Ronny Cox
Encyclopedia
Daniel Ronald "Ronny" Cox (born July 23, 1938) is an American character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...

, singer-songwriter and guitarist.

Personal life

Cox, the third of five children, was born in Cloudcroft
Cloudcroft, New Mexico
Cloudcroft is a village in Otero County, New Mexico and is within the Lincoln National Forest. The population was 749 at the 2000 census. Despite being located in an otherwise arid region, its extremely high elevation allows for a relatively mild summer that makes it a popular tourist attraction...

, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, the son of Lounette (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....

 Rucker) and Bob P. Cox, a carpenter who also worked at a dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...

. He grew up in Portales
Portales, New Mexico
Portales is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 11,131 at the 2000 census. Portales is located near the larger city of Clovis as well as Cannon Air Force Base, a major contributor to the economy of the region.Eastern New Mexico...

, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

. Cox graduated from Eastern New Mexico University
Eastern New Mexico University
Eastern New Mexico University , frequently called Eastern, is a state university in Portales, Roosevelt County, New Mexico, USA...

 in 1963 with a double major in Theater and Speech Correction. On September 10, 1960, he married Mary Cox. They had two children; she died in 2006. Cox tours regularly with a musical band, performing at theatres and folk music festivals.

Career

As an actor, he made his debut in the acclaimed 1972 film Deliverance
Deliverance
Deliverance is a 1972 American thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman. Principal cast members include Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty in his film debut. The film is based on a 1970 novel of the same name by American author James Dickey, who has a small role in the...

, in a scene of which he plays the instrumental "Dueling Banjos
Dueling Banjos
"Dueling Banjos" is an instrumental composition by Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith. The song was composed in 1955 by Smith as a banjo instrumental he called "Feudin' Banjos", which contained riffs from "Yankee Doodle". Smith recorded it playing a four-string plectrum banjo and accompanied by...

" on his guitar with a banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

-playing mountain boy, played by child actor Billy Redden
Billy Redden
Billy Redden is an American actor best known for his role as Lonnie, the banjo-playing boy, in the 1972 movie Deliverance....

. Twelve years later, in the low-budget film Courage, Cox once again played a member of a small group of men who are, this time, lost in the Nevada desert and being chased by bloodthirsty locals.

In the period 1974-1975, Cox starred in the short-lived CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 family-oriented dramatic series entitled Apple's Way
Apple's Way
Apple's Way is a television dramedy which aired on CBS from 1974-1975. It was created by Earl Hamner, Jr..-Premise:The Apples, a family from Los Angeles, seek refuge from the hectic pace of city living and relocate to the father's hometown of Appleton, Iowa, which was founded by the father's...

created by Earl Hamner, who created The Waltons
The Waltons
The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...

. He appeared as "Mr. Webb" in a television production of Our Town
Our Town
Our Town is a three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It is a character story about an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century as depicted through their everyday lives...

.

One of his roles was that of Dr. John Gideon during the final season of the television medical drama St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...

. Cox's character was famously mooned by Dr. Donald Westphall (Ed Flanders
Ed Flanders
Edward Paul Flanders was an American actor best known for his role as Dr. Donald Westphall in the television series St. Elsewhere.- Biography :...

) at the end of the third episode of season six.

In 1987, Cox was cast in the "seminal" Paul Verhoeven film RoboCop
RoboCop
RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...

, in the memorable role of corporate arch-villain Richard "Dick" Jones.

In 1990, he co-starred as Los Angeles Police
Los Angeles Police
Law enforcement in Los Angeles County is conducted by a variety of law enforcement agencies.-County agencies:*Los Angeles County Coroner's Office*Los Angeles County Probation Department*Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department...

 Chief Roger Kendrick in the short-lived Cop Rock
Cop Rock
Cop Rock is an American musical police drama series that aired on ABC in 1990. The show, a police drama presented as a musical, was co-created by Steven Bochco, who also served as executive producer...

, presenting a striking physical resemblance to the real-world incumbent, Chief Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates was the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992.-Early life:...

. He also appeared as the antagonistic Mars Administrator Vilos Cohaagen in Total Recall
Total Recall
Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox & Mel Johnson, Jr.. It is based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”...

the same year.

Cox made a notable appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...

as the "efficient but impersonable" Captain Edward Jellico in the two-part episode "Chain of Command
Chain of Command (TNG episode)
"Chain of Command" is an episode of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation that aired in two parts.-Overview:Captain Picard is taken from command of the Enterprise for a covert mission, and his replacement is assigned to deal with the Cardassians openly.-Part I:Captain Picard, Lt....

