Weather-beaten is a term that could best describe the face of serial scene-stealer Harry Dean Stanton (left). But it has served him well - from his beginnings way back in the early 1950s, Stanton has popped up in everything, from low-budget arthouse productions to Hollywood blockbusters. For local cinema buffs, he has most recently been adding his considerable talent to directo David Lynch's dreamy The Straight Story, which is screening at Cine-Art House.
Stanton was born on July 14, 1926 in West Irvine, Kentucky, and grew up in and around Lexington. He served in the US Navy towards the end of World War II, being stationed for some time in Okinawa after peace was restored. When he left the armed forces in the late 1940s, Stanton attended the University of Kentucky and studied drama before he joined the Pasadena Playhouse in Los ngeles.
His first break came in 1950, when cast in One Too Many, but a small role in director Vincente Minnelli's celebrated family comedy Father Of the Bride in the same year did as much to open doors for him as his first accredited part.
Hollywood's fixation with gritty war flicks, westerns and action films during the next three decades would play right into Stanton's hands, and he was much in demand for bit parts. From How the West Was Won (1963), Cool oHand Luke (1967) and on to The Godfather Part II (1974), and Alien (1979), Stanton's reputation grew. During the early 1980s, he really came into his own with starring efforts in quirky productions such as Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas (1983) and Alex Cox's Repo Man (1984). Most recently, he has been seen in Terry Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), The Green Mile (1999) and in Sean Penn's The Pledge (2001). And throughout his career, Stanton has welcomed TV work too - appearing in everything from Rawhide to the Happy Days spin-off Laverne & Shirley.
As if all this work wasn't enough, Stanton plays hard too. He fronts Tex-Mex outfit The Harry Dean Stanton Band, who gig in LA off and on each year, and gained a loyal following for their unique Oscar-night cabarets.
