Wisdom From The Stoma

1928 Was a Good Year

Ron Wilson

1928 was a good year. 1982 was a bad year.

My first impression of 1974’s Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia: This small, intense, weather-worn actor is a Goddamn genius.

I’d never seen anything like him –not De Niro, not Pacino, not Brando. This guy was a one-of-a-kind white trash hero.

His name was Warren Mercer Oates…

…Kentuckian. Marine. Hat checker at Studio 21. Gag tester on Beat the Clock.

Dishwasher at Pandora’s Box…Actor.

Ned Beatty called him monkey-wise.

I began searching out his other work. Most of it had never been released on video. I bought a satellite dish and scoured the listings for his films on any obscure channel I could find. I slowly built a library of his films. I even had my wife call XHBC-TV

in Mexico to see if I could get a copy of a Spanish-subtitled print of Cockfighter that they aired. Sadly, the station had forwarded the video to the next Mexican station on the film’s subscription circuit. I also flew to San Francisco to track down a then-rare, out-of-print VHS copy of that film, but once again came up snake-eyes…

Melissa Pierson on Oates: It's that Oates could change his shape and color to perfectly suit any environment; maybe there wasn't enough there there in him until the camera forced him open and then he bloomed in its fluid, like the Japanese paper flowers that burst forth, slowly, in a glass of water. This was one mark of his genius, though there are others.

July 5^th, 1998 I threw a birthday party for him. It would have been his seventieth.

There was chocolate cake with an appropriate inscription and lots of beer.

There were movies, of course.

My wife indulged me. Some of the fellas from work came by. They mostly wanted to see what the company eccentric was fussing about.

Roger Ebert on Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia: A strange sort of weird masterpiece.

He was distinctly of the minority opinion at the time.

Wikipedia: “The film was universally panned when it was released in 1974 by critics who claimed that (director) Peckinpah had gone over the edge into cinematic sadism and dementia.

Now?

Nick Schager (Slant Magazine): For something so bleak, so purposely revolting and unsentimental, there are reservoirs of profound poetry in Alfredo Garcia, the only film that Peckinpah ever considered completely his own.

TV Guide: Peckinpah creates a haunting vision of a loser's quest for love and meaning in a harsh, brutal world. Although his "philosophy" and methods do not appeal to everyone and are certainly open to criticism, Peckinpah attempts to use explicit violence as a means for exploring the brutality he sees as inherent in all men. A nihilistic depiction of an existential quest, the film benefits immeasurably from the presence of Oates in the leading role of a man driven obsessively in suicidal pursuit of self-respect and

importance.

…and plenty more where that came from.

But Alfredo Garcia was not a one-off display of Oates’ genius at work. His work in the four films he made with director Monte Hellman are all profound existential meditations.

The best of these films, 1971’s Two-Lane Blacktop, is a masterpiece. Repeated viewings of this film reveal more and more of Oates’ exquisite naturalism. Every square millimeter of his face is wrought with the subtlest of expressive nuances.

His face is as complex as a Pollock canvas.

Michael Goodwin (Rolling Stone) on Two-Lane Blacktop: …the movie evades the genre at the same time it embraces it, because James Taylor as the driver and Dennis Wilson as the mechanic are rock musicians (in real life) and longhairs, which puts things in a somewhat different light. Neither James, 22, nor Dennis, 25, has ever acted in a film before. Neither has Laurie, a 17-year-old high school graduate who plays the girl they pick up somewhere in Arizona. The only professional actor in the lot is Warren Oates -- but he's an actor and a half. Oates who plays their symbolic adversary, GTO is a thoroughgoing craftsman who has done a lot of TV, is one of director Sam Peckinpah's regulars, and co-starred in The Shooting, a western made by Monte Hellman.

Michael Sragow (Salon): Seeing it in 1971, hyped with an awful quote from Esquire calling it "the movie of the year," I thought it was both spare and overblown. Now the wispy and elusive premise -- a cross-country car race that peters out -- registers as a marvelous showcase for a character actor whose earthy volatility I grew to revere: late, great Warren Oates...

I would kill to sit for five minutes in the 1970 GTO Warren Oates drove in Two-Lane Blacktop. That would be my hajj.

