Ronald Lee Ermey ( March 24, 1944 – April 15, 2018 ) was an american actor and Marine drill teacher. He achieved fame for his function as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 movie Full Metal Jacket, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Ermey was besides a United States Marine Corps staff serjeant-at-law and an honorary gunnery police sergeant. Ermey was much type in authority figure roles, such as Mayor Tilman in the film Mississippi Burning, Bill Bowerman in Prefontaine, Sheriff Hoyt in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, Jimmy Lee Farnsworth in Fletch Lives, a police captain in Se7en, plastic army men leader Sarge in the foremost three films of the Toy Story franchise ( 1995–2010 ), Lt. “ Tice ” Ryan in Rocket Power, a prison warden in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, and John House in House.
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On television, Ermey hosted two programs on the History Channel : Mail Call, in which he answered viewers ‘ questions about diverse military issues both modern and historic ; and Lock n’ Load with R. Lee Ermey, which concerned the development of different types of weapons. He besides hosted GunnyTime on the Outdoor Channel .
early life [edit ]
Ermey was born in Emporia, Kansas, on March 24, 1944, to John Edward and Betty Ermey. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] He grew up with five brothers on a grow outside Kansas City, Kansas. [ 5 ] In 1958, when Ermey was 14, he and his family moved to Zillah, Washington. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] As a adolescent, Ermey frequently got into disturb with the authorities, and he was arrested doubly for condemnable maleficence by the old age of 17. [ 5 ] After his irregular catch, a pronounce gave him a choice between the military and imprison ; Ermey chose the military. [ 5 ]
military career [edit ]
In 1961, at age 17, Ermey enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and went through enroll train at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in San Diego, California. [ 5 ] He served in the air travel support field for a few years before becoming a drill teacher in India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, where he was assigned from 1965 to 1967. [ 7 ] Ermey then served in Marine Wing Support Group 17 at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, Japan. [ 5 ] In 1968, he was ordered to South Vietnam with MWSG-17, and spent 14 months in-country. The end of his military service was on Okinawa, where he was advanced to staff police sergeant ( E-6 ). He was medically retired in 1972 because of several injuries. [ 8 ] On May 17, 2002, he received an honorary forwarding to gunnery sergeant ( E-7 ) by the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James L. Jones. [ 9 ] Ermey continued to visit Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in San Diego, California and Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in Beaufort, South Carolina to visit with and speak with recruits. Ermey filmed an episode of Mail Call at Parris Island .
Acting career [edit ]
Films [edit ]
Ermey was cast in his first movie while attending The University of Manila in the Philippines, using his G.I. Bill benefits. [ 10 ] He played a First Air Cavalry helicopter original in Apocalypse Now, [ 11 ] and doubled as a technical adviser to director Francis Ford Coppola. Ermey then was cast as a Marine drill teacher in Sidney J. Furie ‘s The Boys in Company C. For the adjacent few years, Ermey played a series of minor film roles until 1987, when he was cast as drill teacher Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick ‘s Full Metal Jacket. [ 11 ] initially, he was intended to be lone the technical adviser. [ 11 ] Kubrick changed his mind after Ermey put together an instructional tape, in which he went on an exsert tirade at several extras, convincing Kubrick he was the right serviceman for the function. [ 11 ] Breaking his discussion to original actor Tim Colceri, Kubrick gave Colceri ‘s part to R. Lee Ermey. [ 12 ] Seeking authenticity for the movie, Kubrick allowed Ermey to write or edit his own dialogue and improvise on the fit, a celebrated rarity in a Kubrick film. [ 13 ] Kubrick later indicated that Ermey was an excellent performer, frequently needing just two or three takes per scenery, besides unusual for a Kubrick film. [ 14 ] Ermey ‘s operation won critical raves and he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor. Ermey late played a drill teacher in the navigate episode of Space: Above and Beyond and the ghost of a drill teacher in the film The Frighteners, both similar to his character in Full Metal Jacket. [ 15 ] Ermey subsequently appeared in about 60 films, including Purple Hearts, Mississippi Burning, The Siege of Firebase Gloria, Dead Man Walking, Se7en, Fletch Lives, Leaving Las Vegas, Prefontaine, Saving Silverman, On Deadly Ground, Sommersby, Life, Man of the House, Toy Soldiers, and The Salton Sea, ampere well as the remake of Willard, and as an evil sadist in two of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre films. Ermey besides lent his voice to The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as Roughnecks and X-Men 3. He normally appeared in a command military function, for shows such as Kim Possible, The Simpsons, Family Guy, SpongeBob SquarePants, Rocket Power, The Angry Beavers, Fillmore!, Miami Vice, House, Scrubs, My Life as a Teenage Robot, and Invader Zim. His voice was besides concisely learn through a voice disguise machine in Recess: School’s Out. In addition, he hosted the documentary series Mail Call and Lock n’ Load with R. Lee Ermey .
