Paul Gleason

Paul Gleason
Paul Gleason
	Gleason as Assistant Principal Richard Vernon in The Breakfast Club (1985)
Born	Paul Xavier Gleason; May 4, 1939; Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.[1]
Died	May 27, 2006 (aged 67); Burbank, California, U.S.
Nationality	American[1]
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1965–2006
Spouse(s)	Candy Moore; (m. 1971; div. 1978); Susan Kehl; (m. after 1995)
Children	2

Paul Xavier Gleason (May 4, 1939 – May 27, 2006) was an American film and television actor. He was known for his roles on television series such as All My Children and films such as The Breakfast Club, Trading Places, and Die Hard.

Early life

Gleason was born on May 4, 1939 in Jersey City, New Jersey,[2] the son of Eleanor (née Doyle), a registered nurse, and George L. Gleason, a restaurateur, professional boxer, iron worker, and roofing manufacturer.[1] Gleason was raised in Miami Beach, Florida. At age 16, he ran away from home and hitchhiked across the east coast, sleeping on beaches and playing baseball.[3] He attended North Miami High School and Florida State University where he played football. He signed a professional baseball contract with the Cleveland Indians, but played just briefly in two minor league seasons between 1959 and 1960.[4]

During that last season, a West Coast trip led to an introduction to sitcom icon Ozzie Nelson, which, in turn, led to an appearance on Ozzie and Harriet (as per Nelson's habit of hiring athletes for guest spots on the show). Suddenly, acting was an option, and an increasingly attractive one, given Gleason's stillborn baseball career. He moved to New York City, eventually joining The Actors Studio,[5][6] where he would study for four years before moving to Los Angeles.[7]

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 guest-starred in "The Trouble with Harry" and "Fire", two episodes of The A-Team. Gleason was known to Star Wars fans for his role as Jeremitt Towani in the 1985 made-for-TV film Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. He played the villainous Clarence Beeks, the Duke brothers' inside trader, in the 1983 comedy Trading Places starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. He also played Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson, the blowhard police official, in Die Hard.

At 44, Gleason played Richard Vernon, the disciplinarian school assistant principal, in the 1985 film The Breakfast Club. He played similar characters in the 1988 film Johnny Be Good (as a high school football coach) and on several episodes of the TV sitcom Boy Meets World (as a university dean). He directly parodied his Breakfast Club role in the 2000 A-Teens music video for "Dancing Queen" and in the 2001 comedy film Not Another Teen Movie.

In 2002, Gleason appeared in episodes of Dawson's Creek as Larry Newman, the sex-and-violence obsessed chief of a B movie studio. He appeared as a nonsensical judge in an episode of Drake & Josh, as well as in an episode of George Lopez as the brother of George's boss, a crazy old drunk. In 2005, he appeared as the Sheriff in the horror film Abominable. His final appearance before his death was in an independent film called The Book of Caleb.

Gleason also made a guest appearance on Friends as Jack, Phoebe's boss at an investment company, in the season 6 episode "The One That Could Have Been".

Personal life

Gleason, in addition to his acting career, participated in many celebrity golf events each year, and was known to mingle with fans and sign autographs during these golf tournaments.

From 1971 to 1978, he was married to actress Candy Moore; they had one daughter, Shannon. From 1995 until his death, he was married to Susan Kehl; they had one daughter, Kaitlin.