Warren Oates on himself: I feel maybe most uncomfortable in a Western role, because my image of the Western man is John Wayne, and I'm just a little shit.

Phil Nugent (Nitrate): …it may have been a clue to the strength and strangeness of Oates’ rapport with audiences that it was if every fan he had in the world just assumed that he was the only person on Earth who could see just how good this guy was. Since Oates died, his admirers have gotten a lot more vocal, and a full-blown, mighty cult has sprouted around him.

I am proud to say I was in Oates’ corner before the cult sprouted.

There was a depth there that transcends acting; he was real. His genuineness made me feel like I was real, in some strange way. Watching his films took me out of the psychological landscape of insulated loneliness. If I had neither friends nor anyone to love or love me back I always had the solace of Warren Oates’ impression on celluloid to comfort me. In large measure his screen persona was that of a fellow-traveler. He wasn’t acting; his performances were sensuous. I can smell the stale sweat and tequila breath on him the moment he comes into frame. I can feel the sinew and bone as I mentally pat him on the shoulder and say: One of us…

Warren Oates died of a heart attack on April 3^rd, 1982. Peter Fonda says that he vomited when he heard the news. Peter Fonda always refers to him as Mister Oates. Two of his films were released posthumously: Blue Thunder and Tough Enough. Both were dedicated to his memory.

There was once a strange website that one of Warren Oates’ wives operated. She was trying to sell copies of a screenplay Oates wrote which he hoped to direct and co-star in with Dennis Quade. The site didn’t stay up long. It was all a real head-scratcher. Quade did move into Oates’ Montana ranch.

My friend Mike and I operated our own Warren Oates fan page for many years. People wrote from all over the world with questions about Oates and his films. We were happy to research to provide them with answers.

His people are out there.

Here is the complete filmography as listed on imdb.com:

