Justin Humphreys
Names compiles ten years' worth of interviews with as many character actors. These are the supporting players who have made generations of moviegoers blurt out "I know that actor- Who is that? I've seen him a million times!" These actors' identities have continually eluded most moviegoers. But their unforgettable faces and personalities are another story. Included are exhaustive interviews with: - R. G. Armstrong- Burly, prolific western star-- A perennial movie sheriff, Sam Peckinpah regular, and, unrecognizably, Dick Tracy's arch-nemesis, Pruneface! - Dick Bakalyan- The pugnacious Crown Prince of the Juvenile Delinquent film, familiar Disney movie player, and co-star of films as disparate as Ray Milland's Panic in Year Zero! and Roman Polanski's Chinatown. - Don Pedro Colley- Imposing, regal co-star of Beneath the Planet of the Apes (as the telepathic mutant inquisitor), THX-1138 (as a hologram), and Sugar Hill (as Baron Samedi, king of the zombies). - Royal Dano- In his last interview, Dano recalls his extensive career, working with Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston, Nicholas Ray, Jack Arnold, and dozens of other Hollywood notables. - Jonathan Haze- As part of director Roger Corman's stock company, Haze achieved cinematic immortality as the luckless "Seymour" in Corman's original The Little Shop of Horrors. Besides his multifarious work with Corman, Haze wrote AIP's manic Invasion of the Star Creatures, and worked behind the cameras with the likes of John Wayne. - Bo Hopkins- A cinematic stalwart of the '70s, whose credits include The Wild Bunch (his debut), The Getaway, Monte Walsh, American Graffiti, and The Day of the Locust. Another perennial movie sheriff! - L. Q. Jones- A western, war, and Peckinpah film staple, and director of the cult science fiction classic, A Boy and His Dog. His recent credits include Casino, The Edge, and The Mask of Zorro. (Also, quite possibly, the funniest character actor alive.) - Buck Kartalian- Diminutive former wrestler and body-builder, best remembered as "Julius," the ape jailer of Planet of the Apes. Kartalian's film work ranges from major Hollywood fare (Mr. Roberts, Cool Hand Luke) to some of the wackiest exploitation films ever (The Acid Eaters, Please Don't Eat My Mother!, and Devil's Angels.) - Paul Koslo- Laconic action star of the '70s into the '90s: The Omega Man, Mr. Majestyk, The Losers, Cleopatra Jones, Joe Kidd, ad infinitum. - Marc Lawrence- One of the screen's greatest gangsters, with a career spanning well over 150 feature films and eight decades! Illustrated with over 100 photographs, Names. chronicles the lives of the unsung character men who often outshone the stars that surrounded them. Includes never-before-published interview material.