Death

Gleason died on May 27, 2006 at a Burbank, California hospital from pleural mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer connected with asbestos, which he is thought to have contracted from asbestos exposure on building sites while working for his father as a teenager. Gleason was 67 years old.[3] He is buried near the southeast corner of the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1962	Panic in Year Zero!	Gas Station Owner	Uncredited, Acting and Film Debut
1965	Winter A-Go-Go	Ski Resort Guest
1967	It's About Time	Man	Television Debut; One Episode
	The Green Hornet	Paul Garrett	Television; One Episode
	C'mon, Let's Live a Little	Frat Boy	Uncredited
	The Invaders	Alien	Television; One Episode
1968	The F.B.I.	Officer Dan Ryan	Television; One Episode
1968	"The Secret War of Harry Frigg"	Prisoner	Uncredited
1969	Then Came Bronson	Deputy	Television; One Episode
1971	Private Duty Nurses	Dr. McClintock
1971	Adam-12	Smitty	Television; One Episode
1972	Where Does It Hurt?	Mr. Leffingwell's Aide	Role Unspecified
	Mission: Impossible	Blair	Television; One Episode
	Banacek	Border Guard	Television; One Episode
	Adam-12	Patrolman Arnold	Television; One Episode
	Hit Man	Cop	Uncredited
	Adam-12	Instructor Chuck Williams	Television One Episode
1973	Little Laura and Big John	Sheriff
1974	Adam-12	John Suntor	Television; One Episode; As Paul Xavier Gleason
1975	Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze	Maj. Thomas J. "Long Tom" Roberts
1975	Columbo	Parsons	Television; One Episode
1976	Vigilante Force	Michael J. Loonius	As Paul X Gleason
1976-78	All My Children	Dr. David Thornton	Television
1979	Ike	Capt. Ernest "Tex" Lee	Television Miniseries
	Women at West Point	Major James T. Kirk	TV Movie
	The Great Santini	Lt. Sammy
1980	Ike: The War Years	Capt. Ernest "Tex" Lee	TV Movie
1980	He Knows You're Alone	Det. Frank Daley
1981	Fort Apache the Bronx	Detective
	Another Life	Lee Carothers #1	Television
	Arthur	Executive
	The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper	Remson
1982	MysteryDisc: Murder, Anyone?	Stewart Cavanaugh	Direct-to-video film
1983	Tender Mercies	Reporter
	Trading Places	Clarence Beeks
	MysteryDisc: Many Roads to Murder		Direct-to-video film
1984	The A-Team	Roy Kelsey
	Scarecrow and Mrs. King	Edson Ballon	Television; One Episode
	Remington Steele	Sheriff Jeff 'Jed' Nebbins	Television; One Episode
	Cagney & Lacey	Detective Crespi	Television; One Episode
	Call to Glory	Marty Colby	Television; One Episode
	Hardcastle and McCormick	Jack Fish	Television; One Episode
	Riptide	Detective Commander Phillip Hallins Everitt	Television; Two Episodes
	Hill Street Blues	Biff Lowe	Television; Two Episodes
	Magnum, P.I.	Ronnie Meeder AKA Jacques Arnot	Television; One Episode
1985	The Breakfast Club	Asst. Principal Richard Vernon
	Challenge of a Lifetime	John Schoonover	TV Movie
	Dallas	Lt. Lee Spaulding	Television; Three Episodes
	Anything for Love	Larry Worth	TV Movie
	Doubletake	Howie Henley	TV Movie
	Ewoks: The Battle for Endor	Jeremitt	TV Movie
1986	Kate & Allie	Tom Fitzgerald	Television; One Episode
	The A-Team	Harry Sullivan	Television; One Episode
	Miami Vice	Bunny Berrigan	Television; One Episode
	The Equalizer	Greenleaf	Television; One Episode
	Gimme a Break!	Mr. Kimball	Television; One Episode
	Superior Court	Attorney	Television
1987	Morgan Stewart's Coming Home	Jay Le Soto
	Sidekicks	Fargo	Television; One Episode
	Falcon Crest	Andy Stryker	Television; One Episode
	Forever, Lulu	Robert
	Hollywood-Monster	Stan Gordon
	Beauty and the Beast	Henry Dutton	Television; One Episode
1988	She's Having a Baby	Howard
	Johnny Be Good	Wayne Hisler
	Die Hard	Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson
	Lifted
1989	Nightmare Beach
	Night Game	Broussard
	21 Jump Street	Phil Daniels	Television; One Episode
1990	Miami Blues	Sgt. Frank Lackley
1991	Rich Girl	Marvin Wells
1991	L.A. Law	Coach John Lungren	Television; One Episode (5x19; "Speak, Lawyers, for Me")
1992	Wishman	Silverstein
1992	The Wonder Years	Arthur Jensen	Television; One Episode (6x03; "Scenes from a Wedding")
1993	Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence	Hank Cooney
	Loaded Weapon 1	FBI Agent
	Wild Cactus	Sheriff Brenner
	Boiling Point	Transaction Man
	Running Cool	Calvin Hogg
1994	Seinfeld	Cushman	Television; One Episode: (5x22, "The Opposite")
	I Love Trouble	Kenny Bacon
	There Goes My Baby	Mr. Burton
	Nothing to Lose	Elliot
	In the Living Years	Tony
1994-1996	One West Waikiki	Captain Dave Herzog	recurring role
1995	Digital Man	Dr. Parker
1997	Shadow Conspiracy	Blythe
	Money Talks	Detective Bobby Pickett
	Boy Meets World	Dean Borak	Television; Two Episodes
	NewsRadio	Steve Johnson	Television; One Episode (4x03, "The Public Domain")
	A Time to Revenge	Whittmar
1998	Day at the Beach	Detective Johnson
1998	No Code of Conduct	John Bagwell
1999	Nash Bridges	Micky Tripp (Radio DJ)	Television; One Episode (4x10, "Hardball")
2000	The Giving Tree	Mr. Forrester
2000	Red Letters	Dean Van Buren
2001	Not Another Teen Movie	Principal Richard "Dick" Vernon
	The Organization	Death
	The Myersons	Dean Hanson
	Social Misfits	Warden Doyle
2002	National Lampoon's Van Wilder	Professor McDougal
2003	Dawson's Creek	Larry Newman	Television; Two Episodes
2004	Drake & Josh	Mr. Thompson
2004	Malcolm in the Middle	Mystery Man (Gordon Walker)	Television; One Episode
2005	Abominable	Sheriff Halderman
2005	Cold Case	Stewart Adams	Television; One Episode
2008	The Book of Caleb	James Paddington
2011	The Passing	Det. Sanders	(final film role)

