R. G. Armstrong
Encyclopedia
Robert Golden "R.G." Armstrong (born April 7, 1917) is an American actor and playwright. A veteran character actor
who appeared in dozens of Westerns over the course of his 40-year career, he may be best remembered for his work with director Sam Peckinpah
.
. He came from a family of religious fundamentalists, and his mother wanted him to be a pastor
. Armstrong, however, became interested in acting, and while attending the University of North Carolina
(along with classmate Andy Griffith
), he began acting on stage with the Carolina Playmakers. Upon graduating, he attended the Actors' Studio.
. He won considerable acclaim for his role in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
. He also began writing his own plays, which were performed off-Broadway.
Armstrong's first film appearance was in the 1954 film Garden of Eden
. However, it was television where he first earned a name for himself. He guest-starred in virtually every TV Western produced in the 1950s
and 1960s
, including: Have Gun - Will Travel, The Californians
, The Big Valley
, The Rifleman
, Zane Grey Theater, Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Westerner
, Bonanza
, Maverick
, Gunsmoke
, Rawhide
and Wagon Train
. He also appeared on The Twilight Zone
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
, The Andy Griffith Show
, The Fugitive
, Perry Mason
, T.H.E. Cat, Hawaii Five-O
, Starsky and Hutch
, The Dukes of Hazzard
, and Dynasty
. Armstrong had a recurring role in the second season of Millennium
as a reclusive visionary known only as the Old Man. In the late 1980s, he played the demonic "Uncle Lewis Vendredi" in the Canadian horror series Friday the 13th: The Series
.
While working on The Westerner, Armstrong made the acquaintance of up-and-coming writer/director Sam Peckinpah
. The two immediately struck up a friendship. Peckinpah recognized Armstrong's inner turmoil regarding the religious beliefs of his family and utilized that to brilliant effect in his films. Armstrong would almost always play a slightly unhinged fundamentalist Christian in Peckinpah's films, usually wielding a Bible in one hand and a shotgun in the other. This character archetype appeared in Ride the High Country
(1962), Major Dundee
(1965), and, perhaps most memorably, in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
(1973). However, Armstrong also appeared in The Ballad of Cable Hogue
(1970), playing a more likeable character.
Even outside of Peckinpah's work, however, Armstrong became a tier-one character actor in his own right, appearing in dozens of films over his career, playing both villains and sympathetic characters. Some of his more memorable roles outside of Peckinpah's films include a sympathetic rancher in El Dorado (1966), Cap'n Dan in The Great White Hope
(1970), outlaw Clell Miller
in The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid
(1972), a bumbling outlaw in My Name is Nobody
(1973), Race with the Devil
(1975), as well as Children of the Corn (1984), Red Headed Stranger (1986) with Willie Nelson and as the General in Predator
(1987). He appeared in several of Warren Beatty
's films, including Heaven Can Wait
(1978), Reds (1981), and Pruneface
in Dick Tracy (1990).
Despite being typecast as gruff and violent characters throughout his career, Armstrong is well known for having a warm and affable personality offscreen. He has been married three times: his first wife was Ann Neale, from whom he has four children; he was then married to Susan Guthrie until 1976; and remained married to his third wife, Mary Craven, until her passing in 2004.
Armstrong was semi-retired from films, continuing to be active in off-Broadway theater, until recently retiring because of near-blindness.
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
who appeared in dozens of Westerns over the course of his 40-year career, he may be best remembered for his work with director Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
.
Early life
Armstrong was born in Pleasant Grove, AlabamaPleasant Grove, Alabama
Pleasant Grove is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama and suburb of Birmingham. It is part of the Birmingham–Hoover Metropolitan Area. Its nickname is "The Good Neighbor City". At the 2010 census the population was 10,110.-History:...
. He came from a family of religious fundamentalists, and his mother wanted him to be a pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
. Armstrong, however, became interested in acting, and while attending the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
(along with classmate Andy Griffith
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead...
), he began acting on stage with the Carolina Playmakers. Upon graduating, he attended the Actors' Studio.
