Ben Stiller remembers Ron Silver

When someone mentions the name Ron Silver, who died Sunday at 62 following a two-year battle with esophagel cancer, I always think of Reversal of Fortune, that marvelous film in which Silver played attorney Alan Dershowitz, who, among other notable achievements, defended Claus von Bulow, accused of trying to murder his heiress wife, Sunny. Although Jeremy Irons deservedly won an Oscar for playing Claus in that film, I thought Silver stood toe-to-toe with Irons.

I must also admit that I enjoyed Silver in a film, Enemies: A Love Story, that came the year before Fortune. He appeared in many other films and a lot of episodic television, but those are the roles for which I admire Silver. I never saw him in his Emmy-Award winning performance in David Mamet's Speed the Plow.

When Ben Stiller remembers Silver, on the other hand, he recalls someone who "lovingly" contributed to the deliquency of a minor.

Of course, there's always Silver's political transgressions that began on 9/11, but right now I'm in a charitable mood, so I'm trying to remember the pre-9/11 Silver (much like a try to remember the pre-O.J. defender Dershowitz).