If you can’t place the name, don’t worry. Lots of people can’t either. But one look at this face, and you know who it is.
That’s Paul Gleason playing principal Richard Vernon in the John Hughes movie, “The Breakfast Club“.
Gleason died today at 67.
Gleason died at a local hospital Saturday of mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer linked to asbestos, said his wife, Susan Gleason.
A native of Miami, Gleason was an avid athlete. Before becoming an actor, he played Triple-A minor league baseball for a handful of clubs in the late 1950s.
Gleason honed his acting skills with his mentor Lee Strasberg, whom he studied with at the Actors Studio beginning in the mid-1960s, family members said.
Through his career, Gleason appeared in over 60 movies that included “Die Hard,” “Johnny Be Good,” and “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder.” Most recently, Gleason made a handful of television appearances in hit shows such as “Friends” and “Seinfeld.”
In addition to his role in Breakfast Club, I thought he was great in the movie “Trading Places“.
That’s Paul, the “ape” in the foreground.
He’ll be missed.