1. "Tales of the Unexpected"
   ... aka Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected
       - Nothin' Short of Highway Robbery (1985) TV Episode .... Harry
2. Tough Enough (1983) .... James Neese
3. Blue Thunder (1983) .... Capt. Jack Braddock
   ... aka Blue Thunder the Movie (UK: video box title)
4. "The Blue and the Gray" (1982) (mini) TV Series .... Preacher/Maj. Welles
5. The Border (1982) .... Red
6. Stripes (1981) .... Sgt. Hulka
7. "East of Eden" (1981) (mini) TV Series .... Cyrus Trask
   ... aka John Steinbeck's 'East of Eden'
8. Baby Comes Home (1980) (TV) .... Michael Kramer
9. 1941 (1979) .... Col. 'Madman' Maddox
10. My Old Man (1979) (TV) .... Frank Butler
11. And Baby Makes Six (1979) (TV) .... Michael Kramer
12. "Insight"
        - The Man Who Mugged God (1979) TV Episode
13. The Brink's Job (1978) .... Specs O'Keefe
    ... aka Big Stickup at Brink's
14. Amore, piombo e furore (1978) .... Matthew Sebanek
    ... aka Clayton & Catherine
    ... aka Clayton Drumm (Spain)
    ... aka Gunfire (USA: video title)
    ... aka If China 9, Liberty 37 (USA)
    ... aka Love, Bullets and Frenzy
15. True Grit (1978) (TV) .... Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn
    ... aka True Grit: A Further Adventure
16. "Police Story"
        - Day of Terror, Night of Fear (1978) TV Episode .... Richey Neptune
17. "Black Beauty" (1978) (mini) TV Series .... Jerry Barker
18. Sleeping Dogs (1977) .... Col. Willoughby
19. The African Queen (1977) (TV) .... Capt. Charlie Allnut
20. American Raspberry (1977) .... Celebrity Sportsman
    ... aka Prime Time (USA: alternative title)
21. Drum (1976) .... Hammond Maxwell
22. Dixie Dynamite (1976) .... Mack
23. 92 in the Shade (1975) .... Nichol Dance
24. Race with the Devil (1975) .... Frank Stewart
25. Rancho Deluxe (1975) (uncredited) .... Harmonica player in bar
26. Cockfighter (1974) .... Frank Mansfield
    ... aka Born to Kill
    ... aka Gamblin' Man
    ... aka Wild Drifter
27. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) .... Bennie
    ... aka Traiganme la cabeza de Alfredo Garcia (Mexico)
28. The White Dawn (1974) .... Billy
29. Badlands (1973) .... Holly's Father (Mr. Sargis)
30. Kid Blue (1973) .... Reese Ford
31. Dillinger (1973) .... John Dillinger
32. Tom Sawyer (1973) .... Muff Potter
    ... aka A Musical Adaptation of Mark Twain's 'Tom Sawyer' (USA: promotional title)
33. The Thief Who Came to Dinner (1973) .... Dave
34. Chandler (1971) .... Chandler
35. The Reluctant Heroes (1971) (TV) .... Cpl. Leroy Sprague
    ... aka The Egghead on Hill 656
    ... aka The Reluctant Heroes of Hill 656 (UK)
36. The Hired Hand (1971) .... Arch Harris
37. Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) .... G.T.O
38. "The Name of the Game"
        - The Showdown (1971) TV Episode .... Lew Weatherford/John
39. "The F.B.I."
        - Turnabout (1971) TV Episode .... Richie Billings
40. There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) .... Floyd Moon
41. Barquero (1970) .... Jake (Jacob) Remy, Gang Leader
42. "Lancer"
        - The Buscaderos (1970) TV Episode .... Drago
        - The Man Without a Gun (1969) TV Episode .... Sheriff Val Crawford
43. The Movie Murderer (1970) (TV) .... Alfred Fisher
44. The Wild Bunch (1969) .... Lyle Gorch
45. Smith! (1969) .... Walter Charlie
46. Lanton Mills (1969)
47. Crooks and Coronets (1969) .... Marty Miller
    ... aka Sophie's Place
48. Something for a Lonely Man (1968) (TV) .... Angus Duren
49. The Split (1968) .... Marty Gough
50. "Disneyland"
    ... aka Disney's Wonderful World (USA: new title)
    ... aka The Disney Sunday Movie (USA: new title)
    ... aka The Magical World of Disney (USA: new title)
    ... aka The Wonderful World of Disney (USA: new title)
    ... aka Walt Disney (USA: new title)
    ... aka Walt Disney Presents (USA: new title)
    ... aka Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (USA: new title)
        - Gallegher - The Mystery of Edward Sims: Part 2 (1968) TV Episode .... John Blythe
        - Gallegher - The Mystery of Edward Sims: Part 1 (1968) TV Episode .... John Blythe
51. The Mystery of Edward Sims (1968) (TV) .... John Blythe
52. "Run for Your Life"
        - One Bad Turn (1968) TV Episode .... Deputy Potter
53. "Cimarron Strip"
        - Nobody (1967) TV Episode .... Mobeetie
