European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 13, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Former Marine corps Drill instructor Lee Ermey right with Matthew Modine in full Metal Symik Genalo new York Bureau if you can t fire a Rifle you can t be a statement sums up the Persona of Lee Ermey. The former Marine Drill instructor turned actor has never let the corps out of his system. Ermey is Best known for his role As sgt. Hartman the Drill instructor in full Metal jacket. Originally signed on As technical adviser he had his sights set on the Hartman part from the beginning. For his performance he won the 1987 Boston society of film critics award and was nominated for an Oscar for Best supporting actor. Some purists objected to the nomination on the grounds that he really was t acting and that the role was just an Extension of his everyday life As a Drill instructor. But for those unfamiliar with his background it was a riveting performance made All the More difficult by director Stanley Kubrick s insistence on line by line adherence to the script. It s not easy shouting obscenities into someone s face and at the same time trying to remember your exact lines Ermey said. A former Marine commenting on the portrayal recalled i once heard a Drill instructor curse for 20 minutes and never once repeat in his next screen Outing Mississippi burning Ermey played mayor Tilman. Moviegoers who have seen the recently released movie in the United states might have thought the character looked familiar what with the Strong Square jaw and the full dark eyebrows. But Many probably could t quite place the face without a hat. In jacket Ermey was never seen uncovered. Even in the death scene where All he had on were his skivvies and Shower shoes the Drill instructor s hat was firmly in place on his head. Born on a farm near Emporia kan., Ermey was the Black sheep of the family always getting into trouble. The judge looked Down at me with his cold Gray eyes he said and said if i did t go into the military he was going to lock me up. I was 17 when i enlisted and spent 11 wonderful emphasize wonderful years in the an injury suffered while serving with the 1st Marine div i corps North of Danang Vietnam forced surgeons to rebuild his shoulder. Ermey was told he could never fire a shoulder held weapon again. He was medically retired in november 1970. Following his discharge Ermey attended Lacon College in the Philippines under the go Bill. The first year he majored in criminology he said and the next three in business management. While attending school Ermey did some stage work television commercials and appeared in some filipino films. When director Francis Ford Coppola came to town with apocalypse now and was tearing Down the Jungle i figured Why not join him. A Friend owed me a favor and got me a bit part As a helicopter Pilot. You have to look real Quick to see Ermey has been Active Ever since. One film howl got into College is due for release in May and he is currently at work on a Fletch sequel As co Star to Chevy Chase. He just completed filming a science fiction thriller the rift in which he plays a Navy Captain. I had no problem playing a Navy Captain As they Are equivalent to about a Marine Corporal he said not wanting to miss the Opportunity of getting in a dig in the ongoing legendary intr service rivalry. Ermey is most proud of his recently released Forward firebase Gloria in which he plays Marine sgt. Maj. Hafner. There is talk of a sequel and this pleases Ermey even More. I got to write my own dialogue in the film he said. He is also being considered for a part in a television series but he has doubts about to work. I love to do film he said. I be been in 18 films and i have my doubts about getting locked in. The Good part would be that i d be Home with my family every night. I be just spent seven months out of the last year away from Ermey lives in Palmdale calif., with his wife and three children two daughters aged 10 and 7 and a son who is 6 my fishing buddy Ermey said. He has stayed Active in the corps despite his Busy acting life and is a charter member of the Drill instructors association. He is also co authoring a novel Gunny which deals with the problems gunnery sergeants who sleep and breathe the corps have in adjusting to civilian life upon retirement. I write several pages and Send them to him the co author in Vermont. He edits them and sends them Back to me then i Call him and Tell him to put the lines Back in.". Ermey has dedicated himself to his new profession almost As much As he is dedicated to the corps. He comes across As one of those few Good men who truly appreciates the meaning of the Marine corps motto Semper Fidelis. Monday february 13, 1989 say hello to the new Hollywood by Allen Greenberg United press International he 66-year-old Hollywood sign telling tourists would be stars and everyone else that they Are in the film capital of the world has endured vandalism neglect the ravages of time and the elements and near destruction. Still it stands out in a City Short on landmarks of the Caliper of the statue of Liberty the Eiffel Tower or the Tower of big Ben. To its credit the Hollywood chamber of Commerce has orchestrated a number of campaigns Over the years to Rescue the sign erected by real estate developers in 1923 at a Cost of $21,000 and originally Reading Hollywood land the name of the subdivision it looked Down upon. The chamber the sign s guardian since 1949 when it restored the a after it blew Down in a windstorm is beginning a new project to Bathe the 45-foot Structure atop mount Lee with floodlights. Chamber official Peter Drake says lighting the sign will further enhance it As a Symbol of both the old and new Hollywood. Putting lights under the sign would be a spectacular thing for the people of los Angeles to see he said. There la be a glow around the letters that will make them visible throughout the los Angeles Basin. It will serve As an inspiration for the redevelopment and rebirth of Hollywood a Clear signal of Good things to like previous efforts to refurbish or improve the sign the idea of lighting brought complaints from neighbourhood groups concerned about vandalism and trespassing. The chamber of Commerce business leaders and homeowners met in late 1987 and discussed plans to Light the sign and still ensure Security in the neighbourhood Drake said. Concerns were eased with the announcement of plans to install a barbed wire Fence around the sign spending about $100,000 to install electronic surveillance cameras and sensors in the area and posting signs warning away would be trespassers. Additionally a Security company will be hired to patrol the streets in the Canyon below the sign. The history of the sign is Replete with colourful anecdotes and a few tragic stories. To Many making it in Hollywood symbolizes the ultimate attainment. But to Lillian Millicent Entwhistle a noted stage actress of her time it spelled shattered Hopes. In 1932, after failing to repeat her Success on film Entwhistle climbed to the top of the letter hand leaped to her death. On Jan. 1,1976, to emphasize the change in California s marijuana Laws several people modified the sign to read on easter morning that same year the same individuals draped Black sheets Over the first a and Hollywood turned into in 1987 a band of student pranksters used a Black and White Canvas to make the sign read actually the idea for lighting the sign is not an original one. From 1923 to 1939 it was illuminated by 4,000 20-Watt Light bulbs placed 8 inches apart. The lights were maintained by or. Albert Kother who lived in a Small Cabin behind the a and replaced the bulbs As they burned out. The sign could be seen for Miles and became a prop for Early movies while pilots regarded it As a navigational device. The chamber s plans to relight the sign continue its role of conservatorship begun in 1949. It saved the sign from being dismantled in 1964 and again in 1978, when it raised $250,000 to construct a new and sturdier version that was unveiled on National television on Hollywood s 75th anniversary. Drake says if All goes according to plan the sign could be lit for the first time on july 4th, possibly in conjunction with an Independence Day fireworks show at the Hollywood bowl. Arco solar a subsidiary of Atlantic Richfield Oil co., is underwriting the Cost of installing lights at the foot of the sign. Drake says the lights will be powered by a solar Battery and will cast their beams from dusk to Midnight. The statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower Are lit up says Drake. Why should t Hollywood s most famous landmark be the stars and stripes Page 17
