A Small Tribute to Robert Winley

He was shot by this grizzled, old preacher in Pale Rider,

shotgunned by this mullet-headed, iguana owner in Stone Cold,

kick-boxed, and had his head hood-slammed onto a hot engine by this woman in The Stranger,

stared down by the titular character of Jake Speed,

all but ignored by this undercover cop in Death Warrant,

electrocuted by this out of work executioner in the very first Tales from the Crypt episode,

Shot in the back by this kid in Near Dark,

and finally, he was tossed on a hot griddle by this cyborg in Terminator 2, and subsequently gave up his clothes, boots and motorcycle.

In the decade from 1985 to 1995, no actor was beaten, shot, electrocuted or just plain disrespected more on screen. He was chosen to take this abuse from some of the finest directors of the era including Clint Eastwood, James Cameron, Walter Hill, Michael Mann, John Dahl and Kathryn Bigelow. Of course, I'm talking about the great Robert Winley, and although his name may not register, his face is iconic with action and horror fans as he almost always played the designated biker thug destined for a beat down, or worse, at the hands of the hero. In an era where character actors with interesting, recognizable faces are becoming rare, his tough, scary but somehow amiable visage is sorely missed.

The ABC's of the Seventies

It's time for another ABC list of movie favorites. This time, I delve into some of my most cherished films from the 1970's.  Not surprisingly, about one quarter of the films I picked came from 1973, one of the single greatest years in cinema history. On the flip-side, no films were chosen from 1977, go figure.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z