Warren Oates' Main TV Roles Show Character(s) The Monroes (1966) Nick Beresf… Stoney Burke Ves Painter Rescue 8 Pete The Westerner Drunk Slattery's People Stu Burns Tate Cowpoke The Rough Riders Frank Day Stagecoach West Tom Lochlin The Reporter Mickroe

Main Movie Roles 1983 - Tough Enough 1983 - Blue Thunder 1982 - The Border 1981 - Stripes 1979 - 1941 1978 - The Brink's Job 1975 - Rancho Deluxe 1975 - Race with the Devil 1975 - 92 in the Shade 1974 - Cockfighter 1974 - The White Dawn 1974 - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia 1973 - Dillinger 1973 - Tom Sawyer 1973 - Badlands 1971 - Two-Lane Blacktop 1971 - The Hired Hand 1970 - Barquero 1970 - There Was a Crooked Man... 1969 - The Wild Bunch 1968 - The Split 1967 - The Shooting 1967 - In the Heat of the Night 1965 - The Rounders 1965 - Major Dundee 1962 - Ride the High Country 1960 - The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond 1959 - Up Periscope

BIOGRAPHY:

American character actor of the 1960s and 1970s whose distinctive style and intensity brought him to offbeat leading roles. Oates was born in a very small Kentucky town and attended high school in Louisville, continuing on to the University of Louisville and military service with the U.S. Marines. In college he became interested in the theatre and in 1954 headed for New York to make his mark as an actor. However, his first real job in television was, as it had been for James Dean (I) before him, testing the contest gags on the game show "Beat the Clock" (1950). He did numerous menial jobs while auditioning, including serving as the hat-check man at the nightclub "21". By 1957 he had begun appearing in live dramas such as "Studio One" (1948), but Oates' rural drawl seemed more fitted for the Westerns that were proliferating on the big screen at the time, so he moved to Hollywood and immediately stared getting steady work as an increasingly prominent supporting player, often as either craven or vicious types. With his role as one of the Hammond brothers in the Sam Peckinpah masterpiece Ride the High Country (1962), Oates found a niche both as an actor and as a colleague of one of the most distinguished and distinctive directors of the period. Peckinpah used Oates repeatedly, and Oates, in large part due to the prominence given him by Peckinpah, became one of those rare character actors whose name and face is as familiar as those of many leading stars. He began to play roles which, while still character parts, were also leads, particularly in cult hits like Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974). Although never destined to be a traditional leading man, Oates remained one of Hollywood's most valued character players up until his sudden death from a heart attack at the age of 53. His final two films, Tough Enough (1983) and Blue Thunder (1983), filmed back-to-back in early 1982 shortly before his death, were dedicated to his memory.


TRIVIA:

• Turned down the lead role in _Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)_ (qv) in order to make _The Wild Bunch (1969)_ (qv).
• In his long and prestigious career as one of the best character actors in film, he only had three leading roles: Bennie in "Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia", the title role in "Cockfighter" and the title role of "Dillinger". He got his first official lead role in "Garcia" as a gift from director Sam Peckinpah partly in appreciation for his work in two of his films, "Ride The High Country" and "The Wild Bunch", respectively, and because Oates had never been the star before.
• Subject of the song by "Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes", title "Warren Oates", from their album "You Wanna Be There But You Don't Wanna Travel" phonogram 1994
• Sang in the backup chorus for "Rocket to Stardom" on 'Kris Kristofferson (I)' (qv)'s 1975 album "Who's to Bless . . . Who's to Blame."
• Brother of 'Gordon Oates' (qv).
• The University of Louisville had a scholarship named after him for promising students in the arts programs.
• Father of 'Jennifer Oates (I)' (qv) and 'Tim Oates' (qv).