        - The Battleground (1967) TV Episode .... Mobeetie
54. "The Iron Horse"
        - The Return of Hode Avery (1967) TV Episode .... Hode Avery
55. "Gunsmoke"
    ... aka Gun Law (UK)
    ... aka Marshal Dillon (USA: rerun title)
        - The Wreckers (1967) TV Episode .... Tate Crocker
        - The Mission (1966) TV Episode .... Lafe
        - Ten Little Indians (1965) TV Episode .... Al Tresh
        - Circus Trick (1965) TV Episode .... Speeler
        - The Bassops (1964) TV Episode .... Deke Bassop
          (5 more)
56. "Dundee and the Culhane"
        - The Turn the Other Cheek Brief (1967) TV Episode
57. In the Heat of the Night (1967) .... Off. Sam Wood
58. Welcome to Hard Times (1967) .... Deputy Marshal Leo Jenks
    ... aka Killer on a Horse (UK)
59. The Shooting (1967) .... Willett Gashade
60. "The Big Valley"
        - The Great Safe Robbery (1966) TV Episode .... Duke
        - The Murdered Party (1965) TV Episode .... Korby Kyles
61. Return of the Seven (1966) .... Colbee
    ... aka Regreso de los siete magníficos, El (Spain)
    ... aka Return of the Magnificent Seven (International: English title)
62. "Shane"
        - An Echo of Anger (1966) TV Episode .... Kemp Spicer
63. "The Monroes"
        - The Forest Devil (1966) TV Episode .... Nick Beresford
64. "The Virginian"
    ... aka The Men from Shiloh (USA: new title)
        - Ride to Delphi (1966) TV Episode .... Buxton
        - One Spring Like Long Ago (1966) TV Episode .... Bowers
        - A Slight Case of Charity (1965) TV Episode .... Roy Judd
        - Stopover in a Western Town (1963) TV Episode .... Corbie
65. "Lost in Space"
        - Welcome Stranger (1965) TV Episode .... Jimmy Hapgood
66. "Rawhide"
        - Hostage for Hanging (1965) TV Episode .... Jesse Gufler
        - The Race (1964) TV Episode .... Weed
        - Incident of the Prophecy (1963) TV Episode .... Rabbit Waters
        - Incident of the Dancing Death (1960) TV Episode .... Marco
67. "Twelve O'Clock High"
        - The Hot Shot (1965) TV Episode .... Lt. Col. Jerry Troper
68. "Slattery's People"
        - Rally Round Your Own Flag, Mister (1965) TV Episode .... Stu Burns
        - Question: What's a Requiem for a Loser? (1965) TV Episode .... Eugene Henson
69. "A Man Called Shenandoah"
        - The Fort (1965) TV Episode .... Sergeant Ryder
70. "Branded"
        - Judge Not (1965) TV Episode .... Perce/Frank Clampett
71. Shenandoah (1965) (uncredited) .... Billy Packer
72. Major Dundee (1965) .... O.W. Hadley
73. "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre"
    ... aka The Chrysler Theater
    ... aka Universal Star Time (syndication title)
        - The War and Eric Kurtz (1965) TV Episode .... Joe Grover
74. The Rounders (1965) (uncredited) .... Harley Williams (cowboy)
75. "The Fugitive"
        - Devil's Carnival (1964) TV Episode .... Hanes McClure
        - Rat in a Corner (1964) TV Episode .... Herbie
76. "The Outer Limits"
        - The Mutant (1964) TV Episode .... Reese Fowler
77. Mail Order Bride (1964) .... Jace
    ... aka West of Montana (UK)
78. "Combat!"
        - The Pillbox (1964) TV Episode .... Stark
79. "The Twilight Zone"
        - The 7th Is Made up of Phantoms (1963) TV Episode .... CPL Richard Langsford
        - The Purple Testament (1960) TV Episode .... Jeep Driver
80. "The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters"
        - The Day of the First Suitor (1963) TV Episode .... Eldon Bishop
81. "Stoney Burke" .... Ves Painter (1962-1963)
        - The Journey (1963) TV Episode .... Ves Painter
        - Point of Entry (1963) TV Episode .... Ves Painter
82. "77 Sunset Strip"
        - Terror in a Small Town (1962) TV Episode .... Orville
        - Blackout (1960) TV Episode .... Dink Strahman
83. Hero's Island (1962) .... Wayte Giddens
    ... aka The Land We Love
84. Ride the High Country (1962) .... Henry Hammond
    ... aka Guns in the Afternoon (UK)
85. "The Untouchables"
        - Pressure (1962) TV Episode .... Artie 'The Firecracker' Krebs
86. "Bonanza"
    ... aka Ponderosa (USA: rerun title)
        - The Mountain Girl (1962) TV Episode .... Paul Magruder
87. "Target: The Corruptors"
        - Journey Into Mourning (1962) TV Episode .... Billy Joe
88. "The Rifleman"
        - Day of Reckoning (1962) TV Episode
