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IMDbPro

Harry Dean Stanton(1926-2017)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000441
Harry Dean Stanton at an event for Two for the Money (2005)
Here's a look back at the various roles Harry Dean Stanton has played throughout his acting career.
Play clip1:30
Harry Dean Stanton: Movie Moments
45 Videos
99+ Photos
Stanton was born in West Irvine, Kentucky, to Ersel (Moberly), a cook, and Sheridan Harry Stanton, a barber and tobacco farmer. He lived in Lexington, Kentucky and graduated from Lafayette Senior High School with the class of 1944. Drafted into the Navy, he served as a cook in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and was on board an LST during the Battle of Okinawa. He then returned to the University of Kentucky to appear in a production of "Pygmalion", before heading out to California and honing his craft at the prestigious Pasadena Playhouse. Stanton then toured around the United States with a male choir, worked in children's theater, and then headed back to California.

His first role on screen was in the tepid movie Tomahawk Trail (1957), but he was quickly noticed and appeared regularly in minor roles as cowboys and soldiers through the late 1950s and early 1960s. His star continued to rise and he received better roles in which he could showcase his laid-back style, such as in Cool Hand Luke (1967), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Dillinger (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974), and in Alien (1979). It was around this time that Stanton came to the attention of director Wim Wenders, who cast him in his finest role yet as Travis in the moving Paris, Texas (1984). Next indie director Alex Cox gave Stanton a role that brought him to the forefront, in the quirky cult film Repo Man (1984).

Stanton was now heavily in demand, and his unique look got him cast as everything from a suburban father in the mainstream Pretty in Pink (1986) to a soft-hearted, but ill-fated, private investigator in Wild at Heart (1990) and a crazy yet cunning scientist in Escape from New York (1981). Apart from his film performances, he was also an accomplished musician, and "The Harry Dean Stanton Band" and their unique spin on mariachi music played together for well over a decade. They toured internationally. He became a cult figure of cinema and music and when Debbie Harry sang the lyric, "I want to dance with Harry Dean..." in her 1990s hit "I Want That Man", she was talking about him. Stanton remained consistently active on screen, lastly appearing in films including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), The Green Mile (1999) and The Man Who Cried (2000).
BornJuly 14, 1926
DiedSeptember 15, 2017(91)
BornJuly 14, 1926
DiedSeptember 15, 2017(91)
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000441
  • Awards
    • 11 wins & 11 nominations

The Greatest Character Actors of All Time

The Greatest Character Actors of All Time

Jennifer Coolidge, Danny Trejo, Uzo Aduba, and more familar faces you've seen in everything.
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Photos

Photos145

Harry Dean Stanton in Straight Time (1978)
Harry Dean Stanton in Straight Time (1978)
Harry Dean Stanton in Straight Time (1978)
Dustin Hoffman and Harry Dean Stanton in Straight Time (1978)
Harry Dean Stanton in Straight Time (1978)
Dustin Hoffman, Harry Dean Stanton, and Rita Taggart in Straight Time (1978)
Dustin Hoffman, Harry Dean Stanton, and Rita Taggart in Straight Time (1978)
Harry Dean Stanton and Julie Gholson in Where the Lilies Bloom (1974)
Harry Dean Stanton, Rodolfo Acosta, Jack Lambert, and Eli Wallach in How the West Was Won (1962)
Harry Dean Stanton in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Molly Ringwald and Harry Dean Stanton in Pretty in Pink (1986)
Jon Cryer and Harry Dean Stanton in Pretty in Pink (1986)

Known for

Alien (1979)
Alien
8.5
  • Brett
  • 1979
David Lynch, Tom Skerritt, Ed Begley Jr., Harry Dean Stanton, and Ron Livingston in Lucky (2017)
Lucky
7.3
  • Lucky
  • 2017
Movie Poster
The Green Mile
8.6
  • Toot-Toot
  • 1999
Repo Man (1984)
Repo Man
6.9
  • Bud
  • 1984

