Actor R Lee Ermey Dead At 74
R. Lee Ermey, 'Full Metal Jacket' Actor, Dead at 74
Vietnam War gunnery sergeant turned scene-stealing drill instructor dies from complications from pneumonia R. Lee Ermey, the gunnery sergeant turned acto…
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Ermey kinda reminds me of my DI, who actually carried a swagger stick. A few unpleasant and uncomfortable episodes, but all in all, those were some of the best years and times of my life. RIP Sarge!
I had one that not only carried a swagger stick, but it had notches in it. I asked him what the notches were for and he told me "You don't want to know." I am just lucky that I wasn't one of those notches.
RIP Drill Sergeant. Your trainees were lucky to have you and so was Hollywood.
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of my all time favorite actors.. Damn that sucks. RIP Gunny.
Probably the best drill instructor actor ever. Truly excellent.
Even higher ranking than that TiG. In the mini series Rough Riders, he played Secretary of State, John Hay. Of course, a Marine might consider that to be a step downward from being a Drill Instructor.
Little known details of his movie career.
He was a military advisor for the movie Apocalypses Now. Look for him as he had a bit part as a helo pilot in that movie as well.
Also he was good in a lesser known movie from the late 70's. The Boys of Company C. A pretty good movie.
Always liked his TV show Mail Call.
Yeah me to.
Especially when he managed to worm his way behind the trigger of something that shot big and/or fast.
Like a kid in a candy store ...
Any time that he did a part that required him to wear Class A's, he refused to wear any ribbon on them that he had not personally been awarded.
Yeah, he was a damn squared away Marine.
My Brother was a Disabled Veteran of the Vietnam War, and I agree that movie was very well made.
Also 90% of his lines in Full Metal Jacket are ad lib.
In my first week at Parris Island, I was disappointed to learn that they don't talk to recruits that way. I was looking forward to it. The screaming when the DI got on the bus was the worst it got.
The female DIs were stern but boring.
My father was a MC DI. He was before LE came along but would have loved knowing him.
When I went through Basic Training (I'm Army) in 1991 they still talked like that. Any physical contact was forbidden but they came pretty close to it.
All we got was DIs in surround sound and extra PT. They didn't swear at us and we were never touched. As long as you didn't smile at them you were fairly safe.
We had tables, chairs, beds and equipment flying across the bay.
I only ever saw a trash can and parts of a footlocker get kicked across the squad bay. It was quite tame compared to what was possible.
GySgt Ermy was not a "drill instructor actor". He was a drill instructor in real life during his time in the Marine Corps. He based his acting on real life experiences as a Staff Sargent drill instructor while on active duty! Respect, salute, and RIP Gunny. Semper Fi!
Yeah i tell people that the boot camp scenes in FMJ are about as close to real boot camp as one can get without actually going through it.
I find myself subconsciously bracing whenever i watch it. I know a lot of Marines do.
I always imagined him going through his daily life yelling at everyone.
I am aware of his life prior to acting.
My apologies. Many people are not aware. My comment was not directed specifically so much to you but to people in general.
No worries.
I never saw it before I went to MCRD San Diego, so when I watched it after I got back I was laughing so hard during that entire section of the movie. I didn't realize how funny the insults and everything else was until that movie made me start to think about it. I honestly saw some of the funniest shit in my life in boot.
Me too, i was constantly cracking up from the shit the training cadre would come up with. They however did not think it was funny, that i thought it was funny.
I got really good at four count push ups .....
Exactly. The first 10 minutes of that movie always puts a big smile on my face....good times.
Will be missed
Excellent Marine! Excellent American! Honorable man!
Simper First Gunny! You will be missed!
Brought reality to the role, that's for sure and certain.
Even playing the baddest of badasses Ermey managed to maintain that good natured twinkle in his eye...
All Basic Training was Psychological. Sure some branches had harder physical recruitment then others, but the true test was in the head. How well could you deal with a TI (or DI) screaming at you and calling you every name in the book with his nose 2 inches from yours and his breath in your mouth. Basic Training was a head game The physical part was actually fairly easy. If you just did for what you were told they built you up to do the next physical requirement. It was the head shit that they always you that they threw at you that they were looking for weakness in. Would you crack under pressure. They didn't give a fuck if you could do 50 push ups. What they cared about was did you flinch when the TI asked if it felt good when your mama sucked your dick. And did you answer "No Sir!" Not "She never did it!" or some such shit! Or when he asked if your sister's pussy was tight and you said "I don't know, Sir!" And you answered these questions with a perfectly straight face and at complete attention without moving a single muscle. That's what they wanted more then how fast you could run a mile our how many push ups you could do. Fuck any moron could be taught to do those. Not any moron could be taught to do anything they are told to automatically, including kill, on command, But you were. That's what they really wanted. Basic Training change you into a different human being. Or changed into something that was not a human being.
RIP Bro!
We referred to it as Sergeants in surround sound when there was one at each ear and one in your face. The worst thing that you can do is smile or laugh.
RIP Brother .....
Semper Fi
Sir, RIP, Sir
RIP Gunny.
14 months in country..
Semper Fi Gunny.
These are clips from "The Boys In Company C"
Man he was hilarious in that movie. I always tell everyone that if you want to know what boot is really like, don't bother watching the super sanitized documentaries they do from time to time, watch Full Metal Jacket.
Rest well Gunny.
Pulled out my old MCRD San Diego "Graduation Book" for Platoon 392/'64 - didn't find him anywhere in the 3rd Battalion. My two DI's, GySgt Jessup and SSgt Swancutt, musta gone through bootcamp with Gunny 'cause they said almost the same identical things during our "orientation". If Jessup had been a little taller and hairier, he and Gunny woulda been twins.
RIP Gunny - Semper Fi.
most excellent
thanks for the giggle