". He has also played Henry Mason, the father of Bree Van de Kamp
Bree Van De Kamp
Bree Van de Kamp is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, played by Marcia Cross. Actress Marcia Cross was nominated from 2005 to 2007 for a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy...

 (Marcia Cross
Marcia Cross
Marcia Anne Cross is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Bree Van de Kamp on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and as Dr...

) on Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...

.

In 1997, Cox portrayed the fictional President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Jack Neil in the movie Murder at 1600
Murder at 1600
Murder at 1600 is a 1997 thriller film starring Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane, Dennis Miller, Ronny Cox, Daniel Benzali, and Alan Alda. The 1600 in the title refers to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the address of the White House. The film is based on the novel Murder in the White House by Margaret Truman,...

. Cox also portrayed John Ramsey
John Bennett Ramsey
John Bennett Ramsey is the father of homicide victim JonBenét Ramsey. He was the first to discover JonBenét's body in the wine cellar of the Ramseys' 15-room home in Boulder, Colorado, on December 25, 1996, just hours after her murder....

 in the 2000 television film Perfect Murder, Perfect Town
Perfect Murder, Perfect Town
Perfect Murder, Perfect Town is a 2000 American television miniseries directed by Lawrence Schiller. The teleplay by Tom Topor is based on Schiller's book of the same title....

.

Cox has also appeared as Lieutenant/Captain/Chief of Police Andrew Bogomil in Beverly Hills Cop
Beverly Hills Cop
Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 American comedy-action film directed by Martin Brest and starring Eddie Murphy, Lisa Eilbacher, John Ashton, Judge Reinhold, and Ronny Cox...

and Beverly Hills Cop II
Beverly Hills Cop II
Beverly Hills Cop II is a 1987 action-comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and directed by Tony Scott. It is the first sequel in the Beverly Hills Cop series. Murphy returns as Detroit police detective Axel Foley, who returns to Beverly Hills, California to track down a joint robbery/gun-running ring...

, and Senator/Vice-President Robert Kinsey in Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...

.

He had a role in The Starter Wife
The Starter Wife (TV series)
The Starter Wife is a USA Network television series based on the miniseries by the same name, and based on the novel by Gigi Levangie Grazer. It premiered on October 10, 2008. The series stars Debra Messing as Molly Kagan, the now ex-wife of former studio executive Kenny Kagan...

TV series. He played Pappy McCallister, the husband of Molly Kagan's best friend Joan.

Cox has occasionally done animation-voice work, lending his voice to the Tyrusian deserter Doc in Invasion America
Invasion America
Invasion America is an animated science fiction miniseries that aired in the prime time lineup on The WB Television Network and later as a part of the Kids' WB programming block...

, and Senator McMillan in Todd McFarlane's Spawn
Todd McFarlane's Spawn
Todd McFarlane's Spawn was an animated television series which aired on HBO from 1997 through 1999. It was based on the Spawn comic series from Image Comics, and was nominated for and won an Emmy in 1999 for Outstanding Animation Program...

.

Cox guest starred in an episode of Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry is Canadian-American television and film actor.Matthew Perry or Matt Perry may also refer to:*Matthew C. Perry , American naval officer who forcibly opened Japan to trade with the West...

's 2011 series Mr Sunshine with Beverly Hills Cop
Beverly Hills Cop
Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 American comedy-action film directed by Martin Brest and starring Eddie Murphy, Lisa Eilbacher, John Ashton, Judge Reinhold, and Ronny Cox...

co-star John Ashton
John Ashton (actor)
John David Ashton is an American actor born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and graduate of the University of Southern California School of Theatre.John Ashton attended Enfield High School in Enfield, Connecticut....

.6

Cox played Walter Kenney in Dexter season six episode three ("Smokey and the Bandit")

Filmography

  • Deliverance
    Deliverance
    Deliverance is a 1972 American thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman. Principal cast members include Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty in his film debut. The film is based on a 1970 novel of the same name by American author James Dickey, who has a small role in the...

    (1972)
  • The Mind Snatchers (1972)
  • A Case of Rape
    A Case of Rape
    A Case of Rape is a 1974 television movie. It premiered on NBC on February 20, 1974. The film tells the story of a wife and mother who is raped twice by the same man and her ordeals dealing with the actual rape and her subsequent dealing with the police and the trial.-Plot:Ellen appears to have a...

    (1974)
  • Bound for Glory (1976)
  • The Car
    The Car
    The Car is a 1977 thriller/horror film directed by Elliot Silverstein and written by Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack and Lane Slate. The film stars James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, John Marley, and Ronny Cox, and tells the story of a mysterious car which goes on a murderous rampage, terrorizing the...

