Red West obit

Actor Red West, longtime Elvis confidant, dies

 

He was not on the list.

Actor and songwriter Robert Gene "Red" West, a longtime confidant of Elvis Presley, has died in Memphis.

Danita Allen of Memorial Park Funeral Home said West died Tuesday. He was 81. His wife, Pat West, told The Commercial Appeal he died at Baptist Hospital after suffering from an aortic aneurysm.

West met Presley in high school and worked for him for 20 years. He was a friend, driver and bodyguard. He also took small roles in some of Presley's films and co-wrote some songs Presley sang including "Separate Ways" and "If You Talk In Your Sleep."

After West was fired by Presley's father in 1976, he went on to help write a book called "Elvis: What Happened?" The book, published shortly before Presley's death, included details about the singer's drug dependency and unhealthy lifestyle. West and his co-authors, Sonny West and David Hebler, said the book was an attempt to encourage Elvis to give up his dangerous ways. However, some fans said it was written out of spite because they were fired.

Afterward, West became a full-time actor and appeared on TV shows and in movies. His most famous role was in 1989's "Road House" starring Patrick Swayze.

 When Presley was making films in the 1960s in Hollywood, Red West appeared in small roles in sixteen of the star's films. During this time, West became good friends with actor Nick Adams and his physical abilities got him hired on as a stuntman on Adams' television series, The Rebel. From there, West went on to do more stunt work in film as well as developing a career as an actor in a number of motion pictures and on television. He was often on screen as a henchman in the television series The Wild Wild West.

West also played the role of Sheriff Tanner of Alcorn County Mississippi in the 1973 Bing Crosby Production movie Walking Tall and also played the role again of Sheriff Tanner in the 1975 Movie Walking Tall Part 2 about Sheriff Buford Pusser of McNairy County Tennessee.

West also played the ornery, sometimes violent Master Sergeant Andy Micklin on Baa Baa Black Sheep. He guest starred twice on the CBS hit detective series Magnum, P.I. as different characters, as five different ones on The A-Team, the Knight Rider pilot episode "Knight of the Phoenix", on The Fall Guy, Simon & Simon and in "The Once and Future King", an episode of The Twilight Zone which concerned Presley. In 1989 West appeared in the action film Road House with Patrick Swayze as Red Webster, the auto parts store owner.

 

Actor (106 credits)

 2015 Nashville (TV Series)

Bar Owner

- Please Help Me, I'm Fallin' (2015) ... Bar Owner

 2015 The Last Generation to Die (Short)

Paul

 2014 Rectify (TV Series)

Taylor

- Mazel Tov (2014) ... Taylor

 2013 Safe Haven

Roger

 2012 At Any Price

Cliff Whipple

 2012 The Black Dove

Detective Randall Hayward

 2011 Memphis Beat (TV Series)

Tim Mason

- The Things We Carry (2011) ... Tim Mason

 2010 Father of Invention

Sam Bergman

 2008 Goodbye Solo

William

 2007 The Riches (TV Series)

 2006 Glory Road

Ross Moore

 2005 Forty Shades of Blue

Duigan

 2004 Almost Made

Red Rodgers

 2003 Vampires Anonymous

Tom Miller

 2003 A Painted House (TV Movie)

Man discussing weather (uncredited)

 2000 Woman's Story

Judge Ewing

 2000 Above Suspicion

Officer Ward

 1999 Cookie's Fortune

Mr. Henderson

 1998 I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

Paulsen

 1997 The Rainmaker

Buddy Black

 1997 The P.A.C.K. (Video)

Sheriff Charlie Stone

 1995 Her Hidden Truth (TV Movie)

Fireman Leon Sykes

 1995The Expert

Judge

 1994 Felony

Chief Edwards

 1994 Natural Born Killers

Cowboy Sheriff

 1992 From the Files of Joseph Wambaugh: A Jury of One (TV Movie)

 1992 The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag

Judge

 1992 Prey of the Chameleon

Pritchard

 1991 Raw Nerve

Dave

 1991 Hunter (TV Series)

Body Shop Man

- Fatal Obsession: Part 2 (1991) ... Body Shop Man (uncredited)

- Fatal Obsession: Part 1 (1991) ... Body Shop Man

 1990 The Legend of Grizzly Adams

Bodine

 1989 Trapper County War

George

 1989 Road House

Red Webster

 1989 Billy the Kid (TV Movie)

Joe Grant

 1988 Once Upon a Texas Train (TV Movie)

Bates Boley

 1987 Houston Knights (TV Series)

- Desperado (1987)

 1987 Proud Men (TV Movie)

Cookie

 1981-1987 Simon & Simon (TV Series)

Construction foreman Lou Harper / Frank Dawson

- Ancient Echoes (1987) ... Construction foreman Lou Harper

- A Recipe for Disaster (1981) ... Frank Dawson

 1987 The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory (TV Movie)

Cockran

 1983-1986 The A-Team (TV Series)

Sheriff Brooks / Red Avory / Sinclair / ...

