Full Metal Jacket star R. Lee Ermey dies at 74

R. Kee Ermey.
(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

R. Lee Ermey, famous for playing Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, died Sunday from complications of pneumonia. He was 74.

A U.S. Marine Corps staff sergeant, drill instructor, and honorary gunnery sergeant, he spent 11 years in the military, including 14 months in Vietnam. When he retired, Ermey decided to take acting classes, and ended up working as a technical adviser on Apocalypse Now, in addition to playing a helicopter pilot. His Full Metal Jacket performance earned Ermey a Golden Globe nomination, and in addition to acting in films, he also had several voiceover roles, including as the lead green plastic soldier in the Toy Story movies.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.