For
information regarding guest appearances, interviews, etc…
Contact Illumina Productions at illuminaproductions@hotmail.com.
E-Mail
Mailing Contact: 2109 S. Wilbur Ave. Walla Walla, WA 99362
Phone: 509-525-4387 / Fax: 509-525-0393
Biography
Charles Napier was born in the tiny community of Mt.
Union, near Scottsville, Kentucky, on April 12, 1936. He
was educated in the public schools of Scottsville. He had the
pleasure of playing in two state high school basketball
tournaments in 1953 and 1954.
After graduating high school,
he enlisted in the Army in 1954. He rose to the rank of E-5
(Sgt.) white serving as company clerk with Company A 511th
Airborne Infantry, 11th Airborne Division.
After service he attended Western Kentucky University in
Bowling Green, Kentucky. There he graduated in 1961 with a
major in Art and a minor in Physical Education. His first job
was as assistant basketball coach at his old high school. He
gave up coaching, eventually taking jobs with a bridge company
and an advertising agency before moving to Clearwater, Florida
to teach art at JFK Junior High School.
While attending Graduate School back at Western Kentucky in
1964, he was persuaded by D. Russell Miller to try out for a
role at the Alley Playhouse. Napier went on to perform in
several plays. He played the role of "Iago" in the
play "Othello".
He then moved back to Clearwater to continue teaching, Having
gotten the "acting bug", he became involved in the
community theater in the Clearwater, Tampa and St. Petersburg
area. He eventually moved into the Little Theatre in
Clearwater as caretaker.
During this time he also pursed his other passion - painting.
His watercolor and oil works were very popular in
Florida.
In 1965 he auditioned for the "Cross and Sword" in
St. Augustine, Florida. He won the role of "Captain
Albarez". That fall he gave up teaching and headed
for the sidewalks of New York to break into show biz. This was
a very bleak time and with a bitter winter bearing down he set
out for San Diego, California and the Shakespeare Festival at
the Old Globe Theatre. He played minor roles in three classic
plays before moving on to Hollywood.
There began the struggle for existence to "make it"
in the movies and /or television. He did the usual low paying
jobs, such as parking cars, while waiting for his big break.
Hanging around the "Rain Check Room" eventually paid
off. He secured an agent and began to make some progress.
The route he took in the entertainment industry was unplanned,
but he reasoned that an acting job was work, and was what the
business was all about. Anything to keep from going back to
the mundane jobs of the past.
His first television guest star role came in 1967 on the
series "Mission Impossible". Next he landed the
historical guest role as "Adam" in the "Way to
Eden" episode of "Star Trek".In 1968, after filming a
trucker movie, he decided to see more of the country. Napier
took a job with the most powerful trucking magazine in the
country "Overdrive". For the next two years he wrote
and took pictures for "Overdrive Magazine". This job
ended during the violent truck strike of 1973 and he found
himself back in Hollywood.
Down and out, Napier was living in his car on a parking lot,
where one day a limo pulled up to him and the driver said,
"Are you Charles Napier? Mr. Hitchcock would like to see
you". Napier was taken to Universal Studios to meet
Alfred Hitchcock, where he was immediately placed under
contract with Universal Studios. There he worked on many
television shows including Mannix, Rockford Files, Baa Baa
Black Sheep, Starsky and Hutch, A-Team, and Knightrider.
In 1977 he starred in the television series "Oregon
Trail" with Rod Taylor. In 1986, he once again starred
with Taylor in the series "The Outlaws".
Napier's deep voice was also lent to the television series
"The Incredible Hulk", where he provided the
"growls" for The Hulk.
Napier has guest starred in many television shows
including "Golden Girls", "Dallas",
"Murder She Wrote", "Hudson Street",
"Party of Five", "Night Court",
"Walker Texas Ranger" and "Deep Space 9".To this day, Napier has appeared in every movie that
Academy Award winner, Jonathan Demme, has directed. From
"Melvin and Howard", "Married to the Mob",
"Silence of the Lambs", "Philadelphia",
and "Beloved"
He still continues to work in films and television.
This year he will be appearing in the release of "The Big
Tease" with Francis Fisher, "Very Mean Men"
with Charles Durning, and "Pirates of the Plain with Dee
Wallace Stone.
