Dean Stockwell obituary
The actor Dean Stockwell, who has died aged 85, enjoyed periods of acclaim punctuated by bouts of sometimes self-inflicted obscurity, but found his widest audience in a recurring role on television in Quantum Leap (1989-93). The series followed a physicist, Dr Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula), on time-travelling expeditions to correct historical injustices. Stockwell played his sidekick, Al, who appears in hologram form.
While the series used Sam’s endeavours to facilitate social commentary, the cigar-chomping Al served as a comic pick-me-up: world-weary, witty, charismatic. In 1990 Stockwell won a Golden Globe for his performance.
His acting career began when he was seven. As a child, he was (The Player, 1992), David Lynch (Dune, 1984; ) and Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas, 1984). But throughout his working life, he regarded his profession with ambivalence; this contributed to his unpredictable quality.
