Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 – April 15, 2018) was an American actor and U.S. Marine drill instructor. He achieved fame for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Ermey was also a United States Marine Corps staff sergeant and an honorary gunnery sergeant.
Ermey was often typecast in authority figure roles, such as Mayor Tilman in the film Mississippi Burning, Bill Bowerman in Prefontaine, Sheriff Hoyt in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, Jimmy Lee Farnsworth in Fletch Lives, a police captain in Se7en, plastic army men leader Sarge in the first three films of the Toy Story franchise (1995–2010), Lt. "Tice" Ryan in Rocket Power and John House in House.
On television, Ermey hosted two programs on the History Channel: Mail Call, in which he answered viewers' questions about various military issues both modern and historic; and Lock n' Load with R. Lee Ermey, which concerned the development of different types of weapons. He also hosted GunnyTime on the Outdoor Channel.
Early life
Ermey was born in Emporia, Kansas, on March 24, 1944, to John Edward (1924–2016) and Betty (née Pantle) Ermey (1925–2005). A few years after his birth, his father moved the family (including Ermey and his five brothers) to a small farm outside of Kansas City, Kansas. Then, in 1958, when Ermey was 14, his father moved the family to a rural home between Zillah, Washington, and Granger, Washington. As a teenager, Ermey (an admitted "troublemaker and a bit of a hell-raiser"), got into trouble one too many times. His mother took him before a judge to have something done with him, to correct him. The judge gave the young Ermey a choice between military service or jail. Ermey chose military service.
Military career
In 1961, at age 17, Ermey enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and went through recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in San Diego, California. He served in the aviation support field for a few years before becoming a drill instructor in India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, where he was assigned from 1965 to 1967.
Ermey then served in Marine Wing Support Group 17 at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Okinawa, Japan. In 1968, he was ordered to South Vietnam with MWSG-17, and spent 14 months in-country. The remainder of his service was on Okinawa, where he was advanced to Staff Sergeant (E-6). He was medically retired in 1972 because of several injuries. On May 17, 2002, he received an honorary promotion to Gunnery Sergeant (E-7) by the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James L. Jones.
Ermey regularly took the opportunity to speak with new recruits, visiting the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in San Diego, California, and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately five miles (8.0 km) south of Beaufort). An episode of Mail Call was filmed at the latter of these two training bases.
