R. Lee "Gunny" Ermey, shown above wearing his Marine gunnery-sergeant stripes, has died at the tender age of 74 due to complications from pneumonia. In the end, it wasn't the big things of the world that took the tough old bird down: it was the concerted effort of the little things.
Ermey came into the public consciousness thanks to his breakout role as the terrifying drill sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick's 1987 Vietnam film "Full Metal Jacket." The role would come to define Ermey's public persona: a profanity-spewing, no-nonsense ball-buster capable of driving his boot straight up your ass and out your mouth. Off camera, Ermey was known as polite and kind. He snagged many acting gigs aside from military roles, and he was active with veterans' causes. I, for one, will miss his blustery, blistering presence.
RIP, Gunny.
Dang. He was one of those guys I was convinced was going to live forever.
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