http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/1402A...it_Gleason.html

 

BURBANK, Calif. -- Paul Gleason, who played the go-to bad guy in

"Trading Places" and the angry high school principal in "The Breakfast

Club," has died. He was 67.

 

Gleason died at a local hospital Saturday of mesothelioma, a rare form

of lung cancer linked to asbestos, said his wife, Susan Gleason.

 

"Whenever you were with Paul, there was never a dull moment," his wife

said. "He was awesome."

 

A native of Miami, Gleason was an avid athlete. Before becoming an

actor, he played Triple-A minor league baseball for a handful of clubs

in the late 1950s.

 

Gleason honed his acting skills with his mentor Lee Strasberg, whom he

studied with at the Actors Studio beginning in the mid-1960s, family

members said.

 

Through his career, Gleason appeared in over 60 movies that included

"Die Hard," "Johnny Be Good," and "National Lampoon's Van Wilder." Most

recently, Gleason made a handful of television appearances in hit shows

such as "Friends" and "Seinfeld."

 

Gleason's passions went beyond acting. He had recently published a book

of poetry.

 

"He was an athlete, an actor and a poet," said his daughter, Shannon

Gleason-Grossman. "He gave me and my sister a love that is beyond

description that will be with us and keep us strong for the rest of our

lives."

 

Actor Jimmy Hawkins, a friend of Gleason's since the 1960s, said he

remembered Gleason for a sharp sense of humor.

 

"He just always had great stories to tell," Hawkins said.

 

Gleason was survived by his wife, two daughters and a granddaughter.

Funeral plans were pending.

 

RIP :cry:

 

Really good actor, never the star or leading man, but always played the bad guy authority figure in a host of 80s films, bit like the bloke who played Mr Strickland in Back to the Future

Edited May 29, 200619 yr by Joey Deacon