Career
Armstrong quickly launched a career on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. He won considerable acclaim for his role in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. One of Williams's best-known works and his personal favorite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955...
. He also began writing his own plays, which were performed off-Broadway.
Armstrong's first film appearance was in the 1954 film Garden of Eden
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
. However, it was television where he first earned a name for himself. He guest-starred in virtually every TV Western produced in the 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
and 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
, including: Have Gun - Will Travel, The Californians
The Californians (TV series)
The Californians is a 54-episode half-hour Western television series, set in the San Francisco gold rush of the 1850s, which aired on NBC from September 24, 1957, to May 26, 1959...
, The Big Valley
The Big Valley
The Big Valley is an American television Western which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, as a California widowed mother. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman...
, The Rifleman
The Rifleman
The Rifleman is an American Western television program that starred Chuck Connors as homesteader Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show, filmed in black-and-white with a half hour running time, ran...
, Zane Grey Theater, Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Westerner
The Westerner (TV series)
The Westerner is a 1960 Four Star Television Western series on NBC created by Sam Peckinpah. The series stars Brian Keith as Dave Blassingame and features John Dehner as semi-regular Burgundy Smith...
, Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, Maverick
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
, Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
, Rawhide
Rawhide (TV series)
Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...
and Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
. He also appeared on The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
, The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
, Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
, T.H.E. Cat, Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
, Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series that consisted of a 90-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC...
, The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
, and Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
. Armstrong had a recurring role in the second season of Millennium
Millennium (TV series)
Millennium is an American television series created by Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files. Millennium aired on the Fox Network from 1996 to 1999. The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, though most episodes were ostensibly set in or around Seattle, Washington...
as a reclusive visionary known only as the Old Man. In the late 1980s, he played the demonic "Uncle Lewis Vendredi" in the Canadian horror series Friday the 13th: The Series
Friday the 13th: The Series
Friday the 13th: The Series is an American-Canadian horror television series that ran for three seasons, from October 3, 1987 to May 26, 1990 in first-run syndication....
.
While working on The Westerner, Armstrong made the acquaintance of up-and-coming writer/director Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
. The two immediately struck up a friendship. Peckinpah recognized Armstrong's inner turmoil regarding the religious beliefs of his family and utilized that to brilliant effect in his films. Armstrong would almost always play a slightly unhinged fundamentalist Christian in Peckinpah's films, usually wielding a Bible in one hand and a shotgun in the other. This character archetype appeared in Ride the High Country
Ride the High Country
Ride the High Country is a noted 1962 American Western film. It stars Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott, Ron Starr, Edgar Buchanan and Mariette Hartley. It was written by N.B...
(1962), Major Dundee
Major Dundee
Major Dundee is a 1965 Western film written by Harry Julian Fink and directed by Sam Peckinpah. It starred Charlton Heston and Richard Harris as officers from opposing sides in the American Civil War who band together to hunt down a band of Apaches....
(1965), and, perhaps most memorably, in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a 1973 Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson. Co-star Bob Dylan composed multiple songs for the movie's score and the album Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid was released the same year.The film was noted for...
(1973). However, Armstrong also appeared in The Ballad of Cable Hogue
The Ballad of Cable Hogue
The Ballad of Cable Hogue is a 1970 Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Jason Robards, Stella Stevens and David Warner.Set in the desert of Arizona during the transitional period when the frontier was closing, the movie follows three years in the life of Cable Hogue, a failed...
(1970), playing a more likeable character.
Even outside of Peckinpah's work, however, Armstrong became a tier-one character actor in his own right, appearing in dozens of films over his career, playing both villains and sympathetic characters. Some of his more memorable roles outside of Peckinpah's films include a sympathetic rancher in El Dorado (1966), Cap'n Dan in The Great White Hope
The Great White Hope (film)
The Great White Hope is a 1970 biographical romantic drama film written and adapted from the Howard Sackler play of the same title. The film was directed by Martin Ritt, starring James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, Chester Morris, Hal Holbrook, Beah Richards and Moses Gunn...