    (1977)
  • Gray Lady Down
    Gray Lady Down
    Gray Lady Down is a 1978 disaster film by Universal Studios starring Charlton Heston, David Carradine, Stacy Keach, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, and features the first film role for a young Christopher Reeve...

    (1978)
  • Harper Valley PTA
    Harper Valley PTA (film)
    Harper Valley PTA is a 1978 comedy movie starring Barbara Eden. The movie was inspired by the country music song of the same title written by Tom T. Hall...

    (1978)
  • The Onion Field
    The Onion Field (film)
    The Onion Field is a 1979 American drama film directed by Harold Becker. The screenplay by Joseph Wambaugh is based on his 1973 true crime novel of the same title...

    (1979)
  • The Courage of Kavik the Wolf Dog
    The Courage of Kavik the Wolf Dog
    The Courage of Kavik the Wolf Dog, also known as 'Kavik the Wolf Dog', is a 1980 made-for TV adventure film.-Plot:Kavik, a champion sled dog, who has just won a race in Alaska, is sold for $4000 to George Hunter, a ruthless businessman from Seattle, who has local business interests...

    (1980)
  • Taps
    Taps (film)
    Taps is a 1981 drama film starring George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton, Ronny Cox, as well as then up-and-comers Tom Cruise and Sean Penn. Hutton was nominated for a Golden Globe award in 1982 for his role in the film. The film was directed by Harold Becker. The screenplay by Robert Mark Kamen, James...

    (1981)
  • The Beast Within
    The Beast Within
    The Beast Within is a 1982 horror film directed by Philippe Mora and starring Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, L. Q. Jones, Don Gordon, R. G. Armstrong, Katherine Moffat, and Meshach Taylor....

    (1982)
  • Tangiers
    Tangiers (1982 film)
    Tangiers is a 1982 American-Morrocan thriller film directed by Michael E. Briant and starring Ronny Cox, Billie Whitelaw and Glynis Barber.-Cast:* Ronny Cox ... Bob Steele* Billie Whitelaw ... Louise* Glynis Barber ... Beth...

    (1982)
  • Beverly Hills Cop
    Beverly Hills Cop
    Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 American comedy-action film directed by Martin Brest and starring Eddie Murphy, Lisa Eilbacher, John Ashton, Judge Reinhold, and Ronny Cox...

    (1984)
  • Courage (also writer and producer) (1984)
  • Spencer (1984) TV Series
  • Jesse Owens Story (1984) (TV)
  • Vision Quest
    Vision Quest
    Vision Quest is a 1985 coming of age drama film starring Matthew Modine, Linda Fiorentino, and Ronny Cox. It is based on Terry Davis' novel of the same name. In some countries, it was released as Crazy for You to market on Madonna's emerging fame and the popularity of the song...

    (1985)
  • RoboCop
    RoboCop
    RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...

    (1987)
  • Steele Justice
    Steele Justice
    -Taglines:"When the police needed someone to stop the Vietnamese Mafia, there was only one choice...""You don't recruit John Steele. You unleash him.""The only law is the Black Tiger's. The only justice is John Steele's."-Plot:...

    (1987)
  • Beverly Hills Cop II
    Beverly Hills Cop II
    Beverly Hills Cop II is a 1987 action-comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and directed by Tony Scott. It is the first sequel in the Beverly Hills Cop series. Murphy returns as Detroit police detective Axel Foley, who returns to Beverly Hills, California to track down a joint robbery/gun-running ring...

    (1987)
  • St. Elsewhere
    St. Elsewhere
    St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...

    (1987–88) TV Series
  • In The Line of Duty: The FBI Murders (1988)
  • One Man Force (1989)
  • Captain America (1990)
  • Cop Rock
    Cop Rock
    Cop Rock is an American musical police drama series that aired on ABC in 1990. The show, a police drama presented as a musical, was co-created by Steven Bochco, who also served as executive producer...

    (1990) TV Series
  • Loose Cannons
    Loose Cannons
    Loose Cannons is a 1990 comedy film, written by Richard Matheson, Richard Christian Matheson, and Bob Clark, who also directed the film. The film is about a hard-nosed cop who is teamed up with a detective with multiple-personality disorder to uncover a long-lost Nazi sex tape, featuring Adolf...

    (1990)
  • Total Recall
    Total Recall
    Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox & Mel Johnson, Jr.. It is based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”...

