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In
Remembrance: Paul Gleason
Paul Gleason, best remembered as the tough-as-nails high school
principal in the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club,
has passed away on May 28, 2006 in Burbank, CA. He was 67.
Born on May 4, 1939 in Jersey City, NJ, Gleason was raised in Miami
and went on to play football for Florida State at the same time Burt
Reynolds and Robert Urich attended the school. He also played
Triple-A minor league baseball for a variety of teams.
Gleason became interested in acting after watch the film Splendor
In The Grass (1961) with long time friend, writer Jack Kerouac.
Moving to New York City, he was able to land a spot at the Actor’s
Studio studying under Lee Strasburg. Gleason made his Broadway debut
in 1971 opposite Maureen Stapleton in a production of Neil Simon’s
The Gingerbread Lady. A year later he appeared in a revival
of The Front Page with John Lithgow and Richard Thomas that
ran in both New York and Los Angeles.
Gleason appeared in a handful of small, mostly uncredited film roles
before landing his first supporting role in the thriller Private
Duty Nurses (1971). In 1975, Gleason appeared in Doc Savage:
Man Of Bronze, as “Long Tom” Roberts, one of the one titular
pulp hero’s five adventuring aides. Other notable, early film
appearances include 1979’s The Great Santini, Fort Apache,
The Bronx and Arthur (both 1981).
In 1985, Gleason landed his breakout role in John Hughes’ comedy
The Breakfast Club. As the hardnosed principal, Gleason’s
character inadvertently causes the five students stuck in Saturday
detention that despite their different backgrounds, they have much
in common.
Gleason’s stern voice and harried features often got him cast as
stressed authority figures. He appeared in such films as Trading
Places (1983), Die Hard (1988), I Love Trouble
(1994), Shadow Conspiracy (1997) and Van Wilder (2002).
Gleason would also parody his hardnosed image in the films Loaded
Weapon 1 (1993) and Not Another Teen Movie (2001).
Gleason also
made guest appearances on several television series including
Remington Steele, The A Team, Falcon Crest, 21
Jump Street, The Wonder Years, Seinfeld, Dark
Skies, Newsradio, Nash Bridges, Melrose Place,
The Drew Carey Show, Friends and Cold Case.
Gleason’s final
film appearance will be in the comedy The Book Of Caleb,
which is scheduled for release in 2007. |
