The Federalist: Charles Napier

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Charles Napier - RIP

Charles Napier - 1936 - 2011

From the Bakersfield Californian

Veteran Hollywood actor Charles Napier, a resident of Kern County since the 1980s, died Wednesday afternoon at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, according to a family friend. He was 75.

Though he appeared in Oscar-winning films like "Philadephia" and "Silence of the Lambs," it was in his earlier work -- decidely edgier fare -- that he first attracted the attention of A-list Hollywood directors like Jonathan Demme and Alfred Hitchcock. Early Z-grade films like "Supervixens" established Napier as a go-to tough guy and he deployed his unique brand of wild-eyed bravado to entertaining effect throughout his career on both big and small screens.

Napier was able to recount his uproarious life as an actor kicking around from set to set, never truly breaking through, in his entertaining memoir titled "Square Jaw and Big Heart," released in March. The response to his two book-signings at Russo's Books in Bakersfield was so overwhelming that the shop ran out of copies and was forced to issue rain checks to Napier's fans.

"He spent a lot of time with each person and he took a lot of time," said Tony Russo, owner of the book store. "When the books came in, we gave them to Charlie to sign and then he put a print from his pictures in the books and said, 'Thank you for waiting for the book.' He would be easy to be a friend with, sit down and talk to or have a beer with. You wouldn not know he was an actor."

The Californian spoke with Napier in March before the release of his book. What follows is a look at the memoir and an interview with Napier:

Winding up in Kern

Veteran character actor Charles Napier is the first to admit that he's taken an occasional wrong turn in the long and eventful journey from his native Kentucky to the fast lane of Hollywood. But it was just such a detour that led him to Kern County, his beloved home since the 1980s.

"I had just finished shooting a Toyota commercial in Lone Pine, and on the way back to L.A., my driver got lost," Napier told The Californain in March. "We were riding in a motorhome and I was talking with a friend of mine when suddenly I realized we were not going to L.A. I told the driver to just keep going. We stopped in Kernville and spent the night. Next day we took another route and ended up in Twin Oaks. ... I told my friend, 'This is it -- this is the place I want to live."

Charles Napier and Anthony Hopkins in "The Silence of the Lambs."

A couple of days later, Napier bought some land, "where the oaks seemed like they were calling me." The accommodations, such as they were, were rustic by Hollywood standards, but that suited the rugged actor just fine.

"I was single at the time, so I would go to the ranch, pitch a tent and spend as much time as I could. There was a well on the property and I was simply back to the basics. I invited friends from L.A. to come up and camp, and they did by the droves."

A few years later, Napier bought a 25-acre Twin Oaks ranch on which he plopped a10-by-50-foot trailer, where he started a family with his then-bride. Their two children, born in Bakersfield, attended Piute Mountain School.

After his marriage ended in 2006, the ranch seemed too big and lonely, so he sold it and wandered the world from set to set for a while before purchasing a condo in Stallion Springs. Eventually the entire family moved to Bakersfield.

"I don't have lots of friends here or anywhere really," he said. "I like to think my children are my friends. What few friends I do have here in Bakersfield and Kern County I feel are extremely loyal.

"My days at present vary. I talk to the agents about work, editors, etc. and the book, eat out a lot, hate cooking, and just try to live day to day. At my age, roles are scarce, so I seem to be in the process of dealing with my situation as-is. I have no hobbies. I occasionally paint and think about things I never had time for before."

Charles Napier and Tony Shalhoub on USA Network's Monk

Q&A with Napier

Many stories in the book start -- or end -- with you drinking in a bar. The stories are fun to hear, but were they fun to live through? Did you drink too much?

My whole movie career started in a bar called the Raincheck Room while I was parking cars, along with Jim Brolin. ...

Finally after making a nuisance of myself for several weeks, Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper had just hit so they helped get me agent. ... This was the mid-'60s where LSD and cocaine was the rage. Something told me not to do that as I had enough trouble with booze, so I am proud to say I did not indulge. I suppose I did develop a drinking problem but never to the extent I could not work -- never indulged on the job, but must admit I was a pretty good hell-raiser in a business that runs on excess. I'm sober now and have been for a long time. My young daughter Meghan read me the riot act.