Lately, Napier has found success in the voiceover
field. Those credits include series such as "The
Critic" (voice of Duke Phillips), "The
Magician" (voice of Vega and Blackjack), "Men In
Black" (voice of Zed), "God, Bob, and the Devil
(voice of the Preacher). Voiceover guest roles have included
"Rugrats", "The Thornberrys",
""Superman", "Jonny Quest",
"Sylvester and Tweety". Charlie can also be heard as
the narrator on the new show "Tough". He has
recently lent his voice to the new Dreamworks feature
"Spirit" (voice of Cowboy Jim). In the short
animation film "El Gringo", Napier's voice can be
heard in the role of "Gringo". This film is a
possible Academy Award nomination for this year.
You may also recognize his voice as the national
spokesperson for GM's Montana Minivan by Pontiac. He also just
completed a new commercial for "Bud Lite" .
Charlie and his wife, Dee, live on their ranch in the
beautiful Southern Sierra Mountains, with their two
children - Hunter, age 14 , and Meghan, age 11.
Napier also has a son, Chuck, that resides in Washington, D.C,.
Charlie enjoys sporting clays and is very involved with
several shooting events for charities. Napier is grateful to all his fans who
have been kind enough to write and request autographs over the
years. He hopes you will continue to support him in the
future.
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Upcoming Events
Dragoncon
August 30 thru September 2nd, 2002
Atlanta, Georgia
www.dragoncon.org
Charles just finished his first novel with George Buck Flower
titles "Rednecks in Love".
Available from www.publishamerica.com
Upcoming articles
Worldly Remains Magazine (cover story) fall issue
Overdrive Magazine (fall issue)
www.worldlyremains.com
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FILMS (Link to IMDB)
Filmography
Extreme Honor (2001) Commander
Down 'n Dirty (2000) Captain Teller
Forgive Me Father (2000)
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000) Four Star General
Very Mean Men (2000) Detective Bailey
The Frozen Inferno (2000) Gulag Officail
Cypress Edge (1999) Detective O'Reilly
Los Gringos (1999) The Gringo
The Hunter's Moon (1999) J.T. Conove
Big Tease, The (1999)Warren Crockett
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
Pirates of the Plain (1999) Grandpa
"The Magician" (1998) TV Series (voice)
. Lt. Vega
Armstrong (1998) .... Bob
Beloved (1998/I) (uncredited) .... Angry Carny
Breaking the Silence (1998)
Centurion Force (1998)
"Men in Black: The Series" (1997) TV
(voice) .... Zed
Steel (1997) .... Col. David
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
(1997) .... Commander Gilmour
Macon County Jail (1997)
No Small Ways (1997)
Cable Guy, The (1996) .... Arresting Officer
Original Gangstas (1996) .... Mayor
Billy Lone Bear (1996)
Riot (1996) .... Agent Devaney
Jury Duty (1995) .... Jed
3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995) .... Jack
Ballistic (1995) .... Underwood
Felony (1995) .... Duke
Hard Justice (1995) .... Warden Pike
Max Is Missing (1995) (TV) .... Becker
Jailbreakers (1994) (TV) .... Horse Connection
"Critic, The" (1994) TV Series (voice)
.... Duke Phillips Fatal Pursuit (1994) ....
Herbert
Raw Justice (1994) .... Stiles
Savage Land (1994) .... Cole
Silent Fury (1994)
Silk Degrees (1994) .... Schultz
Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) .... Interrogator
Body Bags (1993) (TV) .... Manager
Body Shot (1993) .... Leon
Frogtown II (1993) .... Captain Delano
Philadelphia (1993) .... Judge Garnett
Skeeter (1993) .... Ernie Buckle
Treacherous Crossing (1992) (TV)
Center of the Web (1992)
Eyes of the Beholder (1992) .... Detective Wilson
Hornsby e Rodriguez - sfida criminale (1992)
Mean Tricks (1992) .... Brian Hornsby
Soldier's Fortune (1992) .... Colonel Blair
To Die, To Sleep (1992) .... Father
Silence of the Lambs, The (1991) .... Lt. Boyle
Indio 2 - La rivolta (1991) .... IMC President
Killer Instinct (1991) .... John Doogan
Lonely Hearts (1991) .... Robby Ross
Maniac Cop 2 (1990) .... Lew Brady
Cop Target (1990)
Dragonfight (1990) .... Moochow
Ernest Goes to Jail (1990) .... Warden
Future Zone (1990) .... Mickland
Grifters, The (1990) .... Hebbing
Miami Blues (1990) .... Sergeant Bill Henderson
Ultima partita, L' (1990)
"War and Remembrance" (1989) (mini) TV
Series .... Lt. General Walter Bedell Smith
Alien from the Deep (1989)
One Man Force (1989) .... Dante
Married to the Mob (1988) .... Angela's
Hairdresser
Incredible Hulk Returns, The (1988) (TV)
Hit List (1988) .... Tom Mitchum
Deep Space (1987) .... Ian McLemore
Instant Justice (1987) .... Major Davis
Night Stalker, The (1987)
"Outlaws" (1986) TV Series .... Wolfson
"Wolf" Lucas Something Wild (1986) ....
