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Actor:

Paul Gleason

  • Born: May 04, 1944 in Jersey City, New Jersey
  • Died: May 27, 2006
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '70s-'90s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Drama
  • Career Highlights: The Breakfast Club, The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper, Rich Girl
  • First Major Screen Credit: Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975)

Biography

Wiry character actor Paul Gleason attended Florida State University before making his first off-Broadway appearance in a 1973 revival of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Gleason's inaugural movie role was Long Tom in Doc Savage (1975), after which he worked extensively in Roger Corman productions. He is best known for his scowling, obstreperous portrayals of minor authority figures: the principal in The Breakfast Club (1985), the police chief in Die Hard (1988), and so on. He was at his most abrasive--and his funniest--as FBI agent Clarence Beeks in Trading Places (1982). A familiar TV presence since his days as David Thornton on the ABC serial All My Children, Paul Gleason has had recurring roles on such nighttimers as Spooner, Supercarrier and One West Waikiki. Throughout the '90s Gleason continued to work steadily as a character actor appearing in films as diverse as National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1, Running Cool, Maniac Cop 3, and Nothing to Lose. Like his Breakfast Club co-star Molly Ringwald, Gleason willingly spoofed his most iconic performance in the 2001 comedy {#Not Another Teen Movie. In May of 2006, at the age of 67, Gleason perished from mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer often suffered by people exposed to asbestos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

 
 
Wikipedia: Paul Gleason
Paul Gleason
Paul_Gleason_Breakfast_Club.jpg
The Breakfast Club (1985)
as Principal Richard Vernon
Birth name Paul Xavier Gleason
Born May 4 1939(1939--)
Jersey City, New Jersey Flag of the United States United States
Died May 27 2006 (aged 67)
Burbank, California
Resting place Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, Los Angeles, California
Other name(s) Paul X. Gleason
Paul Xavier Gleason
Spouse(s) Susan Kehl (1995-2006) (his death)
Candy Moore (1971-1978) (divorced)

Paul Xavier Gleason (May 4 1939May 27 2006) was an American film and television actor.

Biography

Early life

Gleason was born in Jersey City, New Jersey to Eleanor (Doyle), a registered nurse, and George L. Gleason, a restaurateur, professional boxer, iron worker, and roofing manufacturer.[1] Gleason was raised in Miami.[2] He attended North Miami High School and Florida State University where he played football. He was signed to a minor league baseball contract by the Cleveland Indians, but never made it into the big leagues.

Career

Gleason starred in many movies, and became well-known initially as Dr. David Thornton on All My Children, playing the role from 1976 to 1978. He is perhaps best remembered for his role as Richard Vernon, the gruff disciplinary principal in the seminal 1985 movie The Breakfast Club. He reprised that character several times, including in an A*Teens music video, on the television show Boy Meets World (although he was a dean on BMW) and in the film, Not Another Teen Movie. As a bookend to his modern fame as strict disciplinarian, Gleason played a tough yet forgiving and nurturing professor to the lead character in Van Wilder. He is also recognizable from his limited but very memorable role in the 1983 blockbuster Trading Places.

Gleason is known to Star Wars fans for his role as Jeremitt Towani in the 1985 made-for-TV film The Battle for Endor. He played the villainous Clarence "Mr." Beeks in the famous 1983 comedy film Trading Places starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. He also played Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson, the blowhard police official in Die Hard (he later reprised the role in National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1) and has appeared in many other lesser-known movies and television shows.

Personal life

Gleason, in addition to his acting career, participated in many celebrity golf events each year, and was known by autograph hunting experts to enjoy mingling with fans and signing autographs during these golf tournaments. He was married to Susan Kehl and is survived by his wife, two daughters, and one granddaughter.

Gleason died on May 27, 2006 at a Burbank, California hospital from mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer connected with asbestos, which he is thought to have contracted on building sites while working for his father as a teenager.[2]

The successors-in-interest to Gleason have since filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging over 40-50 defendants are all responsible for his mesothelioma.

References

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Copyrights:

Actor. Copyright © 2006 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Paul Gleason" Read more

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