R. Lee Ermey
R. Lee Ermey | |
|---|---|
 R. Lee Ermey | |
| Nickname(s) | The Gunny |
| Allegiance | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1961-1972 |
| Rank | Gunnery Sergeant (Honorary) |
| Unit | MCRD San Diego Marine Wing Support Group 17 |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
| Awards | Combat Action Ribbon Meritorious Unit Commendation |
| Other work | Actor |
Ronald Lee Ermey (born March 24, 1944) is a former U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor and later Golden Globe-nominated actor, often playing the roles of authority figures, such as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, Mayor Tilman in the Alan Parker film Mississippi Burning and Sheriff Hoyt in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He currently hosts Mail Call, a military history program on The History Channel, where Ermey answers military-related viewer questions. Ermey is also an official spokesperson for Glock firearms.
Biography
Early life & military career
Born in Emporia, Kansas, Ermey enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1961, after being arrested several times as a teenager. A court judge gave him the choice of the military or jail. He later joked that the Marine Corps "put a screeching halt to my unconventional manner." He spent two years as a drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in San Diego, California from 1965 to 1967. In 1968, Ermey arrived in Vietnam where he served for 14 months with the Marine Wing Support Group 17. He then served two tours of duty in Okinawa, Japan, during which he rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant and was medically discharged in 1972 for several injuries incurred during his tours. He did not receive a Purple Heart due to his injuries being noncombat in origin. Ermey has admitted that he still has nightmares about his combat experiences, a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. Ermey was later bestowed with the honorary rank of Gunnery Sergeant by the Marine Corps.
Acting career
Ermey was cast in his first movie while attending the University of Manila in the Philippines, using his G.I. Bill benefits. He first played a Marine drill instructor (SSgt. Loyce) in the 1978 Vietnam-era film The Boys in Company "C", which brought Ermey to the attention of Stanley Kubrick in later years. Ermey then played a helicopter pilot in Apocalypse Now, doubling as a technical advisor to director Francis Ford Coppola on that film. For the 1982 movie, An Officer and a Gentleman, Ermey coached Louis Gossett Jr. for the role of Gunnery Sergeant Foley. For the next few years, Ermey played a series of minor film roles until 1987, when he was cast as tough drill instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket; Ermey also served as the technical advisor on the film. Initially, he was only intended to be the technical advisor, but Kubrick changed his mind after putting together an instructional tape with Ermey, where Ermey went on an extended hair-raising DI tirade while being pelted by oranges and tennis balls, all without repeating himself, stopping, or even flinching. Kubrich allowed him to write his own dialogue and improvise on set, a noted rarity in a Kubrick film. Kubrick later indicated that Ermey was an excellent performer, needing just two or three takes per scene, also a noted rarity for a Kubrick film. Ermey's performance won critical raves and he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor. He would subsequently play tough drill instructors in the pilot episode of Space Above and Beyond and in the film The Frighteners, both similar to his character in Full Metal Jacket.
He has since appeared in approximately sixty films, including Mississippi Burning, Dead Man Walking, Se7en, Leaving Las Vegas, Prefontaine, Saving Silverman, Man of the House, as well as the remakes of Willard and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Ermey also lent his voice to Toy Story and Toy Story 2, as well as Roughnecks and X-Men 3. He has appeared on television shows such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, Miami Vice, House, Scrubs and Invader Zim, in addition to hosting the documentary series Mail Call.
Ermey has lent his distinctive voice to several video games, including Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel and Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex. He also made a cameo in Real War: Air, Land, Sea. Ermey traveled to Kuwait in June 2003 during the first phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom to film mail distribution by the Defense Department to service personnel for an episode of "Mail Call". According to a 2005 episode of Mail Call filmed at Whiteman Air Force Base, he is the 341st person to fly in the B-2 Stealth Bomber.