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References

"Paul Gleason Biography (1939-)". Film Reference. Advameg, Inc. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
Obituary: Paul Gleason, The Telegraph, 30 May 2006. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
"Paul Gleason". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. May 30, 2006. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
"Paul Gleason Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
Anderson, Jack E. (September 10, 1976). "One Of 'Children' Takes Off". The St. Petersburg Evening Independent. Miami: Knight Newspapers. p. 12-B. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 278. ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
Woods, Sherri (November 29, 1975). "Paul Gleason: Miamian Stars as Soaps' Newest Angry Young Man". The Miami News. p. 15. Retrieved June 15, 2014.

External links

Paul Gleason on IMDb
Paul Gleason at the TCM Movie Database
Paul Gleason at AllMovie
Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
Paul Gleason at Find a Grave

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[filmreference-1] "Paul Gleason Biography (1939-)". Film Reference. Advameg, Inc. Retrieved June 15, 2014.

[2] Obituary: Paul Gleason, The Telegraph, 30 May 2006. Retrieved 2 January 2018.

[tel-3] "Paul Gleason". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. May 30, 2006. Retrieved June 15, 2014.

[4] "Paul Gleason Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 18, 2010.

[5] Anderson, Jack E. (September 10, 1976). "One Of 'Children' Takes Off". The St. Petersburg Evening Independent. Miami: Knight Newspapers. p. 12-B. Retrieved June 15, 2014.

[6] Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 278. ISBN 0-02-542650-8.

[7] Woods, Sherri (November 29, 1975). "Paul Gleason: Miamian Stars as Soaps' Newest Angry Young Man". The Miami News. p. 15. Retrieved June 15, 2014.