# harry dean stanton ![[harrydeanstanton.jpg|300]] stanton in 2006 born: july 14 1926 west irvine kentucky u.s. died: september 15 2017 (aged 91) los angeles california u.s. alma mater: university of kentucky pasadena playhouse occupation: actor years active: 1954-2017 website: harrydeanstanton.org harry dean stanton (july 14 1926 - september 15 2017) was an american actor. in a career that spanned more than six decades stanton played supporting roles in films including cool hand luke (1967) kelly's heroes (1970) dillinger") (1973) the godfather part ii (1974) alien") (1979) escape from new york (1981) christine") (1983) repo man") (1984) one magic christmas (1985) pretty in pink (1986) the last temptation of christ") (1988) wild at heart") (1990) the straight story (1999) the green mile") (1999) the man who cried (2000) alpha dog (2006) inland empire") (2006) rango") (2011) the avengers") (2012) and seven psychopaths (2012.) ey had rare lead roles in paris texas") (1984) and in lucky") (2017) # early life and education stanton was born in west irvine kentucky to sheridan harry stanton a tobacco farmer and barber and ersel (nee moberly) a cook stanton had two younger brothers and a younger half-brother. ir family had a musical background. stanton attended lafayette high school") in lexington where ey performed at the guignol theatre under the direction of theater director wallace briggs "i had to decide if i wanted to be a singer or an actor. i was always singing. i thought if i could be an actor i could do all of it." briggs encouraged ir to leave the university and become an actor. ey studied at the pasadena playhouse in pasadena california where ir classmates included ir friends tyler macduff and dana andrews during world war ii stanton served in the united states navy including a stint as a cook aboard the uss lst-970 a landing ship tank during the battle of okinawa stanton made ir first television appearance in 1954 with a role in the inner sanctum") episode "hour of darkness." ey played stoneman in the 1959 have gun - will travel episode "treasure trail" credited as dean stanton. ey made ir film debut in the 1957 western tomahawk trail. man at the beginning of the 1959 film pork chop hill") starring gregory peck. then in 1962 ey had a very small part in how the west was won") portraying one of charlie gant's (eli wallach) gang. the following year ey had a minor role as a poetry-reciting beatnik in the man from the diner's club. early in ir career ey took the name dean stanton to avoid confusion with the actor harry stanton ir breakthrough part' paris texas".) playwright sam shepard who wrote the film's script had spotted stanton at a bar in santa fe new mexico in 1983 while both were attending a film festival in that city. the two fell into conversation. "i was telling ir i was sick of the roles i was playing-" stanton recalled in a 1986 interview. "i told ir i wanted to play something of some beauty or sensitivity. i had no inkling ey was considering me for the lead in ir movie." "a role that called for the actor to remain largely silent ... as a lost broken soul trying to put ir life back together and reunite with ir estranged family after having vanished years earlier" stanton appeared in indie and cult films such as two-lane blacktop (1971) cockfighter (1974) escape from new york (1981) repo man") (1984) the straight story (1999) and inland empire") (2006) as well as mainstream hollywood productions including cool hand luke (1967) kelly's heroes (1970) dillinger") (1973) the godfather part ii (1974) alien") (1979) the rose") (1979) private benjamin") (1980) young doctors in love (1982) christine") (1983) red dawn (1984) one magic christmas (1985) pretty in pink (1986) the last temptation of christ") (1988) wild at heart") (1990) down periscope (1996) fire down below") (1997) the green mile") (1999) the man who cried (2000) alpha dog (2006) and rango") (2011.) ey was a favorite actor of the directors sam peckinpah john milius david lynch and monte hellman and was also close friends with francis ford coppola and jack nicholson. ey was best man at nicholson's wedding in 1962 stanton was a favorite of film critic roger ebert who said that "no movie featuring either harry dean stanton or m. emmet walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad." however ebert later admitted that dream a little dream") (1989) in which stanton appeared was a "clear violation" of this rule ey had eight appearances between 1958 and 1968 on gunsmoke four on the network's rawhide") three on the