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Ronald Lee Ermey (born March 24, 1944) is a former U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor who later made a career as an actor, often playing the roles of authority figures, such as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket. He currently hosts Mail Call, a military history program on The History Channel. Ermey is also an official spokesperson for GLOCK firearms.

On May 17, 2002 he received an honorary promotion to Gunnery Sergeant (E-7) by Commandant James L. Jones, becoming the first retiree in the history of the Marines to be promoted.

Biography

Born in Emporia, Kansas, Ermey enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1961, after being arrested several times as a teenager. A court judge gave him the choice of the military or jail. He later joked that the Marine Corps "put a screeching halt to my unconventional manner." He spent two years as a drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in San Diego, California from 1965 to 1967. In 1968, Ermey arrived in Vietnam where he served for 14 months with the Marine Wing Support Group 17. He then served two tours of duty in Okinawa, Japan, during which he rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant and was medically discharged in 1972 for several injuries incurred during his tours. He did not receive a Purple Heart due to his injuries being noncombat in origin. Ermey has admitted that he still has nightmares about his combat experiences, a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. Ermey was later bestowed with the honorary rank of Gunnery Sergeant by the Marine Corps.

Ermey's Marine Corps awards and decorations are as follows:

• Combat Action Ribbon
• Meritorious Unit Commendation
• Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal
• National Defense Service Medal
• Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
• Vietnam Service Medal with one bronze service star
• Drill Instructor Ribbon
• Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
• Vietnam Campaign Medal
• Rifle Marksman Badge
• Pistol Sharpshooter Badge

Ermey was cast in his first movie while attending the University of Manila in the Philippines, using his G.I. Bill benefits. He played a helicopter pilot in Apocalypse Now, doubling as a technical advisor to director Francis Ford Coppola on that film. He played a series of minor film roles until 1987, when he was cast as tough drill instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket; Ermey also served as the technical advisor on the film. He was only intended to be the technical advisor, but Kubrick changed his mind after hearing Ermey's hair-raising DI tirades, allowing him to write his own dialogue and improvise on set, a noted rarity in a Kubrick film. Kubrick later indicated that Ermey was an excellent performer, needing just two or three takes per scene. Ermey's performance won critical raves and he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor. He would subsequently play tough drill instructors in the pilot episode of Space Above and Beyond and in the film The Frighteners, both similar to his character in Full Metal Jacket.

He has since appeared in approximately sixty films, including Mississippi Burning, Dead Man Walking, Se7en, Leaving Las Vegas, Prefontaine, Saving Silverman, Man of the House, as well as the remakes of Willard and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Ermey also lent his voice to Toy Story and Toy Story 2, as well as Roughnecks and X-Men 3. He has appeared on television shows such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, Miami Vice, House, Scrubs and Invader Zim, in addition to hosting the documentary series Mail Call.

Ermey has lent his distinctive voice to several video games, including Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel and Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex. He also made a cameo in Real War: Air, Land, Sea.

According to a 2005 episode of Mail Call filmed at Whiteman Air Force Base, he is the 341st person to fly in the B-2 Stealth Bomber. He also suffers from a luckily minor case of the "ego's".

