Geoffrey Bond Lewis (July 31, 1935 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films and television shows, and was principally known for his film roles alongside Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford. He often portrayed villains or eccentric characters.
Life and career
Lewis was born July 31, 1935, in Plainfield, New Jersey, but spent much of his youth in Wrightwood, California. He studied theater arts at San Bernardino Valley College for two years, then worked as a truck driver and at other odd jobs before launching his career as an actor. He took acting classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City and performed off-Broadway and at regional theaters in Massachusetts. He tried breaking into Hollywood in the 1960s. Barnaby Jones, Mork & Mindy, The Golden Girls, Lou Grant, Mama's Family, Magnum, P.I., The A-Team, Titus, Murder, She Wrote, The X-Files, Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven, Starsky & Hutch, Walker, Texas Ranger and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In 1979, he appeared in Salem's Lot. He also played opposite Polly Holliday in the Alice spin-off Flo (1980–81) for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.
In the 1980s, Lewis was also a member of musical storytelling group Celestial Navigations with musician and songwriter Geoff Levin.
Personal life and death
Lewis was married three times and had numerous children, with news outlets variously reporting that he had nine or ten surviving children. One of his children is actress Juliette Lewis
Selected filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1963 || The Fat Black Pussycat || Man in Park || rowspan="2" | Uncredited
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1971 || The Todd Killings || Mr. Carpenter's son
|-
| Welcome Home, Soldier Boys || Francis Rapture, motel owner ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1972 || Moon of the Wolf|| Lawrence Burrifors ||
|-
| Bad Company|| Hobbs ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1973 || High Plains Drifter|| Stacey Bridges ||
|-
| Dillinger|| Harry Pierpont ||
|-
| My Name Is Nobody|| Leader of the Wild Bunch ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1974 || Thunderbolt and Lightfoot|| Eddie Goody ||
|-
| Macon County Line|| Hamp ||
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1975 || The Great Waldo Pepper|| Newt ||
|-
| The Wind and the Lion|| Samuel Gummere ||
|-
| Smile|| Wilson-Shears ||
|-
| Lucky Lady|| Captain Mosely ||
|-
| 1976 || The Return of a Man Called Horse || Zenas ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1978 || Shoot the Sun Down|| Scalphunter ||
|-
| Silver Saddle|| 2 Strike Snake ||
|-
| Every Which Way but Loose|| Orville Boggs ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1979 || Centennial|| Sheriff Bogardus ||
|-
| Tilt|| Truck Driver ||
|-
| Human Experiments|| Doctor Hans R. Kline ||
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1980 || Tom Horn|| Walter Stoll ||
|-
| Belle Starr|| Reverend Meeks ||
|-
| Bronco Billy|| John Arlington ||
|-
| Heaven's Gate|| Trapper Fred ||
|-
| Any Which Way You Can|| Orville Boggs ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1983 || 10 to Midnight|| Dave Dante ||
|-
| September Gun|| Sheriff Johnson ||
|-
| 1984 || Night of the Comet || Carter ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1985 || Lust in the Dust || Hard Case Williams ||
|-
| Stitches|| Ralph Rizzo ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1988 || Time Out|| Mr. Steve Smith ||
|-
| Out of the Dark|| Dennis ||
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1989 || Fletch Lives|| KKK Leader ||
|-
| Pink Cadillac|| Ricky Z ||
|-
| Catch Me ...If You Can|| Mr. Johnson ||
|-
| Tango & Cash|| Captain Schroeder || Uncredited
|-
| 1990 || Disturbed || Michael Kahn ||
|-
| 1991 || Double Impact || Frank Avery ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1992 || The Lawnmower Man || Terry McKeen ||
|-
| Wishman || Hitchcock the Genie ||
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1993 || Point of No Return || Drugstore Owner ||
|-
| Joshua Tree || Sheriff Cepeda ||
|-
| The Man Without a Face || Chief Wayne Stark ||
|-
| Only the Strong || Kerrigan ||
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1994 || White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf || Heath ||
|-
| National Lampoon's Last Resort || Rex Carver ||
