James Gammon, Character Actor, Dies at 70

James Gammon, a squint-eyed, froggy-voiced character actor who was best known as the manager in the baseball film comedy “Major League,” one of the rough-hewn American types — cowboys, rednecks and the alcoholic family patriarchs in the plays of Sam Shepard — that were his specialty, died Friday at his home in Costa Mesa, Calif. He was 70. The cause was cancer of the adrenal glands and the liver, said his wife, Nancy. With a bushy mustache, large, weathered-looking features and a voice full of gravel, Mr. Gammon was a natural for roles that called for men with the experience of dusty roads, out-of-the-way saloons, physical work and family travails written on their faces. And he became a familiar presence on television and in the movies, lending a seeming authenticity to settings where the townsfolk wore 10-gallon hats or overalls — or both — and did a lot of spitting. He began his career in the 1960s, appearing on “Gunsmoke,” “Bonanza,” “The Wild Wild West,” “The Virginian” and other television westerns; he made his movie debut in 1967, as a member of the chain gang in “Cool Hand Luke.” He played a redneck murder victim in “Natural Born Killers” and the revered cattle rancher Charles Goodnight in the television mini-series based on Larry McMurtry’s novel “Streets of Laredo,” a follow-up to “Lonesome Dove.” He also appeared in “Cold Mountain” “Urban Cowboy” and “Appaloosa.” “Major League” (1989) was the biggest hit of his career...more

I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to visit with Gammon. He was a close friend of Max Evans, who introduced us. That kind of ornery, yet fun-loving squint was there in real life too.

Godspeed.