Jerry Ziesmer

Jerry Ziesmer (May 31, 1939 – August 1, 2021) was an American assistant director, production manager and occasional actor. He is best known for his role as Jerry in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now in which he delivers the infamous line "terminate with extreme prejudice". His character is suspected to be a part of CORDS or DOD Command Staff.

Early life Jerry Ziesmer was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to a postal employee and his wife, who was the daughter of Dutch immigrants. He graduated on a scholarship from Milwaukee's Rufus King High School in 1957. He received a bachelor's degree in acting from Northwestern University in 1961. After graduation he moved to Beverly Hills and took a job as a United States Post Office employee and later, a part-time junior high school teacher. He received a Directors Guild training certificate for assistant directors in 1969, applying to the program after reading an advertisement in Variety. He took small acting parts in some of his films, for example playing a pilot in Blue Thunder and a salesman in Rocky II. His most famous role is as a civilian intelligence officer named Jerry in Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War film, Apocalypse Now, in which he utters what some call the film's most memorable line, that recounts his experiences working with some of Hollywood's most popular stars.

Personal life In 1981, Ziesmer re-met and began dating his high school girlfriend and 1957 prom date, Suzanne. They married in 1982. Suzanne joined him on-set, tutoring actors including Mel Gibson.

Filmography As actor