R. Lee Ermey

R. Lee Ermey
Ermey aboard USS Belleau Wood in 2005
Born	Ronald Lee Ermey (1944-03-24)March 24, 1944 Emporia, Kansas, U.S.
Died	April 15, 2018(2018-04-15) (aged 74) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Burial place	Arlington National Cemetery[1]
Occupations	Actor U.S. Marine drill instructor
Years active	1978–2017
Political party	Independent[2]
Spouses	Dolores Janshen ​ ​ (m. 1962; div. 1969)​ Nila Ermey ​ (m. 1975)​
Children	6
Military career
Nickname(s)	"Gunny"
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1961–1972
Rank	Staff sergeant (E-6) Gunnery sergeant (E-7) (honorary)
Unit	India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion Marine Wing Support Group 17
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Meritorious Unit Commendation Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross

Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 – April 15, 2018) was an American actor and U.S. Marine drill instructor. He achieved fame for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Ermey was also a United States Marine Corps staff sergeant and an honorary gunnery sergeant.

Ermey was often typecast in authority figure roles, such as Mayor Tilman in the film Mississippi Burning, Bill Bowerman in Prefontaine, Sheriff Hoyt in the fifth and sixth installments of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, Jimmy Lee Farnsworth in Fletch Lives, a police captain in Seven, plastic army men leader Sarge in the first three films of the Toy Story franchise (1995–2010), Lt. "Tice" Ryan in Rocket Power and John House in House.

On television, Ermey hosted two programs on the History Channel: Mail Call, in which he answered viewers' questions about various military issues both modern and historic; and Lock n' Load with R. Lee Ermey, which concerned the development of different types of weapons. He also hosted GunnyTime on the Outdoor Channel.