Charles Napier was one tough dude.

Celebrities always die in threes.  With the death of Steve Jobs, the question of who else will join him has been kind of pressing on my mind.  Then I fire up the computer and see another obituary for a beloved actor.  In this case, he made a career of being a tough guy with a tougher voice.  Veteran character actor Charles Napier is dead at age 75.

Napier, born in Scottsville, Kentucky, was a US Army veteran who served in the 11th Airborne before making his big screen debut in Russ Meyer’s Cherry, Harry, & Raquel! in 1970.  He made an appearance in several Meyer movies, including Roger Ebert‘s Beyond The Valley of the Dolls, and from there he had noteworthy roles in Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, Rambo: First Blood Pt. 2, and as Tucker McElroy, the toughest redneck of all, in The Blues Brothers.

Of course, my favorite Napier role was that of Duke Phillips from The Critic.  Duke, a Ted Turner clone, was one of the funniest characters in TV history, and a great character on a lamented television show.  Just check this out, from the episode where Duke runs for President:

Tags: actors, hollywood, television, movies, obituaries, duke phillips, russ meyer, charles napier, charles napier dead at 75, voiceover actor charles napier dead, tucker mcelroy, the blues brothers, silence of the lambs, character actors, veteran character actor charles napier dead at 75, bakersfield, california

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