Warren Oates

Warren Mercer Oates (July 5, 1928 – April 3, 1982) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles in Western and crime films, most notably in collaboration with directors Sam Peckinpah and Monte Hellman. He had starring roles in Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974). Other of his most acclaimed performances was as officer Sam Wood in Norman Jewison's In the Heat of the Night (1967) and as Mr. Sargis in Terrence Malick's Badlands (1973).

Associated with the New Hollywood movement of the 1960s and '70s, Oates starred in numerous films during the early 1970s that have since achieved cult status, such as The Hired Hand and Two-Lane Blacktop (1971), Cockfighter (1974), and Race with the Devil (1975). Oates also portrayed John Dillinger in the biopic Dillinger (1973) and as the supporting character U.S. Army Sergeant Hulka in the military comedy Stripes (1981). Another notable appearance of his was in the classic New Zealand film Sleeping Dogs (1977), in which he played the commander of the American forces in the country.

Early life Warren Oates was born and reared in Depoy, a tiny rural community in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, located just a few miles west of Greenville, the county seat. According to the federal census of 1940, he was the younger of two sons born to Sarah Alice (née Mercer) and Bayless Earle Oates, who owned a general store. His brother, Gordon, was five years his senior.

Oates became interested in theater while attending the University of Louisville, where in 1953, he starred in several plays produced by the school's Little Theater Company. Four years later, in New York City, he got an opportunity to star in a live production of the television series Studio One.

Career Oates moved to Los Angeles, where in the 1950s, he began to establish himself in guest roles in weekly television Westerns, including Wagon Train, Tombstone Territory, Buckskin, Rawhide, Trackdown, Tate, The Rebel, Wanted Dead or Alive, The Virginian, Have Gun – Will Travel, Lawman, The Big Valley, Bat Masterson, and Gunsmoke.

In the episode "Subterranean City" (October 14, 1958) of the syndicated Rescue 8, Oates played a gang member, Pete, who is the nephew of series character Skip Johnson (Lang Jeffries). In the story line, rescuers Johnson and Wes Cameron (Jim Davis) search for a lost girl in the sewer tunnels and encounter three criminals hiding out underground. Pete soon breaks with his gang companions and joins the firemen Wes and Skip in locating the missing child.

In 1961, Oates guest-starred in the episode "Artie Moon" in NBC's The Lawless Years crime drama about the 1920s. In 1962, he appeared as Ves Painter in the short-lived ABC series Stoney Burke, co-starring Jack Lord, a program about rodeo contestants.

Oates also played in a number of guest roles on The Twilight Zone (in "The Purple Testament" and "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" (1963), in which he costarred with Randy Boone and Ron Foster), The Outer Limits ("The Mutant" ), Combat! ("The Pillbox" ) and Lost in Space ("Welcome Stranger" ). During the 1960s and 1970s, he guest-starred on such shows as Twelve O'Clock High ("The Hotshot" ), Lancer, and The Virginian. While making a guest appearance on a segment of the Western television series Dundee and the Culhane, Oates managed to steal the show with his off-camera antics and bloopers that had everyone on the set rolling. After a long day of filming, he headed over and set his footprints in concrete along with all the other stars who appeared at Apacheland Movie Ranch.

"There were 40 [Western] series, and I went from one to the other. I started out playing the third bad guy on a horse and worked my way up to the number-one bad guy," Oates once quipped. The collaboration continued as he worked in Peckinpah's early films Ride the High Country (1962) and Major Dundee (1965) and resulted in two of his most famous film roles.

In the 1969 Western classic The Wild Bunch, he portrayed Lyle Gorch, a long-time outlaw who chooses to die with his friends during the film's violent conclusion. According to his wife at the time, Teddy, Oates had the choice of starring in Support Your Local Sheriff!, to be filmed in Los Angeles, or The Wild Bunch in Mexico. "He had done Return of the Seven in Mexico; he got hepatitis, plus dysentery, but off he went again with Sam [Peckinpah]. He loved going on location. He loved the adventure of it. He had great admiration for Sam."

In Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, the dark 1974 action/tragedy also filmed in Mexico, Oates played the lead role of Bennie, a hard-drinking, down-on-his-luck musician and bartender hoping to make a final score. The character was reportedly based on Peckinpah. For authenticity, Oates wore the director's sunglasses while filming scenes of the production.

Although the Peckinpah film roles are his best-known, his most critically acclaimed role is GTO in Monte Hellman's 1971 cult classic Two-Lane Blacktop. The film, although a failure at the box office, is studied in film schools as a treasure of the 1970s, in large part due to Oates' performance. Film critic Leonard Maltin remarked that Oates' performance as GTO was as good as any he had seen and should have won the Oscar.

Oates had a close relationship with Hellman, and worked with him on three other films: the Western film The Shooting (1966), co-starring a young Jack Nicholson, Cockfighter (1974), and China 9, Liberty 37 (1978), in which Peckinpah, who was also a friend of Hellman's, featured in a rare acting role. Oates' wife Teddy said, "Sam Peckinpah and Monte Hellman were the two directors with whom Warren would work anytime, anywhere."

In addition to Peckinpah and Hellman, Oates worked with several major directors of his era, including Leslie Stevens in the 1960 film Private Property, his first starring role; Norman Jewison in In the Heat of the Night (1967); Joseph L. Mankiewicz in There Was a Crooked Man... (1970); John Milius in Dillinger (1973); Terrence Malick in Badlands (1973); Philip Kaufman in The White Dawn (1974); William Friedkin in The Brink's Job (1978); and Steven Spielberg in 1941 (1979).

He appeared in the Sherman Brothers' musical version of Tom Sawyer (1973), as Muff Potter, the town drunk. He also starred in The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960), Return of the Seven (1966), The Split (1968), The Thief Who Came to Dinner (1973), Drum (1976), and played the title role in a 1971 crime drama, Chandler. Oates costarred three times with friend Peter Fonda in The Hired Hand (1971), Race with the Devil (1975), and 92 in the Shade (1975).

Oates was cast in Roger Donaldson's 1977 New Zealand film Sleeping Dogs together with New Zealand actor Sam Neill. A political thriller with action film elements, Sleeping Dogs follows the lead character "Smith" (Neill) as New Zealand plunges into a police state, as a fascist government institutes martial law after industrial disputes flare into violence. Smith gets caught between the special police and a growing resistance movement, and reluctantly becomes involved. Oates plays the role of Willoughby, commander of the American forces stationed in New Zealand and working with the New Zealand fascist government to find and subdue "rebels" (the resistance movement).

A year before his death, Oates costarred with Bill Murray in the 1981 military comedy Stripes. In the role of the drill sergeant, Sgt. Hulka, Oates played the straight man to Murray's comedic character. The film was a huge financial success, earning $85 million at the box office. In 1982, he costarred opposite Jack Nicholson in director Tony Richardson's The Border.

In 1981, Oates also costarred as a fanatical Southern preacher-turned-Confederate officer in The Blue and the Gray, a CBS TV miniseries that aired in November 1982. His last two films were not released until 1983: Blue Thunder and Tough Enough, both filmed in late 1981. Both films are dedicated to him, along with Monte Hellman's 1988 film Iguana, which ends with the titles "For Warren".

Death Oates was ill with influenza in the weeks before his death. On April 3, 1982, at the age of 53, he died of a heart attack while taking an afternoon nap at his home in Los Angeles, after having experienced chest pains and shortness of breath earlier that day. An autopsy determined that he had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. During a screening of Hellman's Two-Lane Blacktop, Richard Linklater introduced the film, and gave 16 reasons why viewers should love it. The sixth was: "Because there was once a god who walked the Earth named Warren Oates."

On the occasion of a retrospective dedicated to the actor, the Lincoln Center wrote, "With his rough-hewn face and gruff demeanor, Warren Oates had the kind of offbeat, chameleon-like screen presence that could only have belonged to a star of the freewheeling New Hollywood of the 1960s and ’70s."

The documentary film Warren Oates: Across the Border was produced by Tom Thurman in 1993 as a tribute to the actor's career.

