Today, friends recall the Rouse murders with a mixture of curiosity, fear and dread. Did I know the family? [52] The Dallas Morning News praised his acting and labeled the film "a smart directorial debut". [93] Conversely, the Los Angeles Times, while recognizing Norton's decent performance, opined that the film lacked a solid script. And they added that just hours before Darlene and Bruce Rouse were slain in their sprawling mansion just north of town, Billy Rouse had the last bout with his mother. Today, friends recall the Rouse murders with a mixture of curiosity, fear and dread. In 2002, the mansion burned, attracting a crowd of observers. At the time of the murders, Darlene Rouse's estate was valued at $820,000, which included life insurance policies on her husband. Their bedrooms were on the second floor of the mansion. The film, as well as Norton's performance, was well received by critics. The. "It's time to put the demons to bed," Fagan told Rouse. [64] Norton also produced the comedy-drama Thanks for Sharing (2012) under his company Class 5 Films. Robin Rouse, at age 19, died in a single-car crash in Racine County, Wis., in 1983. An autopsy report would later confirm that Bruce Rouse had also been struck in the head with an object. [129] Hayek still remains friends with Norton. [91], The Incredible Hulk received generally favorable reviews upon release. The death of the current Robin happened during the New 52, in 2013's Batman Inc. #8 (by Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham and Jason Masters). Norton emerged as a filmmaker in the 2000s. "With the way the bodies had been treated -- brutally -- it must have been a crime of hate," Lake County Sheriff Tom Brown proclaimed that morning as police searched for clues in the rambling 13-room house with hidden passages, an indoor pool and a bucolic 7-acre estate the Rouses shared with their three children north of Libertyville. Actor: Fight Club. Libertyville's former mayor, Gilbert Stiles, 73, said the murders at the time "cast a cloud" over his town. The couple's son, Billy, 15, and daughter, Robin, 16, told police they had slept through the pounding thunderstorms that night and heard nothing out of the ordinary. 25 February 2023. [14], In 1984, Norton won the acting cup at Pasquaney, an annual summer camp for boys in Hebron, New Hampshire, where he later returned as a theater director. Owning a chain of gas stations and cable services, they became prominent members of the Libertyville community. [101], Norton had two lead film roles in 2012. Pleased with the verdict, Pavletic points to a comment from the late Daily Herald reporter Tony Gordon, who covered the case for decades. [118] He played Whit Yardsham, an estranged friend and business partner of Howard Inlet (Will Smith) in the 2016 drama Collateral Beauty. Courtesy of Illinois Department of Corrections. A resident of the home, a middle-aged woman who refused to give her name, knows well what happened there in 1980. [62] Despite mixed reviews, Red Dragon was Norton's most profitable venture in 2002, grossing over $200 million. Rouse used his inheritance to buy a home in Key West, but he couldn't stop his life from spiraling out of control. Today, friends recall the Rouse murders with a mixture of curiosity, fear and dread. "He was yelling at me. Shop for artwork by Robin Rouse. [138][139], Norton is a supporter of the African Wildlife Foundation and its "Say No" campaign which raises awareness and fights against illegal poaching of elephants and rhinoceroses for ivory and horn. We thought we were cool. He went upstairs and cleaned his shotgun before opting for his dad's semi-automatic shotgun. [129][164][165][166][167] The Daily Telegraph observed that "the tag 'finest actor of his generation' clings to him wherever he goes". In Libertyville, where the Rouses were prominent in business, social and civic circles, reactions to the confession ran the gamut from relief to disbelief. [13][19] He took six months researching different acting techniques, focusing on method acting. [42][43] While the film divided contemporary critics,[44][45] Norton's role was widely applauded. ", Fagan asked another question. [28] Norton starred in two other films released in 1996; he played Holden Spence in the musical Everyone Says I Love You and lawyer Alan Isaacman in the biographical drama The People vs. Larry Flynt. [12] Albee remarked that Norton was a rare actor "who really knocked me out". During production, Norton and director Brett Ratner argued frequently over the script. He was living on a houseboat in Key West, having squandered his share of the $2 million fortune his father made with a chain of gas stations. