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Then, while serving as a technical advisor to director Francis Ford Coppola, he was also cast as a First Air Cavalry helicopter pilot in one scene in Apocalypse Now (1979).
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While there, he was cast in his first film role, playing a Marine drill instructor in Sidney J. An episode of Mail Call was filmed at the latter of these two training bases.Īcting career Early technical advice and first roles Īfter his discharge from the Marine Corps, Ermey attended the University of Manila in the Philippines, using his G.I. Įrmey regularly took the opportunity to speak with new recruits, visiting the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in San Diego, California, and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately five miles (8.0 km) south of Beaufort). On May 17, 2002, he received an honorary promotion to Gunnery Sergeant ( E-7) by Commandant of the Marine Corps General James L. He was medically retired in 1972 because of several injuries. The remainder of his service was on Okinawa, where he was advanced to Staff Sergeant ( E-6). In 1968, he was ordered to South Vietnam with MWSG-17, and spent 14 months in-country. Įrmey then served in Marine Wing Support Group 17 at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Okinawa, Japan.
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He served in the aviation support field for a few years before becoming a drill instructor in India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, where he was assigned from 1965 to 1967. Military career Įrmey enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1961 at age 17 and went through recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in San Diego, California. The judge gave the young Ermey a choice between military service or jail Ermey chose military service. In 1961, when Ermey was 17, his mother took him to a judge in an attempt to correct his behavior. Īs a teenager, Ermey was an admitted "troublemaker and a bit of a hell-raiser", and frequently got into trouble. Then, in 1958, when Ermey was 14, his father moved the family to a rural home between Zillah, Washington, and Granger, Washington. A few years after his birth, his father moved the family (including Ermey and his five brothers) to a small farm outside of Kansas City, Kansas. He also hosted GunnyTime on the Outdoor Channel.Įrmey was born in Emporia, Kansas, on March 24, 1944, to John Edward (1924–2016) and Betty (née Pantle) Ermey (1925–2005). Lee Ermey, which concerned the development of different types of weapons. On television, Ermey hosted two programs on the History Channel: Mail Call, in which he answered viewers' questions about various military issues both modern and historic and Lock n' Load with R. "Tice" Ryan in Rocket Power and John House in House. Ermey was also a United States Marine Corps staff sergeant and an honorary gunnery sergeant.Įrmey was often typecast 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 first three films of the Toy Story franchise (1995–2010), Lt.
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He achieved fame for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 – April 15, 2018) was an American actor and U.S.
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