There's not a lot of kissing and telling in the book. Did you not kiss or are you just not telling?

I never really believed in that because bragging about intimate incidents is not my bag, plus it can be the kiss of death in this business.

Charles Napier in "Star Trek"

How much money did you make during your career? Were you smart with it?

When I went to SAG (the Screen Actors Guild, the union that represents actors) to start my pension at age 58, I was told I had earned around $4 million, so I assume I've accumulated more since then. Once I started making over 50 grand a year I realized this country boy needed a business manager. ... Like most high-earning people in show biz or sports I doubt very many of us even know how to write a check ... it's all done for you.

Trust? I just usually say I'm from Bakersfield, California, and I am friends with Jack Palance (was) and I'm not interested in percentage deals because I'm over 60 and I smoke and drink ... I want my money NOW. All I can say is I wish I had been better at financial matters but what matters is I was able to support a family and send kids to college even though they did grow up in a double-wide mobile home on a little ranch in Twin Oaks -- my choice, right or wrong.

Is it true that all Hollywood stars are older than they claim and shorter than they appear on screen?

Stars are always younger and taller than the National Enquirer makes them out to be.

Any steamy sex scenes you're particularly proud of or horrified by?

I suppose I have had several steamy sex scenes in films. Russ Meyer was know as King of the Nudies. I was told in the beginning I would never work in studio films if I went this route. At the time I had no other offers, so in order to earn a living in films, I decided I might as well learn to act and get paid for it and be around many beautiful girls. I could always go back to parking cars.

What do you make of the film business today?

The acting business has changed dramatically. Technology, special effects, computer-generated scenes, the abandonment of Hollywood for more generous states such as Albuquerque (N.M.).

The thinking of the studios has been remakes and a 14-year-old audience. Most adults can't or don't want to relate to what's on the screens. Maybe somebody is getting the picture that 80 million baby boomers is one hell of an audience; we shall see. By that time I will be too old to play a corpse.

Your best performance :

I consider my best acting in my last movie to date, "The Goods: Live Hard Sell Hard" and ... as the judge in "Philadelphia." But my part was cut from several scenes, along with Joanne Woodward and Holly Hunter. When you are in a film where two stars get nominated for Oscars, the other actors get cut to give the Oscar runners more screen time -- just business but hard to swallow when you know this was a really breakthrough role. Jonathan Demme (the director) told me I probably would have been nominated for best supporting actor but, for the most part, I ended up with Joanne and Holly on the cutting room floor.

You say you play "Charles Napier" in all your films. Do you ever wish you'd had the opportunity to stretch a little?

I always felt I played myself or some kind of version of myself. If you think about it, old actors probably don't even have a self.

Charles Napier in "The Blues Brothers"

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Thomas Pinckney, Federalist

Commissioned as captain in the 1st South Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army. After seeing much action, he became an aide-de-camp to General Horatio Gates. He was captured by the British at the disastrous Battle of Camden in 1780. After recovering from his wounds, he was released in a prisoner exchange. In 1781 he fought under Lafayette in Virginia. Appointed by President George Washington to be the U.S. minister to Great Britain served as Envoy Extraordinary to Spain. The Federalist Party made him a candidate in the 1796 presidential election as the intended running-mate of John Adams. Served as Congressman and Governor of South Carolina. Served as a major general in the Army during the War of 1812.

Henry Lee III, Federalist

Major General "Light-Horse Harry" Lee fought at the battles of Paulus Hook, Guilford Court House, Eutaw Springs, Yorktown and the Whiskey Rebellion. Federalist Congressman from Virginia, Governor of Virginia. Father of Robert E. Lee. In 1812 Lee was attacked by a Jeffersonian mob of Democratic-Republicans while defending a Federalist newspaper from attack. Lee and the other Federalists were beaten and tortured by the mob over the next three hours. Lee was left partially blinded after hot wax was poured into his eyes. The men were left for dead. All were severely injured, and one Federalist, General James Lingan, died.