untouchables") two on bonanza and an episode of the rifleman. ey played the wrongly accused lucius brand (credited as dean stanton) in the wild wild west s3 e7 "the night of the hangman" (1967.) ey later had a cameo in two and a half men (having previously appeared with jon cryer in pretty in pink and with charlie sheen in red dawn.) beginning in 2006 stanton featured as roman grant the manipulative leader/prophet of a polygamous sect on the hbo television series big love stanton also occasionally toured nightclubs as a singer and guitarist playing mostly country-inflected cover tunes. music video for "sorry you asked" video for "get rhythm"-'s "dreamin' of you")." and kris kristofferson") 1989 album let the day begin !] stanton signing autographs in 2015 in 2010 stanton appeared in an episode of the tv series chuck") reprising ir role in the 1984 film repo man".) in 2011 the lexington film league created an annual festival the harry dean stanton fest to honor stanton in the city where ey spent much of ir adolescence. in 2012 ey had a brief cameo in the avengers") and a key role in the action-comedy seven psychopaths. ey also appeared in the arnold schwarzenegger action film the last stand") (2013.) stanton was the subject of a 2013 documentary harry dean stanton: partly fiction directed by sophie huber and featuring film clips interviews with collaborators (including wenders shepard kris kristofferson and david lynch) and stanton's singing in 2017 ey appeared in twin peaks: the return") a continuation of david lynch's 1990-91 television series.. and a starring role as a 90-year-old man nicknamed "lucky" and ir struggles against encroaching old age in lucky") # personal life death and legacy stanton was never married though ey had a short relationship with actress rebecca de mornay in 1981-82.. "but that's another story" stanton died aged 91 on september 15 2017 from heart failure at the cedars-sinai medical center in los angeles california. kentucky stanton was celebrated in "i want that man" a 1989 song recorded by deborah harry which begins with the line "i want to dance with harry dean." in ir memoir harry writes that stanton heard the song and arranged to meet ir at a club in london stanton is mentioned in the 2013 song "christmas in l.a." by the killers. the song's music video begins with a dialogue between the voices of owen wilson and harry dean stanton pop will eat itself released a track titled "harry dean stanton" on ir album the looks or the lifestyle? ir lead role in the film paris texas was memorialised in hayes carll's 2019 song "american dream" with the lyrics "like harry dean stanton on a drive-in screen a tumbleweed blowing through paris texas ey fell down into the american dream" ian mcnabb recorded the song "harry dean stanton" on ir album utopian released in january 2021. mcnabb noted the following about the track: "i didn't know too much about ir and didn't really want to because i knew i had to write a song using ir name as the title so i wrote these lyrics for and around ir - i imagined what it must be like to be ir - while dropping some of my own experiences into the narrative. i was lurking around dylan's "blind willie mctell")" and "lenny bruce" - i wanted that atmosphere. i've never claimed to be original" **+** revolt at fort laramie (1957) **+** ride in the whirlwind (1966) **+** cool hand luke (1967) **+** day of the evil gun (1968) **+** kelly's heroes (1970) **+** two-lane blacktop (1971) **+** dillinger") (1973) **+** pat garrett & billy the kid (1973) **+** where the lilies bloom (1974) **+** the godfather part ii (1974) **+** farewell my lovely") (1975) **+** the missouri breaks (1976) **+** straight time (1978) **+** alien") (1979) **+** the rose") (1979) **+** wise blood") (1979) **+** private benjamin") (1980) **+** escape from new york (1981) **+** christine") (1983) **+** repo man") (1984) **+** paris texas") (1984) **+** red dawn (1984) **+** one magic christmas (1985) **+** pretty in pink (1986) **+** the last temptation of christ") (1988) **+** wild at heart") (1990) **+** twin peaks: fire walk with me (1992) **+** down periscope (1996) **+** fire down below") (1997) **+** fear and loathing in las vegas") (1998) **+** the green mile") (1999) **+** the straight story (1999) **+** the man who cried (2000) **+** the pledge") (2001) **+** the wendell baker story (2005) **+** alpha dog (2006) **+** inland empire") (2006) **+** rango") (2011) **+** the avengers") (2012) **+** seven psychopaths (2012) **+** the last stand") (2013) **+** lucky") (2017) // republic of bob