Actor · Acting

Charles Napier

Born 1936-04-12

Died 2011-10-05

📍 Scottsville, Kentucky, USA

Charles Lewis Napier (April 12, 1936 – October 5, 2011) was a prolific American actor known for his many supporting and occasional leading roles in television and film. Born near Scottsville, Kentucky, Napier served in the U.S. Army before pursuing higher education, earning a degree in art from Western Kentucky University. He initially worked as a sports coach and art teacher before dedicating himself to acting.

Napier gained early attention after starring in several low-budget films by director Russ Meyer, including his debut in Cherry, Harry & Raquel! (1969). He became well-known for his portrayal of tough, authoritative characters such as police officers, soldiers, and villains often with a rugged or corrupt edge. Among his memorable roles are the short-tempered country singer Tucker McElroy in The Blues Brothers (1980), CIA officer Marshall Murdock in Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), and multiple collaborations with director Jonathan Demme in films like The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Philadelphia (1993).

He also had notable appearances in television, including roles in The A-Team, The Oregon Trail, Star Trek: The Original Series, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Napier was appreciated for his strong voice, steely gaze, and distinct broad chin, which made him a standout character actor.

Napier passed away in 2011 in Bakersfield, California, due to thrombosis at the age of 75. He also published a book about his life titled Square Jaw and Big Heart

Filmography 191

as Dr. Speltz (voice)

as Sheriff Sanders

as Sherrif Tillman

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

as Dick Lewiston

One-Eyed Monster

Black Crescent Moon

as Father Woods

Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide: Field Trips, Permission Slips, Signs, and Weasels

as Seargent Guard

as Eyepatch-wearing Two Spies boss

as Sheriff (voice)

Suits on the Loose

as General Wilkins

Fielder's Choice

Lords of Dogtown

Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide

as Seargent Guard

as Kilgore Steed (voice)

Justice League Unlimited

as General Hardcastle (voice)

The Manchurian Candidate

as General Sloan

as Sheriff Harper

as Hal Chaney (2008)

The Thief & the Stripper

as Sheriff Bates

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

as Capt. Jerry Teller

The Legend of Tarzan

as Ian McTeague (voice)

as Commanding Officer #1

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

as Warren Matthews

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command

as Wild Bill Cooley (voice)

Nutty Professor II: The Klumps

as Four Star General

as Detective Bailey

Never Look Back

as Sheriff Dawkins

Son of the Beach

God, the Devil and Bob

as Rev. Nat Potterson (voice)

as Sen. Warren Crockett

Pirates of the Plain

The Hunter's Moon

as J.T. Conover

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Lima: Breaking the Silence

as Detective O'Reilly

as Angry Carny (uncredited)

as Robert Zorkin

as Sheriff Nate Culver

Centurion Force

Men in Black: The Series

as Chief Zed (voice)

Hollywood Rated 'R'

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

as Commander Gilmour

as Judge Abraham Betts

Macon County Jail

as Sheriff Dempsey

as Agent Devaney

Superman: The Animated Series

as General Hardcastle (voice)

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest

as Hinkle (voice)

as Arresting Officer

Limp Fangs: The Adventures of Count Malt Liquela

Original Gangstas

as Tyrone Justice

Billy Lone Bear

3 Ninjas Knuckle Up

as Charlie, the Horse Connection

as Mayor David Stiles

To Die, to Sleep

as Charlie, the Horse Connection

as Duke Phillips (voice)

as Judge Garnett

Diagnosis: Murder

as Johnny McNamara

as Ernie Buckle

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

as Sailin' Whalen

Walker, Texas Ranger

National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1

as Interrogator

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

as Gen. Rex Denning

Killer Instinct

as Capt. Delano

as Col. Nelson Brackett

as Sgt. Douglas Raines

The Golden Palace

as Mr. Smith #1

as Brian Hornsby

Center of the Web

as Agent Williams

Treacherous Crossing

Eyes of the Beholder

Soldier's Fortune

After the Condor

Indio 2 - The Revolt

as IMC President

The Silence of the Lambs

Under Surveillance

as Gloucester Hebbing

as Sergeant Bill Henderson

Ernest Goes to Jail

as American Consul

as John Granger

as Warden (voice)

as Grant Conner (voice)

as Officer Krackney (voice)

Alien from the Deep

as Colonel Kovacks

as Sheriff Cochran

Married to the Mob

as Angela's Hairdresser

The Incredible Hulk Returns

as Det. Ian McLemore

The Night Stalker

as Sgt. J.J. Striker

as Charlie, the Sheriff

Instant Justice

as Detective John Foley

Rambo: First Blood Part II

as Marshall Murdock

The Cartier Affair

as Morgan Carroll

Murder, She Wrote

Murder, She Wrote

as Denver Martin

as Captain Striker

as Mitchell Bowers

The Blue and the Gray

as Major Harrison

as Chief O'Hara

as Carney (uncredited)

Tales of the Gold Monkey

Melvin and Howard

The Blues Brothers

as Tucker McElroy

as Dave Quittle

B. J. and the Bear

Big Bob Johnson and His Fantastic Speed Circus

as Big Bob Johnson

as Carl Daggett

The Incredible Hulk

as Hulk (voice)

The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk

The Oregon Trail

as Luther Sprague

Thunder and Lightning

Ransom for Alice!

as Chrome Angel

The Flying Misfits

as Maj. Red Buell

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Starsky & Hutch

as Sheriff Joe Tyce

Starsky & Hutch

as John Brown Harris

as Harry Sledge

The Rockford Files

as Sheriff Billy Webster

The Rockford Files

as Mitch Donner

as Marty Vaughan

as Robert W. Morgan

The Streets of San Francisco

The Seven Minutes

as Officer Iverson

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

Cherry, Harry & Raquel!

The House Near the Prado

as Broker (uncredited)

as Police Officer (uncredited)

Mission: Impossible

as First Guard (uncredited)

Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible

as Roland (uncredited)

as Partisan Messenger (uncredited)