity and motherhood and partnership,” Curtis wrote. “One day I remember the sun hitting his face and me turning and looking at him and saying ‘Wait, were you in the movie The Cowboys? Were you Slim?’ He was my first crush in the movies and I didn’t realize it.”
Carradine’s niece actress Martha Plimpton, who starred in The Goonies and Raising Hope, said she “adored” her uncle and the “inherent kindness” he showed to everyone. “He was dear, and loving, and nonjudgmental,” Plimpton wrote. “And he loved honestly. He made mistakes like anyone else, like any human. But he never lost his decency, or his heart.”
“Also, he was the best actor of the bunch,” she added. “By a THOUSAND MILES. Don’t believe me? Just watch him. In The Cowboys, his first movie with John Wayne. Or in The Big Red One. Or in Coming Home. He’s honestly, in fact, the best actor of all of them.”
Jake Thomas, who portrayed Sam’s son Matt, also shared a remembrance on social media. “My heart hurts today,” began his tribute. “I was fortunate to know Bobby for most of my life. And he was one of the coolest guys you could ever meet. Funny, pragmatic, sometimes cranky, always a little eccentric.” Thomas praised Carradine as a “talented actor, musician, and director,” before adding, “But more than anything, he was family.”
He continued, “I looked up to him growing up. And later in life, I came to realize he thought I was pretty neat, too. So I guess I was doing something right in his eyes. My heart is with Marika and Ian. Rest easy, Bobby. Love you. – ‘Jaker’”
Lalaine, who featured as Lizzie’s best friend Miranda Sanchez, wrote in another post, “It’s really not fair. I’m fu*ked up atm.. I am thankful tho. Thankful I had time with you, thankful for our last conversation, and your constant fatherly like support. I love you Bobby.”
Hallie Todd, who played Lizzie’s mother Jo McGuire, wrote in a tribute, “My heart is broken. I’m going to miss my sweet buddy so much. He was a generous and loyal friend. He was brave, strong, kind and had a wicked sense of humor.” She added, “My friendship with Bobby and his family is probably my most treasured personal gift from working on Lizzie McGuire. He was my family on screen and off.”
Noah Wylie shared a picture of him and Carradine on the SAG-AFTRA picket line and called the actor “a beautiful man and a true artist.” Wylie added, “Gonna miss him a lot. ‘Good night sweet prince and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.’”
Robert Carradine, who comes from a long linage of actors and starred in the iconic Eighties film Revenge of the Nerds, found a new generation of fans in the early 2000s with Lizzie McGuire, and also appeared in the 2003 theatrically-released film. He called the role a “godsend” during a 2013 interview with Pop Dose. “I didn’t really think that they were going to go for somebody of my style and type as Lizzie’s father,” he said. “And then I found out after the fact that they’d written this guy to be kind of loose and devil-may-care, which I am.”
This article was updated on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 4:10 p.m. EST and 12:50 p.m. EST to include tributes from Carradine’s family members and Jamie Lee Curtis.
From Rolling Stone US.
