Posted on 05/28/2006 4:03:46 PM PDT by lunarbicep
Paul Gleason, who played the go-to bad guy in "Trading Places" and the angry high school principal in "The Breakfast Club," has died. He was 67.
Gleason's wife, Susan, says her husband died Saturday at a Burbank hospital of mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer linked to asbestos.
Gleason appeared in over 60 movies, including "Die Hard," "Johnny Be Good," and "National Lampoon's Van Wilder." Most recently, he made a handful of television appearances in hit shows such as "Friends" and "Seinfeld."
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 in the mid-1960s with his mentor Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York.
Gleason is survived by his wife, two daughters and a granddaughter. Funeral plans are pending.
Something about his voice always reminded me of Bill O'Reilly.
I think he played on soaps in the 70's. I seem to remember him on Ryan's Hope.
Gleason was on "All My Children" as Dr. David Thornton, from 1976-1978
Oh yes see I can't remember what I did yesterday but I do remember 30 years ago. Thanks for the info.
I don't see that. I had a fondness for him because his characters were so outrageously nasty, that you figured he was a good person on the inside. To me he is a symbol of the 80's and those great teenage movies that nobody makes anymore.
Indeed, he played many a bad guy and did it well. May he rest in peace.
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