The Biography

Ramon Bieri (born June 16, 1929) was an American actor. A heavy-set character actor, his typical screen personae tended to be gruff westerners, irate cops and hard-boiled gangsters. Bieri was decorated Korean War veteran who began his stage career in 1954, appearing both on and off-Broadway (notably in 'Death of a Salesman' in 1975). In later years he acted with the ensemble of San Diego's Old Globe Theatre (notably, as the tough captain in 'Mr. Roberts', 1995). On screen, he made his television debut in 1962 as a bit part player; he went on to have a prolific career as guest star in television shows throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Bieri also starred in his own short-lived NBC sitcom, Joe's World (1979), as a Detroit house painter with five kids and assorted problems. He had roles in notable films such as Badlands (1973), The Conversation (1974), Sorcerer (1977), and Reds (1981). In private life, he was said to have been a keen fisherman and sailor. Bieri died in May 2001 in Woodland Hills from cancer at the age of 71.