Friday Night Law: The Underappreciation of Crispin Glover

I’ll admit, in the year 2015, Cripsin Hellion Glover is a weird actor to become obsessed with. However, when you have three little kids discovering the BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy on a loop and my revisiting of HOT TUB TIME MACHINE last week in time for the sequel, it becomes almost necessary. The most recent thing I remember seeing him in was FREAKY DEAKY in 2012 although IMDB has him listed for three movies this year, another shooting, and a mini-series about the creation of the Texas Rangers (not the baseball team) with Bill Paxton. Dude still works to pay the bills but there’s so much more to uncover of his fascinating career.

Aside from the two hugely popular titles I gave above, Glover has done some solid work in films like RIVER’S EDGE, WILD AT HEART, WILLARD, and BEOWULF. There’s also endless bit parts where he steals the show in films such as THE DOORS, DEAD MAN, THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLINT, NURSE BETTY, and the CHRLIE’S ANGELS movies. Still, after feeling obligated to run down the man’s resume, it’s his off-screen antics that have made the man an enigma for the better part of three decades. And it all starts with Late Night with David Letterman.

His first appearance was in 1987, while promoting RIVER’S EDGE, and has become infamous for fans of Letterman. Well before Joaquin Phoenix pulled his shtick, Glover seems to come out in character (for what, who knows) and proceeds to be the most awkward human being on the planet. Soon enough he’s challenging Dave to an arm wrestle and almost kicks the host right square in the face.

In 1990, Glover came back to the show to promote his new album and Letterman wanted nothing but answers regarding his first visit. While not as awkward as the last meeting, Glover stills struggles to hold it together for longer than one sentence at a time.

The next time he appeared was to promote RUBIN AND ED and adds to the legend. Letterman wants (needs?) Glover to admit he was wearing a wig the night he almost kicked him and it’s literally like pulling teeth.

The Letterman couch aside, Glover added to his weirdness by writing some books that were essentially odd pictures and words jotted down periodically about the art of catching rats, recorded some aforementioned music, and directed a film with an entire cast of people with Down syndrome.

The inevitable legacy of the man, however, will forever be tied to BACK TO THE FUTURE and his portrayal of George McFly. Maybe even more so, his absence from the sequel. There have been many tales about why he didn’t return but the best description about what really happened came from the man himself in this interview with Opie and Anthony.

Whether you believe him or not, the lawsuit he describes in the interview is a huge deal as it changed the landscape for many producers and directors when it came to using the likeness of actors in future projects. The dude sued Steven Spielberg and won. If that was all he had ever done it would be something to brag about.

Thus ends my homage to one of the strangest men to ever grace a big screen. If I’ve helped anybody in a younger generation find an ounce more of appreciation or influence in the man, my work here is done. If not, shut up.