Warren Mercer Oates (July 5, 1928 â€" April 3, 1982) was an American
actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam
Peckinpah, including The Wild Bunch (1969) and Bring Me the Head of
Alfredo Garcia (1974). Another of his most acclaimed performances was
as officer Sam Wood in In the Heat of the Night (1967). Oates starred
in numerous films during the early 1970s that have since achieved cult
status, such as The Hired Hand (1971), Two-Lane Blacktop (1971), and
Race with the Devil (1975). Oates also portrayed John Dillinger in the
biopic Dillinger (1973) and as the supporting character U.S. Army
Sergeant Hulka in the military comedy Stripes (1981). Another notable
appearance was in the classic New Zealand film Sleeping Dogs (1977),
in which he played the commander of the American forces in the
country.Warren Oates was born and reared in Depoy, a tiny rural
community in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, located just a few miles
west of Greenville, the county seat. According to the federal census
of 1940, he was the younger of two sons born to Sarah Alice (née
Mercer) and Bayless Earle Oates, who owned a general store. His
brother, Gordon, was five years his senior. On his father's side,
Warren was of English, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry. He attended
Louisville Male High School in Louisville, Kentucky, until 1945, but
did not graduate from that institution. He did, however, later earn a
high-school equivalency diploma. After high school, he enlisted in the
United States Marine Corps for two years (1946-1948), serving in its
air wing as an aircraft mechanic and reaching the rank of corporal.
Oates became interested in theater while attending the University of
Louisville, where in 1953, he starred in several plays produced by the
school's Little Theater Company. Four years later, in New York City,
he got an opportunity to star in a live production of the television
series Studio One.Oates moved to Los Angeles, where in the 1950s he
began to establish himself in guest roles in weekly television
Westerns, including Wagon Train, Tombstone Territory, Buckskin,
Rawhide, Trackdown, Tate, The Rebel, Wanted Dead or Alive, The
Virginian, Have Gun â€" Will Travel, Lawman, The Big Valley, Bat
Masterson and Gunsmoke. Oates first met Peckinpah when he played a
variety of guest roles in The Rifleman (1958â€"1963), a popular
television series sometimes directed by Peckinpah. He also played a
supporting role in Peckinpah's short-lived series The Westerner in
1960. The collaboration continued as he worked in Peckinpah's early
films Ride the High Country (1962) and Major Dundee (1965).
actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam
Peckinpah, including The Wild Bunch (1969) and Bring Me the Head of
Alfredo Garcia (1974). Another of his most acclaimed performances was
as officer Sam Wood in In the Heat of the Night (1967). Oates starred
in numerous films during the early 1970s that have since achieved cult
status, such as The Hired Hand (1971), Two-Lane Blacktop (1971), and
Race with the Devil (1975). Oates also portrayed John Dillinger in the
biopic Dillinger (1973) and as the supporting character U.S. Army
Sergeant Hulka in the military comedy Stripes (1981). Another notable
appearance was in the classic New Zealand film Sleeping Dogs (1977),
in which he played the commander of the American forces in the
country.Warren Oates was born and reared in Depoy, a tiny rural
community in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, located just a few miles
west of Greenville, the county seat. According to the federal census
of 1940, he was the younger of two sons born to Sarah Alice (née
Mercer) and Bayless Earle Oates, who owned a general store. His
brother, Gordon, was five years his senior. On his father's side,
Warren was of English, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry. He attended
Louisville Male High School in Louisville, Kentucky, until 1945, but
did not graduate from that institution. He did, however, later earn a
high-school equivalency diploma. After high school, he enlisted in the
United States Marine Corps for two years (1946-1948), serving in its
air wing as an aircraft mechanic and reaching the rank of corporal.
Oates became interested in theater while attending the University of
Louisville, where in 1953, he starred in several plays produced by the
school's Little Theater Company. Four years later, in New York City,
he got an opportunity to star in a live production of the television
series Studio One.Oates moved to Los Angeles, where in the 1950s he
began to establish himself in guest roles in weekly television
Westerns, including Wagon Train, Tombstone Territory, Buckskin,
Rawhide, Trackdown, Tate, The Rebel, Wanted Dead or Alive, The
Virginian, Have Gun â€" Will Travel, Lawman, The Big Valley, Bat
Masterson and Gunsmoke. Oates first met Peckinpah when he played a
variety of guest roles in The Rifleman (1958â€"1963), a popular
television series sometimes directed by Peckinpah. He also played a
supporting role in Peckinpah's short-lived series The Westerner in
1960. The collaboration continued as he worked in Peckinpah's early
films Ride the High Country (1962) and Major Dundee (1965).
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