(1970), outlaw Clell Miller
Clell Miller
Clell Miller was an outlaw with the James-Younger Gang who was killed during the gang's robbery at Northfield, Minnesota....
in The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid
The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid
The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid is a 1972 Technicolor Western film about the James-Younger Gang distributed by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Philip Kaufman in a cinéma vérité style and starred Cliff Robertson as Cole Younger, Robert Duvall as Jesse James, Luke Askew as Jim Younger, R....
(1972), a bumbling outlaw in My Name is Nobody
My Name Is Nobody
My Name is Nobody is a 1973 Spaghetti Western comedy film. The film was directed by Tonino Valerii and, in some scenes, by Sergio Leone. It was written by Leone, Fulvio Morsella and Ernesto Gastaldi. Leone was also the uncredited executive producer...
(1973), Race with the Devil
Race with the Devil
Race with the Devil is a 1975 occult thriller and action film starring Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit and Lara Parker. This was the second of three films Fonda and Oates would star in together...
(1975), as well as Children of the Corn (1984), Red Headed Stranger (1986) with Willie Nelson and as the General in Predator
Predator (film)
Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox....
(1987). He appeared in several of Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
's films, including Heaven Can Wait
Heaven Can Wait (1978 film)
Heaven Can Wait is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry. It is the second film adaptation of Harry Segall's stageplay of the same name, preceded by Here Comes Mr. Jordan and followed by Down to Earth...
(1978), Reds (1981), and Pruneface
Pruneface
Pruneface is a fictional character in the long-running comic strip Dick Tracy, drawn by cartoonist Chester Gould.-Fictional character biography:...
in Dick Tracy (1990).
Despite being typecast as gruff and violent characters throughout his career, Armstrong is well known for having a warm and affable personality offscreen. He has been married three times: his first wife was Ann Neale, from whom he has four children; he was then married to Susan Guthrie until 1976; and remained married to his third wife, Mary Craven, until her passing in 2004.
Armstrong was semi-retired from films, continuing to be active in off-Broadway theater, until recently retiring because of near-blindness.
Partial filmography
- The Fugitive KindThe Fugitive KindThe Fugitive Kind is a 1959 American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet. The screenplay by Meade Roberts and Tennessee Williams was based on the latter's 1957 play Orpheus Descending, itself a revision of his unproduced 1939 work Battle of Angels....
(1959) - Ride the High CountryRide the High CountryRide the High Country is a noted 1962 American Western film. It stars Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott, Ron Starr, Edgar Buchanan and Mariette Hartley. It was written by N.B...
(1962) - Major DundeeMajor DundeeMajor Dundee is a 1965 Western film written by Harry Julian Fink and directed by Sam Peckinpah. It starred Charlton Heston and Richard Harris as officers from opposing sides in the American Civil War who band together to hunt down a band of Apaches....
(1965) - El Dorado (1966)
- The Great White HopeThe Great White HopeThe Great White Hope is a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler, later adapted in 1970 for a film of the same name. The play was first produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on October 3, 1968 for a run of 546 performances, directed by Edwin Sherin...
(1970) - The Ballad of Cable HogueThe Ballad of Cable HogueThe Ballad of Cable Hogue is a 1970 Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Jason Robards, Stella Stevens and David Warner.Set in the desert of Arizona during the transitional period when the frontier was closing, the movie follows three years in the life of Cable Hogue, a failed...
(1970) - J. W. CoopJ. W. CoopJ. W. Coop is a 1972 Western film set in the world of the modern American rodeo circuit. It stars and was directed by Cliff Robertson who also co-scripted the film. Featuring footage from actual rodeo events, it was made with the cooperation of the Rodeo Cowboys Association .-Cast:* Cliff Robertson...
(1972) - The Great Northfield Minnesota RaidThe Great Northfield Minnesota RaidThe Great Northfield Minnesota Raid is a 1972 Technicolor Western film about the James-Younger Gang distributed by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Philip Kaufman in a cinéma vérité style and starred Cliff Robertson as Cole Younger, Robert Duvall as Jesse James, Luke Askew as Jim Younger, R....
