Posted on 05/29/2006 9:22:05 AM PDT by AliVeritas
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) - Paul Gleason, who was in "Trading Places" and "The Breakfast Club," has died. He was 67.
Gleason died at a local hospital Saturday of mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer linked to asbestos, said his wife, Susan Gleason.
"Whenever you were with Paul, there was never a dull moment," his wife said. "He was awesome."
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."
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
A terrible shame. I enjoyed him in Breakfast Club and parodying that role in Not Another Teen Movie. RIP.
Mess with the bull... you'll get the horns. Breakfast Club is still one of the greatest movies ever. Of course he was a large part of making it so great. RIP
He delivered one of my all-time favorite lines when, in Die Hard after the trigger-happy FBI cowboys -- bent on taking out John McLain -- went down in a ball of flames in their chopper, Gleason's character intoned "Gee, we're gonna need some more FBI guys."
Good actor who will be missed.
Just, there are no words.
At least this post has rather crystallized everything that is wrong.
Mr. Gleason also attended Florida State University.
The way he delivered that line with such total sincerity in BC and later when he parodied it in Not Another Teen Movie was amazing--- he gave whatever role he had instant credibility and made whatever movie it was that much more believable and, if he was the straght man, that much funnier. What an awesome actor! RIP
The AP can't even do simple math.
He was born in 1944 yet they claim he was 67.
Fox even put his birth year up and then said he was 67.
Next time I come in here, I'm cracking skulls!
Ok, so he was 76?
Outstanding character actor. It seems as if you never miss these people until they're gone.
Here is a little more information on Paul from the IMDB:
Birth name
Paul Xavier Gleason
He's the Fritz Weaver of the past 25 years.
Always in shows, never in a big role.
The one is Breakfast Club is probably his best known work ever.
Grew up with "The Breakfast Club", just loved this guy. Rest in peace, Mr. Gleason.
He was great in Trading Places, especially the scene where they planted the stolen money on Winthorpe. He was so perfect in that role as Clarence Beeks.
Funny.
I need to stop assuming that the MSM does fact checking. One person at the AP gets it wrong and the rest of the media just follows.
That man is a brownie hound.
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