television receiver [edit ]
In 1993 Ermey appeared as the father of Bruce Campbell ‘s character in The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. for two episodes ( 1 and 8 ) of season one. [ 16 ] On December 14, 1994, Ermey played a sheriff in Tales from the Crypt, season six, episode nine, “ Staired in Horror ”. He besides played the function of Reverend Patrick Findley, a minister, on The X-Files season 3, episode 11, “ Revelations “. [ 17 ] On Mail Call, Ermey discussed weaponry, tactical matters, and military history. Mail Call ‘s subject matter was dictated by viewer emails ; one episode focused on an M1 Abrams tank, while others involve World War II secrets, and others focused on elements of chivalric war. The set consisted of a military camp, other military gear and weapons, and a World War II jeep. He had an uncredited character as Sergeant Major Frank Bougus, USMC in the pilot of Space: Above and Beyond. Ermey traveled to Kuwait in June 2003 during the first phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom to film mail distribution by the Defense Department to military service personnel for an sequence of Mail Call. According to a 2005 episode of Mail Call filmed at Whiteman Air Force Base, he was the 341st person to fly in the B-2 stealth bomber. He besides guest-starred in the episode “ second base Chance ” of Human Target. Ermey besides made guest appearances on the television receiver drama House, playing the function of Dr. Gregory House ‘s father, who was a adorned naval aviator while serving in the Marine Corps ( “ Birthmarks “, “ Daddy ‘s Boy “ ), and the situation comedy Scrubs, playing the Janitor ‘s founder. He besides voiced Wildcat in several episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. In two episodes of The Simpsons entitled “ Sideshow Bob ‘s last Gleaming “ and “ Waiting for Duffman “, Ermey voiced Colonel Leslie “ Hap ” Hapablap. In the sequence of SpongeBob SquarePants “ Inmates of Summer ”, he voiced an irate warden of a maximum-security island prison who demoralized the inmates whenever he could. In the episode of The Angry Beavers “ Fancy Prance ”, he voiced the Lipizzaner stallions ‘ teacher, Drill Sergeant Goonther. In 2009, Ermey hosted a second History Channel show entitled Lock n’ Load with R. Lee Ermey, which discussed the history of versatile weapons used by militaries of today. [ 18 ]
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In late 2010, Ermey starred in a GEICO commercial as a drill-instructor-turned-therapist who insults a node, in a parody of some of his iconic characters. [ 11 ] Ermey was besides featured each workweek on ESPN ‘s College GameDay. His function was to insult the experts ‘ faulty picks from the previous week. In that lapp year, Ermey appeared in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode “ Trophy ” as a parole sex wrongdoer. In 2011, Ermey starred as a drill teacher on the X-Play extra on Bulletstorm. In the Family Guy episode “ Grumpy Old Man “, Ermey guest-starred, again as a drill teacher. [ 19 ] Ermey served as host of GunnyTime, a program that debuted on Outdoor Channel in 2015. [ 20 ]
Video games [edit ]
In 1993, Ermey played Lyle The Handyman in the full motion video game Mega-CD/Sega CD plot Double Switch. In 1996, he was the player quality ‘s superior officer in Earthsiege 2. Ermey lent his voice to several video recording games, including Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel ( as General Barnaky ) and Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex ( as Wa-Wa ). He besides made a cameo in Real War: Air, Land, Sea, a real-time scheme video game based on the official Joint Chiefs of Staff education game. In 2014, he did voice-over work for Call of Duty: Ghosts. several characters have made references to Ermey and the character of Hartman. In the game Fallout 3, a recruitable companion is named sergeant RL-3, a change military automaton with a personality identical similar to Ermey ( the companion ‘s name is a citation to Ermey ‘s initials wherein the 3 is leetspeak for the letter E ). In the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion there is a character named “ deputy Emry ” that speaks some of Ermey ‘s signature lines from Full Metal Jacket. In Half-Life: Opposing Force, the drill police sergeant from the initial boot camp stage had dialogue and mannerisms identical exchangeable to Ermey ‘s character in Full Metal Jacket .