Irate Chef
Camping del terrore (1986) .... The Sheriff
Kidnapped (1986) .... Lt. O'Bryan
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) .... Murdock
Cartier Affair, The (1984) (TV) .... Morgan
Carroll
Outlaws, The (1984) (TV)
"Blue and the Gray, The" (1982) (mini)
TV Series .... ..Major Harrison
Wacko (1981) .... Chief O'Hara
Blues Brothers, The (1980) .... Tucker McElroy
Melvin and Howard (1980) .... Ventura
Last Embrace (1979) .... Dave Quittle
"Oregon Trail, The" (1977) TV Series
.... Luther Sprague Big Bob Johnson and His
Fantastic Speed Circus (1977)
Handle with Care (1977) .... Chrome Angel
Ransom for Alice! (1977) (TV) .... Pete Phelan
Thunder and Lightning (1977) .... Jim Bob
Supervixens (1975) .... Harry Sledge
Seven Minutes, The (1971)
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) ... Baxter
Wolfe Love and Kisses (1970)
Moonfire (1970)
Cherry, Harry and Raquel! (1969) .... Harry
House Near the Prado, The (1969)
Producer filmography
Supervixens (1975) (associate)
Notable TV guest appearances
"Party of Five" (1994) "Video
Guy" "Here and Now" "Hudson
Street" (1995) "Lone Star Sheriff"
"Guess
...Who's Coming to Dinner?"
"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"
(1995)"Denning" in "Little
...Green Men"
"Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of
Superman" ..(1995)"Salin' Whalen"
in"Target: Jimmy Olsen"
"Renegade" (1992) in episode:
"Fighting Cage"
"Renegade" (1992)"Reno's father
Sgt. Raines" in "Windy ..City
Blues"
"A-Team, The" (1984)"Briggs"
in "Fire"
"Whiz Kids" (1983)"Douglas
Blackthorne" in episo"May ...I Take
Your Order Please?)
"Night Court" (1984) "Mitch
Bowers" in "Hi Honey, I'm Home"
"Dukes of Hazzard"
(1983)"Pete" in "Targets: Daisy
& ...Lulu"
"A-Team, The" (1983)"Cross"
in "Labor Pains"
"Tales of the Gold Monkey" (1983)
"Tex" in "High ...Stakes
Lady"
"CHiPs" (1977) playing
"Klane" in "Something
Special" "Simon & Simon"
(1982)"Gibson" in"Mike and
Pat"
"Dallas" (1978) "Carl" in
"Where There's A Will"
"Knight Rider" (1982)
"Carney" in "Knight of the
...Phoenix"
"B.J. and the Bear" (1979)
"Hammer" in "Gasohol"
"B.J. and the Bear"
(1979)"Hammer" in "Pogo Lil"
"B.J. and the Bear" (1979)
"Hammer" in "Siege"
"Starsky and Hutch" (1978)"Sheriff
Joe Tyce" in ..."Satan's Witches"
"Rockford Files, The" (1977)"Mitch
Donner" in "New ...Life, Old
Dragons"
"Baa Baa Black Sheep" (1976) "Best
Three Out of Five"
"Baa Baa Black Sheep" (1976) in
"Flying Misfits: Part 1"
"Baa Baa Black Sheep" (1976) in
"Flying Misfits: Part 2"
"Rockford Files, The" (1974) playing
"Billy Webster" in ..."Two Into
5:56 Won't Go"
"Starsky and Hutch" (1975) "John
Brown Harris" in ..."Texas
Longhorn"
"Streets of San Francisco, The" (1972)
"Norderman" in ..."No Place to
Hide"
"Mission: Impossible" (1966) playing
"Thug" in "Run ...For The
Money"
"Star Trek" (1966) "Adam" in
"The Way to Eden"
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