Oates was the subject of a 2009 biography, Warren Oates: A Wild Life, written by Susan Compo.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Director Notes 1959 Up Periscope Seaman Kovacs Gordon Douglas Uncredited Yellowstone Kelly Corporal 1960 The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond Eddie Diamond Budd Boetticher Private Property 'Boots' Leslie Stevens 1962 Ride the High Country Henry Hammond Sam Peckinpah1st collaboration with Peckinpah Hero's Island Wayte Giddens Leslie Stevens 1964 Mail Order Bride Jace Burt Kennedy 1965 The Rounders Harley Williams Uncredited Major Dundee O.W. Hadley Sam Peckinpah 1966 The Shooting Willett Gashade, Coigne Gashade Monte Hellman1st collaboration with Hellman Return of the Seven Colbee Burt Kennedy 1967 Welcome to Hard Times Leo Jenks In the Heat of the Night Sam Wood Norman Jewison 1968 The Split Marty Gough Gordon Flemyng 1969 Smith! Walter Charlie Michael O'Herlihy Crooks and Coronets Marty Miller Jim O'Connolly The Wild Bunch Lyle Gorch Sam Peckinpah Lanton Mills Gunman Terrence Malick Short film 1970 Barquero Jake Remy Gordon Douglas There Was a Crooked Man... Floyd Moon Joseph L. Mankiewicz 1971 Two-Lane Blacktop G.T.O. Monte Hellman The Hired Hand Arch Harris Peter Fonda Chandler Chandler Paul Magwood 1973 The Thief Who Came to Dinner Dave Reilly Bud Yorkin Tom Sawyer Muff Potter Don Taylor Kid Blue Reese Ford James Frawley Dillinger John Dillinger John Milius Badlands Mr. Sargis Terrence Malick 1974 The White Dawn Billy Philip Kaufman Cockfighter Frank Mansfield Monte Hellman Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia Bennie Sam Peckinpah 1975 Rancho Deluxe Harmonica Player Frank Perry Uncredited cameo Race with the Devil Frank Stewart Jack Starrett 92 in the Shade Nichol Dance Thomas McGuane 1976 Dixie Dynamite Mack Lee Frost Drum Hammond Maxwell Steve Carver 1977 Prime Time a.k.a. American Raspberry Celebrity Sportsman Bradley R. Swirnoff Sleeping Dogs Col. Willoughby Roger Donaldson 1978 China 9, Liberty 37 Matthew Sebanek Monte Hellman The Brink's Job 'Specs' O'Keefe William Friedkin 1979 1941 Col. 'Madman' Maddox Steven Spielberg 1981 Stripes Sgt. Hulka Ivan Reitman 1982 The Border 'Red' Tony Richardson 1983 Blue Thunder Cpt. Jack Braddock John Badham Posthumous releases Tough Enough James Neese Richard Fleischer