Frederick Frelinghuysen, Federalist

In the War of Independence he served in the New Jersey militia as an artillery captain, seeing action at Trenton and Monmouth. Attained the rank of colonel. Member of the Continental Congress. Served in the New Jersey General Assembly. Member of the New Jersey convention that ratified the United States Constitution in 1787. President George Washington appointed him as brigadier general in the United States Army for the 1790 campaign against the western Indians. Commissioned major general in the New Jersey militia in 1794, during the Whiskey Rebellion. Elected to the United States Senate.

Stephen Van Rensselaer, Federalist

Van Rensselaer served in the New York Assembly and Senate. He served as the Federalist Lt. Governor under John Jay. In 1786, Van Rensselaer was made a major of the militia. As a Major General in the War of 1812 he led an army in an invasion of Canada and fought at the Battle of Queenston Heights. In 1813 Van Rensselaer was the Federalist candidate for Governor of New York earning 48% of the vote. A shift of only 1,800 votes would have made him Governor. In 1822 he was elected to Congress as a Federalist serving until 1829.

WILLIAM PATERSON, Federalist

James Hillhouse, Federalist

Hillhouse served as captain in Governor's Foot Guards in the Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, Congressman from Connecticut at-large, 1791–96, and a Federalist Party U. S. Senator from Connecticut, 1796–1810. He was the anti-slavery leader of the Congress in the early days of the Republic. After the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, Hillhouse fought to bar the importation of slaves into the Louisiana Territory. "I consider slavery as a serious evil," he proclaimed, "and wish to check it wherever I have authority." Two of Hillhouse's amendments restricting slavery passed the Congress and were signed into law.

Oliver Ellsworth, Federalist

In 1777 he was chosen as one of Connecticut's representatives in the Continental Congress. Served at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia as a delegate from Connecticut. On June 20, 1787 he proposed the use of the name the United States to identify the nation under the authority of the Constitution. United States Senator from Connecticut. Ellsworth was the principal exponent in the Senate of Alexander Hamilton's economic program. In 1796 Ellsworth was appointed by President George Washington to be Chief Justice of the United States. Served as United States Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of France. Ellsworth was a candidate in the 1796 United States Presidential election, receiving eleven votes in the electoral college.

Robert Goodloe Harper, Federalist

At the age of fifteen, Harper joined a volunteer corps of Cavalry and served in the American Revolutionary Army. Harper was elected as a Federalist Congressman from South Carolina (1795 - 1801). In 1798 at a dinner in Philadelphia honoring John Marshall, a group of U.S. Congressmen were discussing a recent demand made by the government of France. French vessels had been plundering US ships in a piratical manner. French foreign minister Talleyrand said the attacks would be stopped if the US paid him $250,000 and gave France 50,000 pounds sterling and a $100 million loan. As toasts were made, Harper sent his own defiant reply to the French with this toast: “Millions for defense but not one cent for tribute.” Harper served in the War of 1812, attaining the rank of major general. He moved to Maryland and was elected as a Federalist to the US Senate. He was an unsuccessful Federalist candidate for Vice President in the 1816 election. He also received one electoral vote for Vice President in the 1820 election.

Jacob Read, Federalist

Alexander Contee Hanson, Federalist

Member of the Maryland House of Delegates. Editor of the "Federal Republican", a Federalist Party newspaper in Baltimore. Four days after the beginning of the War of 1812 a mob of pro-war Democrat-Republicans destroyed his newspaper office. The paper moved to another building where Hanson was joined by a group of armed allies. When that building was besieged by another mob, Hanson and his group fired, killing two. Hanson and his group surrendered to the militia and were escorted to jail. That evening yet another mob stormed the jail. Hanson was beaten and left for dead. Hanson was elected as a Federalist to Congress in 1812 and 1814. In 1816 he was elected as a Federalist to represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate until his death in 1819 at the age of 33.

William Bingham, Federalist

As a merchant he brought full loads of munitions & guns for the war. Served as a diplomat for Congress to France. Bingham marshaled the Second Troop of Philadelphia Light Horse. He served in the Continental Congress, 1st Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, State Senator, and US Senator. Federalists agreed to hold preliminary votings at the Bingham Estate before propositions were brought before Congress publicly, thus creating unanimity among party lines. Alexander Hamilton sought Bingham as his mentor in managing taxes, tariffs, and in constructing a national bank.

