Movie
Photo: ABC/Lorimar Television · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons Photo shows actor Sam Elliott in A Death in California (1985)
Gar Bennett
The soft-spoken biker who becomes a father figure to Rocky Dennis — Sam Elliott's mustache in its most tender setting.
- Actor
- Sam Elliott
- Film
- Mask
- Year
- 1985
- Medium
- Movie
- Style
- Walrus
- Fan Votes
- 0 legendary · 0 meh
Why Gar Bennett's Mustache Matters
Mask (1985) is best remembered for Cher's performance as Rusty Dennis and Eric Stoltz's turn as her son Rocky, a teenager living with a rare bone disorder. But the film's quiet heart is Gar, the bearded, mustached biker played by Sam Elliott who drifts back into Rusty's life and becomes the steady presence Rocky needs.
Elliott's mustache here is a full walrus blended into a beard, and it fits the world of the film — a motorcycle club family in Southern California, leather jackets and long rides. It is the rugged Elliott look, but the performance is gentle, and the contrast is the point.
Peter Bogdanovich directed, and the film earned an Academy Award for Best Makeup. Elliott's lip did not need any help from the makeup department.
- *Mask* (1985) was directed by Peter Bogdanovich and based on the real life of Rocky Dennis.
- The film won the Academy Award for Best Makeup.
- Cher won Best Actress at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival for her performance as Rusty Dennis.
How to Grow the Walrus
Big, bushy, and draped over the mouth like a velvet curtain. The mustache of wise men and Sam Elliott.
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