|-
| Maverick || Matthew Wicker / Eugene, banker ||
|-
| The Dragon Gate || Shin'ichi ||
|-
| 1995 || The Janitor || Janitor || Animated short, voice
|-
| 1996 || An Occasional @#!*% || Draper Jewett ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1997 || American Perfekt || Willy ||
|-
| Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil|| Luther Driggers ||
|-
| 1999 || Five Aces || Sloan ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2000 || The Prophet's Game|| Guest #1 ||
|-
| The Way of the Gun|| Abner Mercer ||
|-
| Highway 395|| ||
|-
| 2001 || Sunstorm || Browner ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2002 || A Light in the Darkness|| Stanley Melnick ||
|-
| The New Guy|| Principal Zaylor ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2003 || Mind Games|| Melvin Reeves ||
|-
| A Painted House|| Mr. Spruill ||
|-
| 2004 || Blueberry || Greg Sullivan || (released in USA on DVD as Renegade)
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2005 || Social Guidance|| Lucky Marshall ||
|-
| Down in the Valley|| Sheridan ||
|-
| The Devil's Rejects|| Roy Sullivan ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2006 || Fingerprints|| Keeler ||
|-
| Wicked Little Things|| Harold ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2007 || Cold Ones|| Felton Jones ||
|-
| Moving McAllister|| Crazy Old Martin || Uncredited
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2008 || I Am Somebody: No Chance in Hell|| Lewis ||
|-
| Thomas Kinkade's Christmas Cottage|| Butch ||
|-
| 2009 || The Butcher || Naylor ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2010 || Pickin' & Grinnin || Cletus ||
|-
| Miss Nobody || Mr. Ketchum ||
|-
| 2012 || Mommy's Little Monster || Stanley Melnick ||
|-
| 2016 || Retreat! || Sullivan ||
|-
| 2018 || High and Outside || Len Harding || (final film role)
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
| rowspan="4" |1972
|Mannix
|Ernest
|Episode: "Days Beyond Recall"
|-
|Cannon
|James Bancroft
|Episode: "Nobody Beats the House"
|-
|Mannix
|Killer
|Episode: "Cry Silence"
|-
|Mission Impossible
|Lusk
|Episode: "Committed"
|-
|1973-1980
|Barnaby Jones
|Various
|3 episodes
|-
|1974
|The Waltons
|Elwood Dobbs
|Episode: "The Runaway"
|-
| rowspan="4" |1975
|The Streets of San Francisco
|Harris
|Episode: "School of Fear"
|-
|S.W.A.T.
|Jack Bonelli
|Episode: "The Killing Ground"
|-
|Harry O
|Senator John Elton
|Episode: "Mayday"
|-
|Starsky & Hutch
|Allen "Monk" Philos
|Episode: "The Fix"
|-
|1976-1983
|Little House on the Prairie
|Sam Galendar/Cole Younger
|2 episodes
|-
|1976
|Monster Squad
|The Skull
|Episode: "The Skull"
|-
|1977
|Hawaii Five-O
|Commander Nolan
|Episode: "Deep Cover"
|-
|1977-1980
|Lou Grant
|Sheriff/Jim Lawrence
|2 episodes
|-
|1978
|When Every Day Was the Fourth of July
|Albert “Snowman” Cavanaugh
| rowspan="2" |TV film
|-
| rowspan="2" |1979
|The Jericho Mile
|Dr. Bill Janowski
|-
|Salem's Lot
|Mike Ryerson
|Miniseries
|-
|1980-1981
|Flo
|Earl Tucker
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1983
|Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.
|Janus
|TV film
|-
|Mama's Family
|Claude Cainmaker
|2 episodes
|-
|1984
|Highway to Heaven
|Honest Eddie
|Episode: "Another Song for Christmas"
|-
|1984-1985
|The A-Team
|Kale Sykes/Colonel Mack Stoddard
|2 episodes
|-
|1985
|The Fall Guy
|Matt Barris
|Episode: "The King of the Stuntmen"
|-
| rowspan="2" |1986
|Annihilator
|Professor Alan Jeffries
|TV film
|-
|MacGyver
|David Crane
|Episode: "Silent World"
|-
| rowspan="2" |1987
|The Golden Girls
|Chuck
|Episode: "Empty Nests"
|-
|Designing Women
|Dr. David Jackson
|Episode: "Mary Jo's Dad Dates Charlene"
|-
|1990
|Gunsmoke: The Last Apache
|Bodine
|TV film
|-
|1994
|Walker, Texas Ranger
|Sheriff Beau Langley
|Episode: "Badge of Honour"
|-
|1995
|When the Dark Man Calls
|John "Parmenter"
|TV film
|-
|1997
|Rough Riders
|Eli
|Miniseries
|-
|1999
|The X-Files
|Alfred Fellig
|Episode: "Tithonus"
|-
|2001
|Titus
|Calvin
|Episode: "Dave Joins the Army"
|-
|2003
|Dawson's Creek
|Uncle Bill
|2 episodes
|-
|2004
|Law and Order: Criminal Intent
|Butch
|Episode: "In the Dark"
|-
| rowspan="2" |2006
|Wild Hearts
|Hank
|TV film
|-
|Criminal Minds
|Coroner
|Episode: "The Boogeyman"
|-
|2007
|House, M.D.
|Older Man
|Episode: "One Day, One Room"
|}
References
External links
- Geoffrey Lewis; Aveleyman.com
- Celestial Navigations official website