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Mark Frechette (December 4, 1947 – September 27, 1975)^[1] was an American film actor. He is best known for his lead role in the 1970 film Zabriskie Point, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, in which he was cast despite having no previous acting experience.

He appeared in two other films made in Italy, Many Wars Ago (Uomini Contro, 1970) and La Grande Scrofa Nera (1971).

He tithed his $60,000 earnings from Zabriskie Point and other films to Mel Lyman's commune.

Frechette, who had no formal acting experience, was selected from among thousands during a casting process that lasted nearly a year as the production searched for the film's lead. He was discovered in Boston by Sally Dennison, Antonioni's assistant and casting director, while in the middle of a violent shouting match at a Charles Street bus-stop.

Despite the film being a critical and box office failure, Frechette enjoyed a period of considerable publicity, his face gracing the covers of Rolling Stone magazine on March 7, 1970 and Look Magazine also in March 1970.^[2]

On August 29, 1973, he and two members of the commune attempted to rob the New England Merchant's Bank in the Fort Hill neighborhood in Boston where they had their commune. One of the members of the commune was killed by police and Frechette, who did not have bullets in his gun, was arrested and sentenced to the minimum security state prison in Norfolk, Massachusetts. He died under suspicious circumstances during a weightlifting accident when a 150-pound bar fell on his neck, allegedly choking him to death. Officials did not suspect foul play; however, questions arose whether Frechette had been suffering from depression.^[3].

A 27-minute documentary on Frechette, Death Valley Superstar, by Michael Yaroshevsky, was shown at the FIFA, Festival International du Film sur l'Art, the San Francisco International Film Festival, and the São Paulo International Film Festival in 2008.

References

External links

• Mark Frechette at the Internet Movie Database
• The Sorry Life & Death of Mark Frechette by DAVE O'BRIAN
• Return to Zabriskie Point: The Mark Frechette and Daria Halprin Storyat Confessions of a Pop Culture Addict