(1972) - Pat Garrett and Billy the KidPat Garrett and Billy the KidPat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a 1973 Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson. Co-star Bob Dylan composed multiple songs for the movie's score and the album Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid was released the same year.The film was noted for...
(1973) - My Name is NobodyMy Name Is NobodyMy Name is Nobody is a 1973 Spaghetti Western comedy film. The film was directed by Tonino Valerii and, in some scenes, by Sergio Leone. It was written by Leone, Fulvio Morsella and Ernesto Gastaldi. Leone was also the uncredited executive producer...
(1973) - White LightningWhite Lightning (1973 film)White Lightning is a 1973 American action film from United Artists starring Burt Reynolds as Gator McKlusky. The film, directed by Joseph Sargent and written by William W. Norton, also starred Jennifer Billingsley, Ned Beatty, Bo Hopkins, R.G. Armstrong, and Diane Ladd...
(1973) - White Line FeverWhite Line Fever (film)White Line Fever is an American movie about truck drivers released in 1975 and starring Jan-Michael Vincent.-Backstory:Sam Hummer was a local truck driver from Tucson Arizona who worked for a Tucson-based produce-shipper called "Red River". His driving partners were Duane Haller and "Pops" Dinwiddie...
(1975) - Race with the DevilRace with the DevilRace with the Devil is a 1975 occult thriller and action film starring Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit and Lara Parker. This was the second of three films Fonda and Oates would star in together...
(1975) - Stay HungryStay HungryStay Hungry is the third album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister. Released on May 10, 1984, the album features the band's two biggest hits, "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" and the power ballad "The Price." According to RIAA certification, Stay Hungry gained Multi-Platinum...
(1976) - The CarThe CarThe Car is a 1977 thriller/horror film directed by Elliot Silverstein and written by Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack and Lane Slate. The film stars James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, John Marley, and Ronny Cox, and tells the story of a mysterious car which goes on a murderous rampage, terrorizing the...
(1977) - Heaven Can WaitHeaven Can Wait (1978 film)Heaven Can Wait is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry. It is the second film adaptation of Harry Segall's stageplay of the same name, preceded by Here Comes Mr. Jordan and followed by Down to Earth...
(1978) - The Time Machine (1978)
- Reds (1981)
- Lone Wolf McQuadeLone Wolf McQuadeLone Wolf McQuade is a 1983 action film, starring Chuck Norris, David Carradine, Barbara Carrera, and Robert Beltran, and is directed by Steve Carver. The film score was written by Francesco De Masi and borrows heavily from Ennio Morricone's score for Once Upon a Time in the West...
(1983) - Children of the CornChildren of the Corn (1984 film)Children of the Corn is a 1984 horror film based upon the 1977 short story of the same name by Stephen King. Directed by Fritz Kiersch, the film stars Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton...
(1984) - The Best of TimesThe Best of Times (film)The Best of Times is a 1986 American film starring Robin Williams and Kurt Russell.-Plot:Robin Williams plays Jack Dundee, a banker obsessed with what he considers the most shameful moment in his life: The moment that he dropped a perfectly thrown pass in the final seconds of the 1972 high school...
(1986) - Red Headed StrangerRed Headed StrangerRed Headed Stranger is a 1975 album by American outlaw country singer Willie Nelson. After the wide success of his recordings with Atlantic records, Nelson signed a contract with Columbia Records, a label that gave him total creative control over his works...
(1986) - PredatorPredator (film)Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox....
(1987) - JocksJocks (film)Jocks is a 1987 teen comedy. The film was directed by Steve Carver and written by Michael Lanahan and David Oas.Jocks was shot in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Los Angeles, California.-Plot:...
(1987) - Dick Tracy (1990)
- Purgatory (1999)
Further reading
- Names You Never Remember, With Faces You Never Forget, by Justin Humphreys. BearManor Media, Albany, 2006. ISBN 1-59393-041-0.