I raise a glass to his shade — and the shade of the ornery, cantankerous, brave and greedy French trapper he brought to life so vividly. Pasquinel, you magnificent bastard!
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The Adventurers, Rangers and Scouts Who Fought the Battles of Empire
Breaker Morant says
Centennial was to me as Eckert’s Frontiersman was to you. Foundational. Conrad was superb casting as Pasquinel.
Gary J. Peterson says
So sorry to hear the news of Robert Conrad’s passing. I loved “Wild Wild West” when I was a kid, and “Baa Baa Blacksheep” when I was older. After my wife and I got into the Buckskinning/Rendezvous movement back in ’75, all my crony “Skinner” buds (my wife and I incuded) couldn’t wait for the next weekly installment of “Centennial.” That was back in the days when we all had to wait for weekly programming, and if you happened to miss an episode, there was angst involved, and questions to folks you knew for the update. We do have our own DVD copy of “Centennial” now, and it was a lot of years before it was available for a home movie as I remember.
I knew a couple of guys who were in the rendezvous scenes during the filming of “Centennial” and said Conrad would party at night with the rest of the skinners; said he was a great, regular guy, certain sure. My wife just told me that Conrad also got an award for doing his own stunts during his filming career. What a guy, what an Icon.
Paul McNamee says
My father loved that novel. We watched the mini-series attentively.
wayne says
Two Pasquinel quotes from Centennial:
In response to an Indian who asked why he should trade with him rather than kill him. “Because I am Pasquinel and I come to you unafraid.”
To Lisa Bockweis (sp?) when she pointed out that she was taller than he was. “Yes, I am short. If I were tall I would rule the world, but I am not so I rule that which is around me.”
You had to love Michener’s French trapper character.
JimC says
Yes, and I did.
.lane batot says
Sorry to hear this–another icon gone. And I agree–I think his character Pasquinel was his BEST role in his long career–I think there was a lot of Pasquinel in the real Robert Conrad….. I also loved Richard Chamberlin’s character of Alexander McKeag! And Barbara Carrera’s Clay Basket! Although I loved “Centennial”(both the mini-series and the book), after the characters Pasquinel and McKeag had passed, and the Indians were all driven off/killed/subjugated, I found the rest simply boring(sigh)…….