    (1990)
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation
    Star Trek: The Next Generation
    Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...

    (1991) TV Series
  • Murder at 1600
    Murder at 1600
    Murder at 1600 is a 1997 thriller film starring Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane, Dennis Miller, Ronny Cox, Daniel Benzali, and Alan Alda. The 1600 in the title refers to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the address of the White House. The film is based on the novel Murder in the White House by Margaret Truman,...

    (1997)
  • Stargate SG-1
    Stargate SG-1
    Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...

    (1998–2005) TV Series
  • FreeSpace 2
    FreeSpace 2
    FreeSpace 2 is a 1999 space combat simulation computer game developed by Volition, Inc. as the sequel to Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War. It was completed ahead of schedule in less than a year, and released to great critical acclaim...

    (1999) (voice) Video Game
  • Deep Blue Sea
    Deep Blue Sea
    Deep Blue Sea is a 1999 science fiction horror film that stars Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J, and Samuel L Jackson. The film was directed by Renny Harlin and was released in the United States on July 28, 1999.- Plot :...

    (1999)
  • Perfect Murder, Perfect Town
    Perfect Murder, Perfect Town
    Perfect Murder, Perfect Town is a 2000 American television miniseries directed by Lawrence Schiller. The teleplay by Tom Topor is based on Schiller's book of the same title....

    (2000) television film
  • The Agency (2001) TV Series
  • Losing Grace (2001)
  • American Outlaws
    American Outlaws
    American Outlaws is a 2001 Western film directed by Les Mayfield and starring Colin Farrell, Scott Caan, and Ali Larter.-Plot:The southern army is trying to track down the Yankee army during the civil war...

    (2001)
  • Crazy As Hell
    Crazy as Hell
    Crazy as Hell, released in 2002 , is a horror suspense film that follows Dr. Ty Adams , an aggressive and overconfident psychiatrist who is producing a documentary film about a nearby state-run mental hospital. While treating a new patient who claims to be Satan, Dr...

    (2002)
  • Angel in the Family (2004) (TV)
  • Killzone
    Killzone
    Killzone is a first-person shooter exclusive to the PlayStation 2 game console, developed by Netherlands-based Guerrilla Games and released on November 2, 2004 in North America. A sequel, Killzone: Liberation was released on the PlayStation Portable and another followup, Killzone 2 was released for...

    (2004) (voice) Video Game
  • Desperate Housewives
    Desperate Housewives
    Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...

    (2006) TV Series
  • Commander in Chief
    Commander in Chief (TV series)
    Commander in Chief is an American drama television series that focused on the fictional administration and family of Mackenzie Allen , the first female President of the United States, who ascends to the role from the Vice Presidency after the death of the sitting President from a sudden cerebral...

    (2006)
  • Tell Me You Love Me
    Tell Me You Love Me
    Tell Me You Love Me is an American cable television drama series that premiered on HBO and on The Movie Network on September 9, 2007.The series was created by Cynthia Mort and originally conceived as sexlife. The pilot episode was produced and directed by Patricia Rozema and shot in Winnipeg,...

    (2007) TV Series
  • Imagine That (2009)
  • Dexter
    Dexter (TV series)
    Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...

    (2011)

Discography

  • Ronny Cox, Mercury (1993)
  • Acoustic Eclectricity, Syzygy Records (2000)
  • Cowboy Savant
    Cowboy Savant (album)
    -Track listing:#"Always In The Wind"#"Sanctuary"#"Silver City"#"Quintanaroo"#"Comin' Back To You"#"Through Your Eyes"#"Done Movin'"#"Canyons"#"The Connection"#"Trash Meets The Cash"#"Back Then"#"Corn, Water and Wood"#"From The Dust"...

    , Self-released (2002)
  • Ronny Cox Live, Self-released (2004)
  • Ronny Cox at the Sebastiani Theatre, Bay Sound Records (2006). Recorded 2005 at Sebastiani Theatre, Sonoma, California
    Sonoma, California
    Sonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town's Mexican colonial past. It was the capital of the short-lived California Republic...

  • Ronny Cox: Songs, Stories... and Out & Out Lies (DVD), Wind River (2006)
  • "How I love them old songs..." - Ronny Cox sings Mickey Newbury
    Mickey Newbury
    Mickey Newbury was an American songwriter, a critically acclaimed recording artist, and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.-Biography:...

    , Bay Sound Records (2008)
  • Songs... with Repercussions, Wind River (2009)

Further reading

  • Voisin, Scott Character Kings: Hollywood's Familiar Faces Discuss the Art & Business of Acting. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 9781593933425

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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