Filmography

• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) .... Charlie Hewitt/Sheriff Hoyt
• X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) .... Sergeant (Voice)
• Man of the House (2005) .... Captain Nichols
• House (2005) .... John House
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) .... Sheriff Hoyt
• Willard (2003) .... Frank Martin
• Y.M.I. (2002) .... John
• A.K.A. Birdseye (2002) .... Sheriff Gathers
• Frank McKlusky, C.I. (2002) (V) (uncredited) .... Jockey Master
• The Salton Sea (2002) .... Verne Plummer
• Run Ronnie Run! (2002) .... Lead Kidnapper
• "Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex" (2001) (VG) .... Wa-Wa, the Water Elemental
• On the Borderline (2001) .... Capt. Elias
• Taking Sides (2001) .... General Wallace
• Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001) .... President Richard Benson
• Recess: School's Out (2001) (voice) .... Colonel O'Malley
• Saving Silverman (2001) .... Coach Norton
• Jericho (2000) .... Marshall
• Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins (2000) (voice) .... Sarge
• Roughnecks: STC (2000) (voice) Sky Marshall Sanchez
• Skipped Parts (2000) .... Caspar Callahan
• The Chaos Factor (2000) .... Col. Ben Wilder
• Toy Story 2 (1999) (voice) .... Army Sarge
• The Apartment Complex (1999) (TV) .... Frank Stanton
• Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot (1999) TV Series (voice) .... General Thorton
• Avalanche (1999) .... Gary
• Life (1999) .... Older Sheriff Pike
• You Know My Name (1999) (TV) .... Nix
• Gunshy (1998) .... Jerry
• The Sender (1997) .... Colonel Rosewater
• Switchback (1997) .... Sheriff Buck Olmstead
• Cracker (1997) TV Series .... Lieutenant Fry
• Rough Riders (1997) (TV) .... Secretary of State John Hay
• Weapons of Mass Distraction (1997) (TV) .... Billy Paxton
• Dead Men Can't Dance (1997) .... Sen. Pullman T. Fowler
• Prefontaine (1997) .... Bill Bowerman
• Soul of the Game (1996) (TV) .... Wilkie
• The Frighteners (1996) .... (ghost of) Sgt Hiles
• Space: Above and Beyond (1996) (TV) ....Sgt. Maj. Bougus
• Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back (1995) (uncredited) .... Preacher Brian
• Dead Man Walking (1995) .... Clyde Percy
• Under the Hula Moon (1995) .... Lt. Col. J. P. McIntire
• Toy Story (1995) (voice) .... Sergeant
• Se7en (1995) .... Police Captain
• Leaving Las Vegas (1995) .... Conventioneer
• Murder in the First (1995) .... Judge Clawson
• Kidnapped (1994 film) (1994)
• Love Is a Gun (1994) .... Frank Deacon
• Savate (1994) (uncredited) .... Benedict
• Chain of Command (1994) .... Benjamin Brewster
• The Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994) (uncredited) .... Mess Hall Guard
• Rise and Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story (1994) (TV) (uncredited) .... Mr. Byrd
• On Deadly Ground (1994) .... Stone
• French Silk (1994) (TV) .... Chief Crowder
• Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. ... Marshal Brisco County, Sr.
• Double Switch (1993) (VG) .... Lyle (the handyman)
• Body Snatchers (1993) .... General Platt
• Sommersby (1993) .... Dick Mead
• Hexed (1993) .... Det. Ferguson
• Kid (1991) .... Luke
• True Identity (1991) (uncredited) .... Houston's Boss
• Toy Soldiers (1991) .... General Kramer
• The Rift a.k.a. Endless Descent (1990) .... Capt. Phillips
• The Terror Within II (1990) .... Von Demming
• 83 Hours 'Til Dawn (1990) (TV) .... Glen Fairling
• I'm Dangerous Tonight (1990) (TV) .... Lt. Ackman
• The Take (1990) (TV) .... Weller
• Demonstone (1989) .... Col. Joe Haines
• Fletch Lives (1989) .... Jimmy Lee Farnsworth
• The Siege of Firebase Gloria (1989) .... Sgt. Maj. Bill Hafner/Narrator
• Mississippi Burning (1988) .... Mayor Tilman
• Full Metal Jacket (1987) (as Lee Ermey) .... Gunnery Sergeant Hartman
• Purple Hearts (1984) .... Gunny
• Apocalypse Now (1979) (uncredited) .... Eagle Thrust Seven helicopter pilot
• The Boys in Company C (1978) (as Lee Ermey) .... SSgt. Loyce (Drill Instructor, Co. 163)
• SCRUBS (Season 1 "My Old Man")....Janitors Dad
• [[History Channel's Mail Call who, as "Gunny" answers military related questions in an interesting (and, at times, amusing) manner.

Voice Work

• Samples from Full Metal Jacket are used on Ministry’s album The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste, on the track "Thieves". Contrary to some reports, the voice credited as "Sgt. Major" on the same band's Rio Grande Blood is not Ermey.
• Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex as Wa-Wa the Water Elemental.
• The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy as Drill Sergeant.
• X-Men: The Last Stand Orders soldiers to get rid of all metal and rearm with plastic weapons before they fight Magneto.
• The Simpsons episode Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming as Col. Leslie "Hap" Hapablap.
• Family Guy episode Mr. Saturday Knight as the jousting troupe leader.
• Invader Zim as Hobo 678
• Provided the voice for a speaking "motivational action figure" depicting him in USMC drill instructor uniform with preprogrammed voice messages activated by pressing a button on the figure. The figures' dialogue comes in two versions, one with (somewhat) family-friendly language and one with "Extra-Salty" dialogue which includes profanity, the latter of which is packaged with an R rating as a warning to consumers (pictured at right).

External links

• Official website
• R. Lee Ermey interview with Radar magazine

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