Ezekiel Whitman, Federalist

Whitman practiced law in New Gloucester, Maine and in Portland, Maine (both communities a district of Massachusetts until 1820). In 1808 Whitman was elected as a Federalist Congressman from Massachusetts and served one term. In 1816 he was again elected as a Federalist to the US House serving from 1817 to 1821. In 1819 he was a delegate to the convention that prepared the constitution which led to Maine's statehood. In 1820 he was elected as a Federalist Congressman from the new state of Maine serving until 1822. Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Court from 1841 to 1848.

David Cobb, Federalist

Cobb studied medicine in Boston and practiced in Taunton, Massachusetts. He was a member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in 1775; lieutenant colonel of Jackson’s regiment in 1777 and 1778, serving in Rhode Island and New Jersey; was aide-de-camp on the staff of General George Washington; appointed major general of militia in 1786. Fought in the New York and New Jersey Campaign, the Battles of Springfield, Monmouth, Rhode Island and Shay's Rebellion. He served the Federalist Party as Lt. Governor of Massachusetts, President of the State Senate and Congressman.

Josiah Parker, Federalist

In 1775 Parker enlisted in the Continental Army. He was commissioned a major in the 5th Virginia Regiment in 1776 and became its colonel in 1778. His regiment served in Virginia under General Charles Lee and was transferred to George Washington. The regiment thereafter saw action at the Battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth and the Siege of Charleston. During Cornwallis's Virginia campaign in 1781, the notorious Colonel Tarleton ransacked his home. He was elected to the First US Congress from Virginia serving for twelve years.

William Stephens Smith, Federalist

Smith married Abigail "Nabby" Adams, the daughter of President John Adams, and so was a brother-in-law of President John Quincy Adams, and an uncle of Charles Francis Adams. Served in the Revolutionary Army as aide-de-camp to General John Sullivan. Fought in the Battle of Long Island, was wounded at Harlem Heights, Battle of White Plains, was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the Battle of Trenton, fought at the Battle of Monmouth and Newport. He was on the staff of General Lafayette, became an adjutant in the Corps of Light Infantry, then transferred to the staff of George Washington. Elected as a Federalist Congressman from New York.

Oliver Wolcott, Jr., Federalist

John Rutledge, Jr., Federalist

Rutledge served as Congressman from South Carolina. A passionate Federalist, he supported Aaron Burr against Jefferson, founding the Charleston Courier (predecessor of the Post and Courier) to support his causes. Joining the South Carolina Militia in 1799, Rutledge served as commander of the Twenty-eighth Regiment in the War of 1812. He subsequently commanded the Seventh Brigade from 1816 until his death. Rutledge's life was fraught with controversy. Catching his wife (mother to his nine children) in a "clandestine visit" with Dr. Horace Senter, Rutledge challenged him to a duel, fatally wounding the doctor.

John Sergeant, Federalist

Member of the Pennsylvania state house of representatives 1808-1810; elected as a Federalist to Congress and served from 1815, to 1823. Sergeant was a strong backer of Henry Clay's American System and the Second Bank of the United States, and even traveled to Europe to negotiate loans to the Bank. He was a strong opponent of slavery who voted against the Missouri Compromise. In 1826 he was an envoy to the Panama Congress. Elected to Congress as an Adams candidate 1827 to 1829. Failing re-election he became legal counsel to the Bank of the United States. Sergeant was the Vice Presidential running mate in Henry Clay's campaign on the National Republican ticket in 1832. Elected as a Whig to Congress serving from 1837 to 1841.

John Laurance, Federalist

Philip Barton Key, Federalist

Key had been a Loyalist in the American Revolution. He served in the Maryland Loyalists Battalion as a captain. Key fought with the British Army from 1777 to 1781, until he was captured by the Spanish in Pensacola, Florida with the rest of his battalion. After the war he served as Mayor of Annapolis & member of the Maryland House of Delegates. Appointed a Federal Judge by John Adams. He was a Counsel to Justice Samuel Chase during Chase's Jefferson ordered impeachment show-trial in 1805. Elected as a Federalist to Congress from Maryland (1807 - 1813). Francis Scott Key was his nephew.