Commercials [edit ]
Ermey was an official spokesman for Black Book ( National Auto Research ), Glock firearms, TRU-SPEC apparel, Tupperware, Victory Motorcycles, Hoover, SOG Specialty Knives, WD-40, Young Marines, and appeared in commercials for Coors Light, Dick ‘s Sporting Goods, GEICO, and pistachio nuts. He provided the insertion for the Professional Bull Riders. [ 21 ] He can be seen giving a serve announcement for Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, demanding that viewers be quiet during the film. [ 22 ] He was a circuit board extremity for the National Rifle Association. [ 23 ]
personal liveliness [edit ]
Ermey married his wife, Nila, in 1975. They had four children. [ 24 ]
business venture [edit ]
Ermey was a co-founder of Bravery Brewing in Lancaster, California. [ 25 ]
military appearances [edit ]
On May 17, 2002, Ermey received an honorary post-service forwarding to gunnery sergeant ( E-7 ) from the Commandant of the Marine Corps General James L. Jones in recognition of his continuing support to Americans in military service. [ 9 ] He conducted esprit de corps tours, visiting United States troops in locations such as Al Kut, Iraq, and Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, in which he filmed parts for his television show Mail Call. While at Bagram Airfield, he held a USO -type show in which he portrayed GySgt Hartman and conducted a comedy act. He besides did the same at Doha, Qatar and Camp Doha, Kuwait City, Kuwait, in 2003 .
political views [edit ]
Ermey described himself as an mugwump. In the 2008 presidential election, Ermey voted for Barack Obama, but subsequently criticized his economic policies, accusing him of attempting to “ impose socialism ” on the american people and “ destroying the area. ” [ 26 ] [ 27 ] Ermey said in a 2015 interview that he supported Texas Senator Ted Cruz for president. He said, “ You know what, I fair watched Ted Cruz – I mean, what a street fighter act to follow. I ‘m not going to tell you who I ‘m going to vote for, but I ‘m going to let you guess [ … ] and the first two guesses do n’t count ! ” [ 28 ] He would later endorse presidential campaigner Donald Trump. [ 29 ] Ermey was a strong patron of the Second Amendment [ 30 ] and a circuit board penis of the National Rifle Association. [ 31 ]
death [edit ]
Ermey died at a hospital in Santa Monica, California, from complications related to pneumonia on the morning of April 15, 2018, three weeks after his 74th birthday. [ 32 ] [ 33 ] His funeral was held in Arlington National Cemetery on Friday, January 18, 2019, where his ashes are buried. [ 34 ] [ 35 ]
Awards and decorations [edit ]
Ermey was retroactively awarded the Marine Corps Drill Instructor Ribbon after he retired from the military ascribable to his prior serve as a Marine Corps recruit train teacher. Ermey ‘s military awards included : [ 8 ]
Filmography [edit ]
other media [edit ]
- Ermey recorded voice lines for a “talking” 12-inch tall “motivational action figure” depicting him in USMC drill instructor uniform, which replays his signature put-downs with the press of an electronic button on the back. Sideshow Collectibles manufactured the figure in two versions, one with (somewhat) family-friendly language and one with “extra-salty” remarks that include profanity; the latter is packaged with an R rating as a warning to consumers. One of these figures appears occasionally on Mail Call, wherein it is often referred to as ‘Mini-Lee’ by the host, and is sometimes seen berating a G.I. Joe.
- In the early 1990s, he appeared as a Martian pilot in a training video for Virtual World Entertainment’s game Red Planet.
- In the Green Lantern series of comics published by DC, it is revealed that Green Lantern Kilowog, who trains all new Green Lantern recruits, was in turn trained by a Green Lantern named Ermey.
- He had a notable appearance on The Howard Stern Show in October 2002, appearing on the show as Sgt. Hartman.
- He provided the voice of the DLC drill instructor in Call of Duty: Ghosts.
- He starred in an instructional training video for Lockheed Martin dealing with the problems caused by Foreign Object Damage in manufacturing military equipment.