Personal info
Known for
Actor
Gender
Male
Birthday
24 March
Location
Kansas, United States
Edit pageR. Lee Ermey
Biography
Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 – April 15, 2018) was an American actor and U.S. Marine drill instructor. 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. Ermey was also a United States Marine Corps staff sergeant and an honorary gunnery sergeant.
Ermey 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. "Tice" Ryan in Rocket Power and John House in House.
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. Lee Ermey, which concerned the development of different types of weapons. He also hosted GunnyTime on the Outdoor Channel.
Ermey was born in Emporia, Kansas, on March 24, 1944, to John Edward (1924–2016) and Betty (née Pantle) Ermey (1925–2005). 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.
Then, in 1958, when Ermey was 14, his father moved the family to a rural home between Zillah, Washington, and Granger, Washington.
As a teenager, Ermey was an admitted "troublemaker and a bit of a hell-raiser", and frequently got into trouble. In 1961, when Ermey was 17, his mother took him to a judge in an attempt to correct his behavior.
The judge gave the young Ermey a choice between military service or jail; Ermey chose military service.