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Frank and Ava (2020)
    Frank and Ava
    • Sheriff Lloyd
    • 2020
  • Twin Peaks (2017)
    Twin Peaks
    • Carl Rodd
    • TV Series
    • 2017
  • David Lynch, Tom Skerritt, Ed Begley Jr., Harry Dean Stanton, and Ron Livingston in Lucky (2017)
    Lucky
    • Lucky
    • 2017
  • Harry Dean Stanton, Amy Claire, Brian McCormick, Brian McGuire, Robert Murphy, Jason Sklar, Randy Sklar, Roger M. Mayer, Logan Sparks, Chris Doubek, Emmet McGuire, Mark E. Fletcher, Veronica Radaelli, Rica Rigor, and Zion McGuire in Sick of it All (2016)
    Sick of it All
    • News Reporter
    • 2016
  • Mageina Tovah and Aurora Elise in Hux (2016)
    Hux
    • Grandpa
    • Short
    • 2016
  • Getting On (2013)
    Getting On
    • Leonard Butler
    • TV Series
    • 2013–2015
  • The Pimp and the Rose (2014)
    The Pimp and the Rose
    • Harry
    • Short
    • 2014
  • Alien: Isolation (2014)
    Alien: Isolation
    • Brett (voice)
    • Video Game
    • 2014
  • The Killers Ft. Dawes: Christmas in L.A. (2013)
    The Killers Ft. Dawes: Christmas in L.A.
    • Harry Dean Stanton
    • Music Video
    • 2013
  • Carlos Spills the Beans (2013)
    Carlos Spills the Beans
    • Rhino
    • 2013
  • Harry Dean Stanton, Donal Logue, Dale Dickey, Brian McGuire, Bret Roberts, Amy Seimetz, and Foster Timms in 9 Full Moons (2013)
    9 Full Moons
    • Dimitri
    • 2013
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger and Johnny Knoxville in The Last Stand (2013)
    The Last Stand
    • Mr. Parsons (uncredited)
    • 2013
  • Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken, Tom Waits, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, Colin Farrell, Olga Kurylenko, and Bonny in Seven Psychopaths (2012)
    Seven Psychopaths
    • Man in Hat
    • 2012
  • Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, and Chris Hemsworth in The Avengers (2012)
    The Avengers
    • Security Guard
    • 2012
  • Mongo Wrestling Alliance (2011)
    Mongo Wrestling Alliance
    • Baron Kleberkuh (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2011

Soundtrack

  • Twin Peaks (2017)
    Twin Peaks
    • performer: "Red River Valley"
    • TV Series
    • 2017
  • David Lynch, Tom Skerritt, Ed Begley Jr., Harry Dean Stanton, and Ron Livingston in Lucky (2017)
    Lucky
    • performer: "Red River Valley", "Volver, Volver"
    • 2017
  • Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (2012)
    Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction
    • performer: "Blue Moon", "Blue Bayou", "Cancion Mixteca", "Just Closer with Thee", "Everbody's Talkin'", "When I Get My Rewards", "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain", "Tennessee Whiskey", "Hands on the Wheel", "Danny Boy"
    • 2012
  • Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)
    Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project
    • performer: "Old Blue"
    • 2007
  • Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin in Big Love (2006)
    Big Love
    • performer: "Big Rock Candy Mountain" (uncredited)
    • TV Series
    • 2006
  • Harry Zen Stanton
    • performer: "Row Row Row Your Boat" (uncredited)
    • Video
    • 2006
  • Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Eddie Griffin, and Eva Mendes in The Wendell Baker Story (2005)
    The Wendell Baker Story
    • arranger: "Cielito Lindo Huasteco"
    • performer: "Cielito Lindo Huasteco", "Promised Land"
    • 2005
  • Willem Dafoe and Edward Furlong in Animal Factory (2000)
    Animal Factory
    • performer: "I Hope I Never Get Too Old (To Rock N' Roll)"
    • 2000
  • Steven Seagal and Marg Helgenberger in Fire Down Below (1997)
    Fire Down Below
    • performer: "Kentucky Waltz"
    • 1997
  • Roadside Prophets (1992)
    Roadside Prophets
    • performer: "Make Yourself at Home in My Heart"
    • 1992
  • Keith Carradine, Harry Dean Stanton, and Kim Greist in Payoff (1991)
    Payoff
    • performer: "Billy Don't Be a Hero"
    • TV Movie
    • 1991
  • Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, and Jon Cryer in Pretty in Pink (1986)
    Pretty in Pink
    • performer: "O Sole Mio" (uncredited)
    • 1986
  • Saturday Night Live (1975)
    Saturday Night Live
    • performer: "Baby What You Want Me To Do" (uncredited)
    • TV Series
    • 1986
  • The Care Bears Movie (1985)
    The Care Bears Movie
    • performer: "Home is in Your Heart"
    • 1985
  • Dustin Hoffman and Theresa Russell in Straight Time (1978)
    Straight Time
    • performer: "Hand Me Down My Walkin' Cane" (uncredited)
    • 1978

Videos45

Harry Dean Stanton: Movie Moments
Clip 1:30
Harry Dean Stanton: Movie Moments
Death Watch
Clip 2:19
Death Watch
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:56
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:35
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:51
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:54
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:30
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:27
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:51
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:26
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:35
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:01
Official Trailer

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Facebook Fan Page #1
    • Facebook Fan Page #2
  • Alternative names
    • Dan Stanton
  • Height
    • 5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
  • Born
    • July 14, 1926
    • West Irvine, Kentucky, USA
  • Died
    • September 15, 2017
    • Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, USA(natural causes)
  • Parents
      Ersel Moberly
  • Relatives
      Ralph Stanton(Sibling)
  • Other works
    (Late 1980s) Music video: Appeared in the music video for Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale".
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 2 Interviews
    • 5 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Critic Roger Ebert so admired him that he created the "Stanton-Walsh Rule," which states that "no movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad." Ebert later admitted that Dream a Little Dream (1989), in which Stanton appeared, was a "clear violation" of this rule.
  • Quotes
    I've been rather like a cat. I'm finicky and I've done a lot of things, and made career choices, missed meetings and so forth that would have made me a much bigger actor, I think. But, by the same token, that would have demanded more of my time, too.

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