Most people who remember Henry Gibson -- who has
died of cancer at age 73 -- remember him as the winsome poet ("by Henry Gibson") on
Laugh-In. That was a good bit -- a sort of
Percy Dovetonsils for the age of cool -- but fans of Robert Altman films knew he could be funny and tough, too, as the manipulative therapist in
The Long Goodbye ("Sign the check, Roger, sign the check, Roger...") and the quietly megalomaniacal singing star Haven Hamilton in
Nashville, for which Gibson wrote two
echt country songs, including the amazing
200 Years. His performance style was usually a little detached, which was useful both for broad comedy and for suggesting that a character was at least somewhat insane.
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