Robin Sachs
I’m standing in a line-up waiting to board a flight to Tucson. I haven’t seen my wife and daughter in the flesh for over three weeks and I’m suddenly struck by a thought - I need to connect with my old friend Robin Sachs. Robin and I have been friends since we worked together on a film at the turn of the century. He’s one of a half a dozen people I stay in touch with in LA since leaving there more than ten years ago, but it’s been a year since I’ve spoken to him. Robin is old school. He likes to talk on the phone. The interweb is a foreign beast to him and he has little use for it. I decide I will reach out to our mutual friend Stanley Isaacs when next I’m on-line and confirm my contact info (lost my cell 6 months ago) and give the ol’ boy a call.
Mid flight - at 40,000 feet, my phone vibrates in my pocket (I’d forgotten to turn it off). An email has managed to find the trace of a connection and slipped its way onto my Blackberry. It was from Stanley, our dear friend Robin was gone. Stanley was to have lunch with him the next day, on Robin’s birthday.
I find myself in a state of shock.
In my office I have pictures of famous monsters, my wife and daughter (one each) and one of Robin Sachs. We were not best mates. We just genuinely liked each other. I treasured the time we spent together. He was one of the good ones.
In my office I have pictures of famous monsters, my wife and daughter (one each) and one of Robin Sachs. We were not best mates. We just genuinely liked each other. I treasured the time we spent together. He was one of the good ones.
Robin and I worked on a challenging shoot together. I’d gotten off on the wrong foot on this one and felt it was in the best interest of everyone if I pulled up stakes and headed home. I was in the process of doing just that when Robin came to my room in the motel and asked me to come to his room. I followed. I got there to discover he and Mark Sheppard had gathered the rest of the cast and they had put together a thoughtful and kind request that I stay and work on the shoot. I will never forget Robin saying “We believe this picture will be better if you stay.” I stayed. I don’t think I did anything to make the picture better but I came to love that guy. His story of the Nairobian room service gal still brings tears to my eyes.
From that shoot onwards, I never wrote a script that didn’t include a part that Robin would be perfect for(there are two people who fall into this category). He wasn’t just a good guy - he was a good actor. He was damn good.
I will always regret that I allowed my own busy life to interfere with spending more time with this wonderful man.
I will miss him dearly.
Bon chance on the journey my friend.