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. [67] Norton, accordingly, refused to promote the film's release. [41] During promotion for the film, Norton explained that Fight Club examines the value conflicts of Generation X as the first generation raised on television, by probing "the despair and paralysis that people feel in the face of having inherited this value system out of advertising". [136] He is an advocate for renewable energy, specifically solar energy. [151], Norton has served as a member of the board of trustees of Enterprise Community Partners, a non-profit developer of affordable housing founded by his grandparents, since 1998. It wasn't that good of a shot, just grazed him more or less, and he fell back on the bed," Rouse says. The killer held the gun close enough to leave powder marks on her cheek. Twenty-Three Years Chris and Chrissy Rouse. In 2020, Crawford spoke with NPR about her relationship with Whitney Houston, and confirmed the two met during the "summer of '80". Norton has since directed and acted in the crime film Motherless Brooklyn (2019), and starred in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022). ", Lou Carlozo and Tribune Staff Writer. He faces life in prison. He and his wife, Darlene, were well-known in Libertyville and lived in a 13-room house with an indoor pool and horses on their estate. Their sister Robin died in a 1983 car accident. [97], He also starred in the crime drama Pride and Glory (2008) as Ray Tierney, an honest detective assigned to investigate the precinct run by his older brother. Her spine injury causes her constant pain, and she . Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. And investigators learned that Billy, the youngest child, had been having psychological problems. [61] In 2011, Norton proposed to Canadian film producer Shauna Robertson after dating for six years. Four months later, a surveyor wading into the river during a road-widening project stumbled upon guns and a garbage bag of items that included a purse and wallet with a driver's license. The home's sordid history does not exactly mesh with a 2014 announcement that Libertyville was named one of the top 10 safest communities in Illinois by Movoto Real Estate. [88] The Writers Guild of America credited Penn as the sole writer, arguing that Norton had not contributed significantly to the screenplay. "I decided I was going to get rid of her," Rouse said, adding that he didn't plan to kill his father. They stopped talking to police and refused to take lie detector tests or testify before a grand jury. For his role in the black comedy Birdman (2014), Norton earned another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Billy was the only one with answers, and he kept them to himself for 15 years. Booking photo of William Rouse on Oct. 14, 1995. [156] He also made speeches to encourage voters to support Democratic nominee John Kerry. Despite critical plaudits, Norton has gained notoriety for being difficult to work with, including incidents such as editing the final cuts and rewriting screenplays against the will of other producers. Figuring that fleeing would "make me look really guilty," Rouse drove to the Route 60 bridge over the Des Plaines River. Billy Rouse became the focus of Chuck Fagan, then a detective with the Lake County sheriff's department. For other people named Edward Norton, see, 20002006: Continued success and filmmaking, By the People: The Election of Barack Obama, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), List of awards and nominations received by Edward Norton, "Edward Norton 's tweet ""don't be idle. [9][10] Norton's maternal grandfather, James Rouse, was the founder of real-estate developer The Rouse Company and co-founder of the real estate corporation Enterprise Community Partners. While in 6th grade, Billy had been sent to the principal's office for setting off a false fire alarm. The parents showered the kids with money, fancy cars, horses and other trappings. [138] The initiative was welcomed by many of Norton's fellow celebrities, notably Salma Hayek, Brad Pitt, Danny DeVito, Alicia Silverstone and Robin Williams. I could hear the tension in his voice. Robin Robin: Directed by Daniel Ojari, Michael Please. [72] Jack Moore described Norton's performance in Kingdom of Heaven as "phenomenal", and "so far removed from anything that he has ever done that we see the true complexities of his talent". "For a small community like Libertyville, it was a big deal," remembers Lake County First Assistant State's Attorney Jeffrey Pavletic, who grew up in Libertyville but was attending the University of Dallas when the crime occurred. Both a sister and older brother were home that night; police never learned what happened from either sibling. Rouse and his mom fought constantly about drug and alcohol use and about how he was stupid and would never amount to anything, Rouse told Fagan. [64], Norton has been nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for Primal Fear and Birdman, and Best Actor for American History X. "We were extremely blue collar, and the Rouses were like having money. "Yes and no," Rouse replied. In a videotaped confession, Rouse said he killed his