Abominable’s Paul Gleason Dies
Posted by: Loren Coleman on May 29th, 2006
Known and remembered for his dozens of character roles, such as the angry high school principal in The Breakfast Club to the teacher in National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, actor Paul Gleason, 67, died May 27, 2006.
Shortly before his death, Gleason appeared as the no-nonsense disbelieving Sheriff Halderman in Ryan Schifrin’s Abominable (2006), which aired in May 2006, on the SciFi Channel. He is shown in the role drinking from a cup with part of the slogan he made famous from this line: "Don’t mess with the bull, young man. You’ll get the horns."– Principal Vernon in The Breakfast Club.
A native of Miami, Gleason was an avid athlete. Reportedly, after high school, he signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians, then spent two and a half years in the Indians and Boston Red Sox farm systems in the late 1950s. However, he never reached the major leagues. He was a football player at Florida State University, before graduating in 1966, and turning to acting.
Gleason fine-tuned his acting skills with his mentor Lee Strasberg, whom he studied with at the Actors Studio beginning in the 1960s. No doubt he knew Strasberg’s daughter, Susan, one of the stars of the 1974 classic film, The Legend of Hillbilly John.
Cause of death was due to mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer linked to asbestos. He was born Paul Xavier Gleason on May 4, 1939, in Jersey City, New Jersey.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Grab some wood there bub!
Rest in peace, Clarence Beeks.
hey everyone i was very sadden to hear that acter paul gleason of movies such as abominable & diehard and other great movies passed away. well he up in heaven now. i hope his family is doing ok etc now. we need to pray for them and his celebritys friends in this time of sorrow. i wonder if abominable & other paul gleason movies will be released on dvd. god bless bill
Thanks for posting his picture, His name seemed familiar but I couldn’t place him
this is a loss to the acting community, i have enjoyed many of the characters he has portrayed, like in the breakfast club.
Wasn’t his most famous line in Die Hard? When the two FBI agents copter went down, I think he uttered the best line of dialog in the movie; ‘We need to get us a couple more FBI agents’, or something close to that.
Condolences to his family and friends. He possessed a memorable face to go with his memorable roles. He will live on through his fine work in motion pictures.
“They’re gonna need some more FBI guys, I guess.”
Also from Paul Gleason, real-life:
“My biggest weakness is patience, wanting to see things happen too quickly or get changes in place right away. Not having the patience to let things develop.”
His talents will be missed.
i hope the director ryan schifrin puts a tribute to paul gleason in the abominable dvd when it comes out in near future or next year. it would great if loren coleman could contact the directer of abominable or other acters of abominable to interview them how much they liked paul gleason dureing the filming of abominable its just a thought.
“I’ll rip out your eyes and p*ss on your brain.” That line is from the film “Trading Places”, where Gleason played Clarence Beeks. Great movie, and it was the first I noticed him in. He was truly a tremendous character actor and well-deserving of a fitting tribute, one which he has here at Cryptomundo. God bless Paul Gleason.
I hope he did not have to suffer. I have seen what lung cancer can do first hand. My prayers to his loved ones.
1-12: Amen!
On ABC Family the Breakfast Club will be on this week, probably as a tribute.