Character actor Kumar Pallana, a regular in Wes Anderson’s movies, passed away yesterday at the age of 94. Pallana appeared in scene stealing roles in four of Anderson’s movies: as Kumar the safecracker in Bottle Rocket, excited janitor Mr. LittleJeans in Rushmore, Gene Hackman’s sidekick/valet Pagoda in The Royal Tenenbaums, and in a less memorable part as an old man on a train in The Darjeeling Limited. Pallana transitioned into acting at the age of 76 when he met Wes Anderson and co-writer Owen Wilson at a coffee shop owned by his son, and they insisted on casting him in a small part in their first movie, Bottle Rocket. To hear Pallana’s fascinating life story, check out this 2003 interview he did with The Believer.