parents after a confrontation with his mother over his drug use in which she threatened to send him to military school. His performance in Brian Friel's Lovers brought him to the attention of playwright Edward Albee, whose one-act plays Norton enjoyed. [57], Norton appeared in four films released in 2002. Every Baz Luhrmann Movie, Ranked. Robin thanked Howard, Fred, Gary and Ronnie for being amazing throughout the ordeal. Friends said Bruce was a workaholic who beat his wife. [19] Norton insisted that he was not romantically involved with Love, and the two were only friends and colleagues. [144][145] The website uses a social-networking framework to help raise funds for charity. "If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it," Billy Rouse told himself as he sat outside his parents' room for 10 minutes before going in and moving to his mom's side of the bed. The film was panned by critics for its incoherent screenplay. It's all about intellectual debate," Ratner told The Times in 2003. [161] Norton spoke highly of Obama, crediting him as "a perfect framework" to explore contemporary U.S. Documentary Crime In the town of Libertyville, IL, Bruce and Darlene Rouse appear to have everything: wealth, success and three wonderful children. It was closed after a Lake County mob gambling figure, Robert Plummer, was bludgeoned to death on a stairway in an act of mob reprisal. With Bronte Carmichael, Richard E. Grant, Gillian Anderson, Adeel Akhtar. [114] Norton had wanted to work on the project since 1999 but did not begin until Brett Ratner, director of 2002's Red Dragon, joined in to help production. But relatives managed to wall off the children behind a protective cordon of lawyers. The Score and Norton's performance was well received. As she slept that night, authorities said, Rouse crept into their bedroom armed with a shotgun, placed it at point-blank range between his mother's eyes and squeezed the trigger. Rouse told investigators he had squandered the approximately $300,000 he had collected from his parents' insurance fund. Rouse, who is held at Pontiac Correctional Center, is scheduled to be released on Sept. 13, 2038, shortly before his 74th birthday. [58] He also portrayed Nelson Rockefeller in the biopic film Frida, which depicts the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek). " Edward's instinct is going to be, 'I have to take over this film.' One friend remembered a young Kurt Rouse confronting her at a party when the murders remained unsolved. A 1996 jury deliberated eight hours before finding Rouse guilty of the murders. He also starred in the film Fight Club (1999), which garnered a cult following . [159], During the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, Norton supported but did not actively campaign for the Democratic nominee Barack Obama, saying that "it's much more interesting to encourage people to engage than to suggest that people should model themselves on me and my views". Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. [9] While there, he also studied Japanese, acted in university productions, and was a competitive rower. But for me, it describes best the shallow, limited ability I possessed as a teenager to comprehend the horror of the murders and the impact that they must have had on our parents. Leaving work one day, he was attacked, stabbed and left for dead . His earlier misses? [89] The Los Angeles Times opined that these incidents led to Norton's image as a "prickly perfectionist", which diminishes his reputation. [160] He produced the 2009 documentary By the People: The Election of Barack Obama, which chronicles Obama's political activities from 2006 to his 2008 election victory. At 8:30 on the morning of June 6, 1980, Robin answered the ringing telephone. A shirtless Billy Rouse, 15, sits outside his family home on June 6, 1980, while police investigate the savage slayings of his parents in their bedroom. The musical, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, had everything from modern music, two star-crossed lovers and an epic stage show of grand proportions. [2] In The Observer, Peter Preston noted that his image was unlike that of conventional screen "stars" because his most memorable characters are unlikeable, specifically a neo-Nazi in American History X. Preston likened his characters to those played by Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, whom Norton admires. He. So I was not surprised when I read that Mayor Terry Weppler in October made a point of telling the documentary's film crew during a Libertyville board meeting that the Rouse mansion was actually outside the village proper. The Rouse children scattered, but they remained the subject of rumors. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. Courtesy of Lake County sheriff's department, where an independent bookie was beaten to death, Click here to sign up for the
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