Luke Askew

Luke Askew
Born (1932-03-26)March 26, 1932
Macon, Georgia, U.S.
Died March 29, 2012(2012-03-29) (aged 80)
Lake Oswego, Oregon, U.S.
Cause of death Lung Cancer
Nationality American
Occupation Actor
Years active 1967–2006

Francis Luke Askew (March 26, 1932 – March 29, 2012)[1][2] was an American actor best known for his role in the 1969 film Easy Rider. He appeared in many westerns, and had a rare lead role in the spaghetti Western Night of the Serpent (La notte dei serpenti; 1969).[3]

Biography

Askew was born in Macon, Georgia to Milton Dillard Askew (1904-1976) and Dorothy Doolittle (1910-1969). Askew attended the University of Georgia, Mercer University, and Walter F. Jay School of Law. Askew served in the United States Air Force during his college years in intelligence.

He made his film debut in Hurry Sundown (1967), but was first noticed as an actor for his role in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke. The following year he worked with John Wayne in The Green Berets (with his hair cut short). The following year he worked with Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda in Easy Rider, a film that set him on the road to becoming a cult figure of modern cinema.[4]

Askew continued to work as an actor after that, predominantly appearing in guest roles on television series. This includes work on such series as: Bonanza, High Chaparral, Mission: Impossible, Cannon, The Rockford Files, Quincy, M.E., The Six Million Dollar Man, T. J. Hooker, L.A. Law, MacGyver, Walker, Texas Ranger; Murder She Wrote, and HBO's Big Love. He appeared frequently with Bill Paxton.[4]

He also took part in Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage (1999), a documentary about the making of Easy Rider DVD,[5] and the 2003 documentary Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood. Askew sang Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Jimmy Reed songs at The Gaslight Cafe. According to Bob Dylan, when Luke sang at The Gaslight Cafe it was like a "guy who sounded like Bobby Blue Bland".[6]

He later moved to Lake Oswego, Oregon.[7] He died in Portland, on March 29, 2012, three days after his 80th birthday, from lung cancer.[7][8]

Selected filmography

Television

References

  1. ↑ Lake Oswego actor "Luke Askew, featured in HBO's 'Big Love', 'Easy Rider', and others, dead at 80", oregonlive.com; accessed March 2, 2016.
  2. ↑ Obituary. oregonlive.com; retrieved August 12, 2012.
  3. ↑ Collector's movies - Spaghetti Westerns, trashpalace.com; accessed March 2, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Luke Askew at the Internet Movie Database
  5. ↑ Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage IMDb
  6. ↑ Luke Askew profile, ShooFeeTV; retrieved August 12, 2012.
  7. 1 2 Bailey, Jr., Everton (April 13, 2012). "Lake Oswego actor Luke Askew, featured in HBO's 'Big Love', 'Easy Rider' and others, dead at 80". The Oregonian. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
  8. ↑ 'Big Love's' Luke Askew Dies, 80. InsideBlip.com; accessed August 12, 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.