Wings Hauser, the versatile character actor known for his intense turns in Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, Vice Squad and Tough Guys Don’t Dance, has died. He was 77.
Hauser died Saturday at his home in Santa Monica after a long battle with COPD, his daughter, Bright Hauser, told The Hollywood Reporter. She noted that he was using an oxygen tank most recently.
Survivors also include his son, actor Cole Hauser, now playing the fixer Rip Wheeler on Yellowstone.
Hauser had his breakthrough when he starred as a psychopath pimp known as Ramrod in Avco Embassy Pictures’ lurid Vice Squad (1982), directed by horror veteran Gary Sherman. He also sang the theme song for the movie, “Neon Slime.”
Later, he played a racist U.S. Army officer in A Soldier’s Story (1984), directed by Norman Jewison; a cocaine dealer in Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986), starring Richard Pryor; and a cop in Tough Guys Don’t Dance (1987), written and directed by Norman Mailer. For that last one, he received a Spirit Award nomination.
Hauser’s first prominent role came when he joined the cast of the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless to play Greg Foster in 1977. He stuck with the role for three seasons, then came back for a couple episodes in 2010.
Among dozens of appearances on television, the charismatic actor also recurred as Lieutenant Colonel Miller on ABC’s China Beach in 1990-91, as Conners family neighbor Ty Tilden on Roseanne in 1992-93 and as bounty hunter J. Jay Jones on Fox’s Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1994-96.
Hauser “had a career that spanned decades, bringing to life characters that were raw, complex and unforgettable,” his daughter wrote. “Whether he was portraying the tough anti-hero in gritty crime dramas, the villain you loved to hate or the unexpected source of wisdom in independent films, he always brought a fearless authenticity to his work.
“His performances were never just roles — they were lived-in experiences, filled with the energy, edge and charisma that made him a truly unique talent. But beyond the screen, Wings was a friend, a mentor, a dreamer and, above all, a man who loved deeply.”
Gerald Dwight Hauser was born in Hollywood on Dec. 12, 1947. His father, Dwight Hauser, was an actor and screenwriter (the radio drama The Whistler) who fell victim to the Hollywood Blacklist. His mother, Geraldine, was the daughter of Tom Thienes, who wrote Whimseys, a book of verse, in the 1920s.
Hauser appeared in the 1967 war film First to Fight and played football in school — he got his nickname for playing the wingback position at Thousand Oaks High School and the Northridge Military Academy — before concentrating on acting and music.
He said he was homeless in the 1970s and living in a vacant garage in the MacArthur Park area of L.A. with his infant daughter. He turned things around in 1975 with an appearance on an episode of CBS’ Cannon and by releasing, as Wings Livinryte, Your Love Keeps Me Off the Streets, an RCA album of easy listening country pop.
Later in the decade, he showed up on Baretta and Emergency! and in the Karel Reisz-directed Who’ll Stop the Rain (1978), starring Nick Nolte.
Through a friend who had served in Vietnam, Hauser crafted the story for the war film Uncommon Valor (1983), directed by Ted Kotcheff and starring Gene Hackman, Patrick Swayze and Robert Stack, and he helmed films including Coldfire (1990), The Art of Dying (1991) and Skins (1994).
He starred opposite Adam West on the 1986 NBC series The Last Precinct and on the 1991-92 syndicated action series Lightning Force.
His big-screen résumé included Wilding (1990), Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time (1991), Michael Mann’s The Insider (1999) and Rubber (2010) and TV guest spots on The Fall Guy, Hunter, Airwolf, Murder, She Wrote, The Young Riders, Monk, Rizzoli & Isles and Criminal Minds.
Survivors also include his third wife, Cali, whom he married in 2002 and partnered in an indie film and music studio; his sisters, Helena and Marcia; and his grandchildren, Hutchinson, Holden, Ryland, Colt and Steely Rose. His brother, Erich, died in 2017.
“He said that I was his future and even though I am a feminist, I found my perfect partner in this man and was happy/proud to be building something together,” his wife said in a statement. “I never thought I would ever get married or have a partner until I met Wings. Of course it’s much harder now, but I’m going to fulfill his wishes that I ‘continue the work’ and fulfill all the projects we set up to do in the next few years.
“We began every day with a purposely stupid sing song: ‘Good morning, I love you. Good morning, I adore you. Good morning, I love you, kiss and a hug and a kiss kiss kiss.’ We said, ‘I love you,’ all day long, and we said, ‘Good night, I love you,’ every night.”
Source: Hollywoodreporter
