Robert Swan, the actor best known for his roles in sports films like Hoosiers, Rudy and The Babe, has died. He was 78.
Betty Hoeffner, a family friend of Swan’s, confirmed the sad news in a Facebook post. According to her, the star died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Prairie, Indiana following a battle with cancer.
Born on Oct. 20, 1944 in Chicago, Swan began his career performing at local theaters, before going on to star on Broadway in the 1974 play The Freedom of the City, per The Hollywood Reporter. He starred in his first movie, Somewhere in Time, in 1980 as a stagehand who fights with Christopher Reeves’ character.
The actor later teamed up with director David Anspaugh in 1986 for the basketball film Hoosiers, in which he played Gene Hackman‘s assistant coach. He reunited with Anspaugh to star in Rudy — the biographical film about former college football player Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger. In 1992, he played legendary Yankees player Babe Ruth’s father in Arthur Hiller’s The Babe.
Aside from his roles in the blockbuster sports films, Swan played Mountie Captain in Brian De Palma’s 1987 crime drama The Untouchables, which famously starred Kevin Costner and Sean Connery. Plus, he appeared as Deputy Napalatoni in the star-studded 1994 film Natural Born Killers, which was written by Quentin Tarantino.
Swan also made his mark on television after working alongside Jane Fonda in the 1984 ABC television film, The Dollmaker — which was later nominated for an Emmy Award. Plus, he starred in an episode of All My Children as antagonist Jeb Tidwell as well as the original Equalizer series back in the 1980s.
When he made the shift from acting to singing in the early 2000s, Swan founded Harbor County Opera in Three Oaks, Michigan. In 2021, he spoke to the South Bend Tribune about reopening the holiday show amid the pandemic. At the time, he had just wrapped up a series of chemotherapy treatments following his second cancer scare.
“This could be my last show. I don’t know yet,” Swan told the outlet. “If the cancer gets me this time around, it will be my last one for sure.”
Swan is survived by his wife Barbara; brothers David and Charles; sister-in-law Elizabeth; nephews Christopher, Bryan and Daniel; and dogs Baci and Chico.