"Character actors are the working stiffs of both the big and small screen, the toiling thespians who always find work if not a big salary. "Not gorgeous enough to be stars," wrote Melissa Holbrook Pierson and Luc Sante in their 1998 book O.K. You Mugs: Writers on Movie Actors. "Their noses have been broken one too many times. . . . In short, they are real." Like most character actors, Kentucky's own Harry Dean Stanton languished in anonymity, a familiar face in film and television but one whose name audiences seldom knew. A self-proclaimed loner, Stanton consistently took on these supporting roles, making silence and stillness his most powerful means of onscreen communication In Harry Dean Stanton, author Joseph B. Atkins unwinds the mystery man persona and explores both his life and work. In doing so, Atkins examines Stanton's early life in Irvine, Kentucky, his difficult relationship with his Baptist parents, his service in the Navy, and the events that inspired him to become an actor. When he returned from the Navy, Stanton enrolled at the University of Kentucky where he immersed himself in the art of acting. So heavily influenced by one of his teachers, Stanton decided to drop out of school in 1949 and move to California, where would begin to hone his craft at the renowned Pasadena Playhouse. After studying Shakespeare and stage productions, Stanton was able to break into television productions such as Zane Grey Theater (1956), The Lawless Years (1959), and Gunsmoke (1955). Stanton's success did not depend on claiming main roles. His work as a supporting actor helped him bring back the "lost art" of character acting. In one of his early breakout roles, Stanton played a guitar-pick tramp opposite Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke (1967). Later, he continued to make a name for himself through the "New Hollywood" years in increasingly significant supportive roles. However, it was not until the 1980s that he found himself in prominent roles in films including Paris, Texas (1984) and Repo Man (1984). Throughout his accomplished and beloved career, he also forged close and lasting relationships with some of Hollywood's biggest names, including Jack Nicholson, David Lynch, and Kris Kristofferson"-- Provided by publisher.
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