Breakfast Club star dies at 67
Paul Gleason, who played the villainous high school principal in The Breakfast Club, died this weekend at age 67. He had a rare form of lung cancer, according to media reports.
In his acting career, Gleason appeared in more than 60 films though he's probably best known as Principal Vernon in Breakfast Club, the 1985 movie by John Hughes that served as a landmark film for the 80s generation. As the antagonist to Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy, he scored some of the most memorable lines, including:
-- "You're not fooling anyone Bender. The next screw that falls out will be you."
-- "Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns."
-- "Now this is the thought that wakes me up in the middle of the night. That when I get older, these kids are going to take care of me."
-- "I was just in my office and I heard a ruckus."
-- "The next time I have to come in here I'm crackin' skulls."
Put Breakfast Club aside, and Gleason's acting career is impressive. Remember these gems?
-- Arthur (Unnamed executive): "He gets all that money. Pays his family back by bein' a stinkin' drunk. It's enough ta make ya sick."
-- Trading Places (Clarence Beeks): "Back off! Or I'll rip out your eyes and p--s on your brain."
-- Van Wilder (Professor McDoogle): "Ok, Wilder. Let's dance."
That's just a small taste. To be honest, most of his best quotes are unprintable in this family-oriented blog. So queue up your DVDs to enjoy the real Paul Gleason. We'll miss him.
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I really liked/hated his role in "Die Hard" as Deputy Chief Dwayne T. Robinson. "I'm not the one who just got b***f***ed on national TV, Dwayne!"
Posted by: Anonymous | May 28, 2006 at 11:07 PM
Oh that makes me so sad...I loved that he parodied himself on "Not Another Teen Movie".
Posted by: Wendy O | May 29, 2006 at 08:46 AM
he died of the asbestos related lung cancer (which i cant spell) - i hope it wasent in the library!
Posted by: Squirll | May 30, 2006 at 01:37 PM
He was a good actor and that movie promoted his career to another height.Kimberly Kwww.charlotteonestop.com
Posted by: Anonymous | June 01, 2006 at 01:26 PM
Funniest scene Paul Gleason ever did is when he was talking on the phone in "Trading Places" and he told the girl waiting for the phone to "F... off!". I laughed 'til I cried when I saw that, because he did what I've wanted to do for years, but didn't because, well, I'm not an a-hole. Jeez, my language is foul today!
Posted by: Six | June 13, 2006 at 11:41 PM
Paul Gleason was a legend.My favorite was him in Breakfast Club.Boy was he mean and ruthless.He convinced me so well in that movie,That I thought in real life he was really like that but then again I was a kid back then.I was hoping they were gonna make a Breakfast Club 2 only that the kids would be in college.He was an awesome actor.I dont know anyone who can play a cocky,mad,pissed off guy like that in Breakfast Club.He was the perfect man in the role.Well all miss you Paul.
Posted by: Darrell Bacon | January 30, 2007 at 11:14 PM