On May 17, 2002 he received an honorary promotion to Gunnery Sergeant (E-7) by Commander of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF) United States Marine Corps General James L. Jones, becoming the first ex-military member in the history of the United States Marine Corps to be promoted.
He has also conducted morale tours visiting U.S. troops in locations such as Bagram Airbase, Afghanistan in which he filmed parts for his television show Mail Call. While at Bagram Air Base he held a USO type show in which he portrayed Gunnery SGT Hartman and conducted a comedy routine.
On Mail Call, Ermey discusses weaponry, tactical matters, and military history. 'Mail Call's subject matter is dictated by viewer emails; one episode may focus on an M 1A1 Battle Tank, while another may involve World War II secrets, while a third might focus on elements of Medieval warfare. The set consists of a military tent, other military gear and weapons, and Ermey's 30 cal. "Light machine gun" - armed jeep. Commercial breaks are signaled with what appears to be typical DI type language.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Other Notes |
| 1978 | The Boys in Company "C" | SSgt. Loyce (Drill Instructor, Co. 163) | |
| 1979 | Apocalypse Now | Eagle Thrust Seven helicopter pilot | uncredited |
| 1984 | Purple Hearts | Gunny | |
| 1987 | Full Metal Jacket | Gunnery Sergeant Hartman | |
| 1988 | Mississippi Burning | Mayor Tilman | |
| 1989 | The Siege of Firebase Gloria | Sgt. Maj. Bill Hafner/Narrator | |
| Fletch Lives | Jimmy Lee Farnsworth | ||
| Demonstone | Col. Joe Haines | ||
| 1990 | The Take | Weller | television movie |
| I'm Dangerous Tonight | Lt. Ackman | television movie | |
| 83 Hours 'Til Dawn | Glen Fairling | television movie | |
| The Terror Within II | Von Demming | ||
| The Rift aka Endless Descent | Capt. Phillips | ||
| 1991 | Toy Soldiers | General Kramer | |
| True Identity | Houston's Boss | uncredited | |
| Kid | Luke | ||
| 1993 | Hexed | Det. Ferguson | |
| Sommersby | Dick Mead | ||
| Body Snatchers | General Platt | ||
| Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. | Marshal Brisco County, Sr. | ||
| 1994 | French Silk | Chief Crowder | television movie |
| On Deadly Ground | Stone | ||
| Rise and Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story | Mr. Byrd | uncredited television movie | |
| Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult | Mess Hall Guard | uncredited | |
| Chain of Command | Benjamin Brewster | ||
| Savate | Benedict | uncredited | |
| Love Is a Gun | Frank Deacon | ||
| Kidnapped | |||
| 1995 | Murder in the First | Judge Clawson | |
| Leaving Las Vegas | Conventioneer | ||
| Se7en | Police Captain | ||
| The Simpsons | Colonel Leslie Hapablap | voice only episode "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming" animated series | |
| Toy Story | Sergeant | voice only animated film | |
| Under the Hula Moon | Lt. Col. J. P. McIntire | ||
| Dead Man Walking | Clyde Percy | ||
| Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back | Preacher Brian | uncredited | |
| 1996 | Space: Above and Beyond | Sgt. Maj. Bougus | television movie |
| The Frighteners | (ghost of) Sgt Hiles | ||
| Soul of the Game | Wilkie | television movie | |
| 1997 | Dead Men Can't Dance | Sen. Pullman T. Fowler | |
| The Angry Beavers | Sergeant Goonther | voice only episode "Fancy Prance/H2Whoa!" animated series | |
| Weapons of Mass Distraction | Billy Paxton | television movie | |
| Rough Riders | Secretary of State John Hay | ||
| Cracker | Lieutenant Fry | TV series | |
| Switchback | Sheriff Buck Olmstead | ||
| The Sender | Colonel Rosewater | ||
| 1998 | Gunshy | Jerry | |
| 1999 | You Know My Name | Nix | television movie |
| Life | Older Sheriff Pike | ||
| Avalanche | Gary | ||
| Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot | General Thorton | TV series | |
| The Apartment Complex | Frank Stanton | ||
| Toy Story 2 | Army Sarge | voice only animated film | |