        - Miss Millie (1960) TV Episode .... Marty Ryan
        - The Prodigal (1960) TV Episode
        - Bloodlines (1959) TV Episode .... Jud Malackie
        - The Marshal (1958) TV Episode .... Andrew Shelton
89. "Thriller"
    ... aka Boris Karloff's Thriller
        - The Hollow Watcher (1962) TV Episode .... Hugo Wheeler
        - Knock Three-One-Two (1960) TV Episode .... Benny
90. "The Dick Powell Show"
    ... aka The Dick Powell Theatre (USA: new title)
        - Somebody's Waiting (1961) TV Episode
91. "The Lawless Years"
        - Artie Moon (1961) TV Episode
92. "Stagecoach West"
        - The Renegades (1961) TV Episode .... Tom Lochlin
        - Object: Patrimony (1961) TV Episode .... Billy Goe
93. "Bat Masterson"
        - Meeting at Mimbers (1961) TV Episode .... Cat Crail
        - Lottery of Death (1959) TV Episode .... Sonny Parsons
94. "Laramie"
        - Two for the Gallows (1961) TV Episode .... Pete
95. "The Case of the Dangerous Robin"
        - Baubles and Bullets (1961) TV Episode
96. "Wanted: Dead or Alive"
        - The Last Retreat (1961) TV Episode (as Warren M. Oates) .... Clem Robinson
        - Angela (1960) TV Episode .... George Aswell
        - Amos Carter (1959) TV Episode .... Seth Blake
        - The Legend (1959) TV Episode .... Billy Clegg
        - Die by the Gun (1958) TV Episode .... Jesse Cox
97. "Hawaiian Eye"
        - The Contenders (1960) TV Episode .... Al
98. "Lawman"
    ... aka The Lawman (USA: alternative title)
        - The Second Son (1960) TV Episode
99. "Have Gun - Will Travel"
        - The Poker Fiend (1960) TV Episode .... Harrison
        - Three Sons (1958) TV Episode .... John Bosworth
100. "The Westerner"
     ... aka The Westerners (USA: syndication title)
         - Jeff (1960) TV Episode .... Drunk
101. "Outlaws"
         - Thirty a Month (1960) TV Episode .... Billy Hooton
102. "Wrangler"
         - Affair at the Trading Post (1960) TV Episode .... Shep Martin
103. "Tate"
         - Before Sunup (1960) TV Episode
104. "Johnny Ringo"
     ... aka The Westerners (USA: syndication title)
         - Single Debt (1960) TV Episode .... Burt Scanlon
105. Private Property (1960) .... Boots
106. "Bronco"
         - Every Man a Hero (1960) TV Episode .... Private Hurd Maple
107. The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960) .... Eddie Diamond
108. "Tombstone Territory"
         - The Target (1960) TV Episode .... Vic Reel
         - Whipsaw (1959) TV Episode .... Bob Pickett
109. "The Rebel"
         - School Days (1959) TV Episode .... Troy Armbruster
110. Yellowstone Kelly (1959) .... Corporal
111. "Wagon Train"
     ... aka Major Adams, Trail Master
         - The Martha Barham Story (1959) TV Episode .... Silas Carpenter
112. "Trackdown"
         - Back to Crawford (1959) TV Episode .... Norvil
         - Fear (1959) TV Episode .... Kelly
         - Bad Judgment (1959) TV Episode .... Lute Borden
113. "The Rough Riders"
         - The Rifle (1959) TV Episode .... Frank Day
114. "Buckskin"
         - Charlie, My Boy (1959) TV Episode .... Charlie
115. "Black Saddle"
     ... aka The Westerners (USA: syndication title)
         - Client: Steele (1959) TV Episode .... Deputy Simms
116. Up Periscope (1959) (uncredited) .... Seaman Kovacs
117. "Playhouse 90"
         - Seven Against the Wall (1958) TV Episode .... Ted Ryan
118. "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin"
         - The Epidemic (1958) TV Episode .... Deke
119. "Studio One"
     ... aka Studio One Summer Theatre (summer title)
     ... aka Studio One in Hollywood (new title)
     ... aka Summer Theatre (summer title)
     ... aka Westinghouse Studio One
     ... aka Westinghouse Summer Theatre (summer title)
         - The Night America Trembled (1957) TV Episode .... Card Player

Filmography as: Actor, Stunts, Himself, Archive Footage

Stunts - filmography

1. "Beat the Clock" (1950) TV Series (stunt tester)

Filmography as: Actor, Stunts, Himself, Archive Footage

Himself - filmography

1. "The Virginia Graham Show"
       - Episode dated 15 October 1971 (1971) TV Episode .... Himself

Filmography as: Actor, Stunts, Himself, Archive Footage

Archive Footage

1. Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004) (TV) .... Himself
2. Warren Oates: Across the Border (1993) (uncredited) .... Himself

-Ron Wilson