Dale Critchlow, who played Farmer Lyle in the film Napoleon Dynamite died Friday at the age of 92. According to Dale Critchlow’s family, he passed away at the MorningStar Senior Living facility in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He leaves behind four children, as reported by Deadline.
Over the years Critchlow became a town celebrity after playing the character in Napoleon Dynamite. He also made an appearance in Kurt Hale’s 2006 comedy, Church Bell. That was the last time he would appear in a film. During a 2020 interview with EastIdahoNews.com, Critchlow talks about how he ended up with a role in the movie.
“My wife called Jared Hess’ mother and asked if one of her boys was there,” Critchlow said. “He came over, and he had a friend with him. I drove the truck out into the pasture, and the sheep came over. They grabbed those bucks and pushed them into the truck … and we got them out of there.”
The Napoleon Dynamite director subsequently contacted Critchlow and asked if he could be in a movie and the man agreed.
Dale Critchlow Was Pretty Happy With Napoleon Dynamite
“I went to a wedding reception in Salt Lake, and my oldest son was just waiting for the reception to start. This guy comes by, and he said, ‘Hey, I seen you in a show!’ He took some pictures,” Critchlow said. When asked during the interview whether he enjoyed watching Napoleon Dynamite, Critchlow said, “I thought it was kind of funny in places, and in a few places, it was kind of dragged out. He done a pretty good job.” From his words about the film to his advice on life, Critchlow was a man of the people and supported his local town.
Napoleon Dynamite has become a cult classic over the years. The sales of t-shirts to action figures have also fueled the films' popularity. The film's total worldwide gross revenue was $46,122,713 and had a budget of $400,000. The film was Hess' first full-length true story and is partially adapted from his earlier short film, Peluca. The famous dance scene in the movie was actually not going to be as long but, was the result of having extra film stock.
As much as many fans would like to see a sequel, there don't appear to be any immediate plans for a sequel. However, Hess created an animated series that ran on Fox for six episodes. Although the network canceled it in 2012. You can find the complete series on DVD or stream it via Prime Video. Jon Heder has kept himself pretty busy as well, Jon has voiced characters in the shows Pickle and Peanut, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, and Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters. He was also in the action comedy movie Tremors: Shrieker Island in 2020, and he worked with Mark Hamill on the animated TV movie Relatively Super.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of Critchlow's family and friends in this difficult time. May he rest in peace.