| 2000 | The Chaos Factor | Col. Ben Wilder | |
| Skipped Parts | Caspar Callahan | ||
| Roughnecks: STC | Sky Marshall Sanchez | ||
| Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins | Sarge | voice only animated | |
| Jericho | Marshall | ||
| 2001 | Saving Silverman | Coach Norton | |
| Recess: School's Out | Colonel O'Malley | voice only animated film | |
| Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 | President Richard Benson | ||
| Family Guy | Coach | voice only episode "Mr. Saturday Knight" animated series | |
| Taking Sides | General Wallace | ||
| Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel | General Barnaky | voice only video game | |
| Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex | Wa-Wa the Water Elemental | voice only video game | |
| On the Borderline | Capt. Elias | ||
| 2002 | Run Ronnie Run! | Lead Kidnapper | |
| The Salton Sea | Verne Plummer | ||
| Invader Zim | Sergeant Hobo 678 | voice only animated series | |
| History Channel's Mail Call | Gunny (Himself) | TV series | |
| Frank McKlusky, C.I. | Jockey Master | uncredited direct-to-video | |
| A.K.A. Birdseye | Sheriff Gathers | ||
| Scrubs | Janitor's Dad | guest star episode "My Old Man" TV series | |
| Y.M.I. | John | ||
| 2003 | Willard | Frank Martin | |
| The Texas Chainsaw Massacre | Sheriff Hoyt | ||
| 2004 | The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy | Drill Sergeant | voice only animated series |
| 2005 | House | John House | guest star episode "Daddy's Boy" TV series |
| Man of the House | Captain Nichols | ||
| 2006 | X-Men: The Last Stand | Sergeant | voice only |
| The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning | Charlie Hewitt/Sheriff Hoyt |
Other media
- Samples from Full Metal Jacket are used on Ministry’s album The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste, on the track "Thieves". Contrary to some reports, the voice credited as "Sgt. Major" on the same band's Rio Grande Blood is not Ermey.
- Samples from Full Metal Jacket are used on the Front Line Assembly track "Millenium".
- Provided the voice for a speaking "motivational action figure" depicting him in USMC drill instructor uniform with preprogrammed voice messages activated by pressing a button on the figure. The figures' dialogue comes in two versions, one with (somewhat) family-friendly language and one with "Extra-Salty" dialogue which includes profanity, the latter of which is packaged with an R rating as a warning to consumers (pictured at right). One of these figurines also appears on occasion on Mail Call, wherein it is often referred to as 'Mini-Lee' by the host, sometimes seen berating a G.I. Joe figurine.
- Sample of the line "Here you are all equally worthless" from Full Metal Jacket is repeated throughout the song "Never Get Caught" by American Head Charge
- In one showing of a UFC: Fight Night Live event, Ermey was shown on camera as a guest along with an audience of marines.
- Quotes of Ermey saying, "Now go home and snuff that bitch!" "Here you are all equally worthless." "Get on your knees, scumbag!" "Who's the slimy little communist shit, twinkle-toed cocksucker down here who just signed his own death warrant?" and others appear on multiple songs by the band Killwhitneydead.
- A japanese audiobook/comic parody on "Learning Japanese"-books; Drill Sergeant Maritan contains several quotes of Ermey from Full Metal Jacket, such as "I bet you could suck a golfball through a garden hose" and "Who said that? Who the fuck said that? Who's the slimy little communist shit, twinkle-toed cocksucker down here who just signed his own death warrant?"
- Pani Poni Dash, an anime which bases its humour heavily on parody and references has one scene which clearly parodies Ermey from Full Metal Jacket, featuring an animated Drill Sergeant who looks just like Ermey.
External links
- Official website
- R. Lee Ermey at IMDb
- Template:Nndb name
- R. Lee Ermey interview with Radar magazine