Don Stroud

Biography

Don Stroud, born in Honolulu in 1943, is an American actor who built a long and busy career from the late 1960s through the 1980s. He was most often cast as a villain or a hard-edged man in film and television, and though he was rarely a leading star, his face is familiar to many fans of the era's genre films.

Raised in Hawaii, he began surfing as a child and was teaching the sport while still at high school. He arrived at acting almost by chance, working as a stand-in for Troy Donahue during surfing scenes for the series Hawaiian Eye. Donahue then suggested he move to Los Angeles to act, and to serve as his fight double and bodyguard. Once there, advice from Sidney Poitier, who frequented the Whisky A Go-Go club where Stroud worked, helped him take the next step toward an agent.

His Hollywood debut came in Games (1967). That same year he signed a five-film deal with Universal, which kept him busy in its television output as well, including Ironside and Hawaii Five-O. On screen he worked twice with Clint Eastwood, in Coogan's Bluff and Joe Kidd, and with Roger Corman in Bloody Mama and Von Richthofen and Brown, where he played Roy Brown opposite John Phillip Law.

His most recognised film role is probably Buddy Holly's drummer in The Buddy Holly Story (1978). A decade later he played Colonel Heller in Licence to Kill, part of the James Bond series. In 2012 he appeared in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained as Sheriff Bill Sharp.

His legacy is that of a dependable character actor whose work mirrors Hollywood's output of his day, from the western to the horror film. He remains a familiar presence for genre film enthusiasts.

Key films

• Coogan's Bluff (1968): a New Mexico deputy in New York who works alongside Clint Eastwood, one of his early major Hollywood roles.
• Joe Kidd (1972): his second film with Eastwood, a western in which he plays a hard-edged villain.
• Von Richthofen and Brown (1971): directed by Roger Corman, he plays Roy Brown, a pilot in the First World War.
• The Buddy Holly Story (1978): he plays the late musician's drummer, performing live on set.
• Licence to Kill (1989): as Colonel Heller, a villain in the James Bond series starring Timothy Dalton.
• Django Unchained (2012): in Tarantino's cast as Sheriff Bill Sharp, one of his later film appearances.