R. Lee Ermey (1944-2018)
Hello everyone. It's been a while since I posted a news update on my blog. I've got sad news to tell you about the former U.S. Marine and actor R. Lee Ermey, best known for his iconic performance of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in "Full Metal Jacket" and his distinctive, commanding voice as the leader of the Plastic Army Men Sarge in the "Toy Story" series, who died from complications of pneumonia at age 74 on April 15th, 2018.
He was born Ronald Lee Ermey in Kansas and served 11 years in the Marine Corps before spending 14 months in Vietnam and then in Okinawa, Japan, where he was promoted to staff sergeant. Ermey's first film appearance was in "The Boys in Company C." The following year, he appeared uncredited as a helicopter pilot in Francis Ford Coppola's war epic "Apocalypse Now" while working as a technical advisor on set. He was originally a technical consultant on "Full Metal Jacket," where he convinced Stanley Kubrick to cast him as the profane, sadistic drill instructor through an instructional tape, even allowing him to ad-lib 50% of his dialogue in the film. His acclaimed performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Typecast as an authority figure, Ermey appeared in such films as "Mississippi Burning," "Se7en," "On Deadly Ground," "Toy Soldiers," "Prefontaine," "Fletch Lives," and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Ermey even lent his voice talents as Sarge in the animated feature "Toy Story" as well as two sequels and his television appearances in "The Simpsons," "Family Guy," "SpongeBob SquarePants," "Miami Vice," "Kim Possible," "Scrubs," "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy," etc. He also hosted two documentary series on the History Channel and a reality show on the Outdoor Channel.
Thank you for your service, R. Lee Ermey, and may you rest in peace, sir!
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