Television

Television series

1956 The United States Steel Hour ("Operation Three R's") as Private Lear 1956 The Big Story ("Reunion") as Danny (Adult) 1957 Kraft Television Theatre ("Gun at a Fair One") as Milkman 1956–1958 Westinghouse Studio One as 2nd Card Player 1958–1967 Gunsmoke as Al Tresh / Chris Kelly / Deke Bassop / Speeler / Lafe / Tate Crocker / Billy 'Sweet Billy' Cathcart / Jep Galloway / Jed Hakes / Seth Pickett 1958–1961 Wanted Dead Or Alive as Jesse Cox / Billy Clegg / George Aswell / Clem Robinson. Note: wrongly credited as "Warren Oats" as Jesse Cox in "Die by the Gun," Season 1, Episode 14, first aired 12/6/1958. 1958 Rescue 8 ("Subterranean City") as Pete 1958 The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin ("The Epidemic") as Deke 1958 Playhouse 90 ("Seven Against The Wall") as Ted Ryan 1958 Black Saddle ("Client: Steele") as Deputy Simms 1958–1960 Tombstone Territory as Joe Clinton / Bob Pickett / Vic Reel 1958–1960 Have Gun – Will Travel as John Bosworth / Harrison 1959 Buckskin ("Charlie, My Boy") as Charlie 1959 The Rough Riders ("The Rifle") as Frank Day 1959 Trackdown as 'Lute' Borden / Kelly Hooker / Deputy Norvil 1959 Wagon Train ("The Martha Barham Story") as Private Silas Carpenter 1959 The Rebel ("School Days") as Troy Armbruster 1959 The Rifleman S2 E2 "Bloodlines" as Jud 1959–1961 Bat Masterson as Sonny Parsons / 'Cat' Crail 1960 Hotel de Paree ("Hard Luck for Sundance") as Charlie Aiken 1960 Bronco ("Every Man a Hero") as Private Hurd Maple 1960–1965 Rawhide as Marco / Charlie 'Rabbit' Waters / Weed / Jesse Gufler 1960 Johnny Ringo ("Single Debt"), as Burt Scanlon 1960 Tate ("Before Sunup) as Cowpoke 1960 Wrangler ("Affair at the Trading Post") as Shep Martin 1960 Outlaws ("Thirty a Month") as Bill Hooton 1960 The Westerner ("Jeff") as Drunk 1960 Lawman ("The Second Son") as Al May 1960 Hawaiian Eye ("The Contenders") as Al 1960 Michael Shayne ("Murder 'Round My Wrist") as Frank Hobbes 1960 The Case of the Dangerous Robin ("Baubles and Bullets") as Unknown 1961–1962 Target: The Corruptors! ("Mr. Megalomania" and "Journey into Mourning") as Unknown 1961 Bat Masterson ("Members of Mimbres") as 'Cat' Craig, JB Villain 1961 Laramie ("Two for the Gallows") as Pete Dixson 1961 Stagecoach West as Billy Joe / Trooper Haig / Tom Lochlin 1961 The Lawless Years ("Artie Moon") as Charlie Brown 1961 The Dick Powell Show ("Somebody's Waiting") as Bruno 1958–1962 The Rifleman ("The Day of Reckoning", "The Marshall", "Bloodlines", "The Prodigal") as Willie Breen / Andrew Sheltin / Jed Malakie 1960–1962 Thriller ("Knock Three-One-Two" & "The Hollow Watcher") as Unknown 1960–1962 77 Sunset Strip as 'Dink' Strahman / Orville 1962 Bonanza ("The Mountain Girl") as Paul Magruder 1962 The Untouchables ("Pressure") as Artie Krebs 1962–1963 Stoney Burke as Ves Painter (Oates' only regular role on a television series) 1963 The Twilight Zone "The Purple Testament" & "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" as Unknown 1963 The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters ("The Day of the First Suitor") as Eldon Bishop 1963–1966 The Virginian as Corbie / Roy Judd / Bowers / Buxton 1964 Combat! ("The Pillbox") as Soldier Stark 1964 The Outer Limits ("The Mutant") as Reese Fowler 1964 The Fugitive ("Devil's Carnival" & "Rat in a Corner") as Hanes McClure / Herbie Grant 1964 The Reporter ("No Comment") as Mickroe 1965 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre ("The War" & "Eric Kurtz") as Joe Grover 1965 Branded ("Judge Not") as Pierce / Frank 1965 A Man Called Shenandoah ("The Fort") as Sergeant Ryder 1965 Slattery's People as Eugene Henson / Stu Burns 1965 Twelve O'Clock High as Lieutenant Colonel Troper 1965 Lost in Space ("Welcome Stranger") as Jimmy Hapgood 1965–1966 The Big Valley as Korby Kyles / Duke 1966 The Monroes as Nick Beresford 1966 Shane as Kemp Spicer 1967 Dundee and the Culhane as Lafe Doolin 1967 The Iron Horse as Hode Avery 1967 Cimarron Strip as Mobeetie 1968 Run for Your Life as Deputy Potter 1968 Disneyland as John Blythe 1969–1970 Lancer as Sheriff Val Crawford / Drago 1971 The F.B.I. as Richie Billings 1971 The Name of the Game as John Lew Weatherford 1973 Police Story as Richey Neptune 1979 Insight as Unknown 1985 Tales of the Unexpected as Harry (filmed in 1981; released posthumously; final role)

Television films and miniseries

Awards and nominations