 1986 The Twilight Zone (TV Series)

Mr. Harris (segment "The Once and Future King")

- The Once and Future King/A Saucer of Loneliness (1986) ... Mr. Harris (segment "The Once and Future King")

 1986 Charley Hannah (TV Movie)

David 'OO' Buck

 1982-1986 The Fall Guy (TV Series)

 1981-1985 Magnum, P.I. (TV Series)

Billy Cockrell - Present Day / Bull

- Let Me Hear the Music (1985) ... Billy Cockrell - Present Day

- All Roads Lead to Floyd (1981) ... Bull

 1984 Hardcastle and McCormick (TV Series)

Paul Connors

- Scared Stiff (1984) ... Paul Connors

 1984 Hard Knox (TV Movie)

Thomas 'Top' Tuttle

 1981-1983 The Greatest American Hero (TV Series)

Charley / Fred Blandin / Cliff

- Desperado (1983) ... Charley

- It's All Downhill from Here (1982) ... Fred Blandin

- Here's Looking at You, Kid (1981) ... Cliff

 1983 Blood Feud (TV Movie)

Violent Teamster

 1982 Knight Rider (TV Series)

Truck driver

- Knight of the Phoenix: Part 2 (1982) ... Truck driver (uncredited)

 1982 Will: The Autobiography of G. Gordon Liddy (TV Movie)

Kaworski

 1979-1981 Quincy M.E. (TV Series)

Hiram Woods / John Culligan

- Dead Stop (1981) ... Hiram Woods

- Dead Last (1979) ... John Culligan

 1980 Coach of the Year (TV Movie)

Superintendent Turner

 1980Angel City (TV Movie)

Sud

 1980 Tenspeed and Brown Shoe (TV Series)

Sartain's Henchman

- The Treasure of Sierra Madre Street (1980) ... Sartain's Henchman

 1980 When the Whistle Blows (TV Series)

Milt Dolan

- The House that Roared (1980) ... Milt Dolan

 1980 The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (TV Series)

Sgt. Reynolds

- Double Take, Double Take (1980) ... Sgt. Reynolds

 1979 Ramblin'Man (TV Series)

Sheriff

- Concrete Cowboys (1979) ... Sheriff

 1979 The Concrete Cowboys (TV Movie)

Sheriff

 1979 The Wild Wild West Revisited (TV Movie)

Henchman (uncredited)

 1979 The Duke (TV Series)

Sergeant Mick O'Brien

- The Pilot: Duke (1979) ... Sergeant Mick O'Brien

 1978 Battlestar Galactica (TV Series)

Marco

- The Lost Warrior (1978) ... Marco

 1977-1978 Black Sheep Squadron (TV Series)

 1975-1976 The Six Million Dollar Man (TV Series)

Rick / Owner

- The Bionic Boy (1976) ... Rick (uncredited)

- The White Lightning War (1975) ... Owner

 1975-1976 The Rookies (TV Series)

Wallace / Phil

- Blue Movie, Blue Death (1976) ... Wallace

- A Deadly Image (1975) ... Phil

 1975 Walking Tall Part II

Sheriff Tanner

 1975 Framed

Mallory

 1968-1975 Mannix (TV Series)

Thug / Dundee / Johnny Feigen / 

 1973 Walking Tall

Sheriff Tanner

 1972 Adventures of Nick Carter (TV Movie)

Thug #1 (uncredited)

 1967-1969 The Wild Wild West (TV Series)

Henchman / Thug / Carl / ...

 1968 Something for a Lonely Man (TV Movie)

Townsman (uncredited)

 1968 Live a Little, Love a Little

Newspaper Vendor (uncredited)

 1968 Mission: Impossible (TV Series)

Leonard / Sparring Partner

- The Contender: Part 2 (1968) ... Leonard (uncredited)

- The Contender: Part 1 (1968) ... Sparring Partner (uncredited)

 1967 Hondo (TV Series)

Townsman

- Hondo and the Mad Dog (1967) ... Townsman (uncredited)

 1967 Clambake

Ice Cream Vendor (uncredited)

 1967 Get Smart (TV Series)

Balinkov

- The Spy Who Met Himself (1967) ... Balinkov (uncredited)

 1966 Spinout

Shorty's Pit Crew (uncredited)

 1966 The Navy vs. the Night Monsters

Navy Fireman (uncredited)

 1966 Paradise, Hawaiian Style

Rusty (uncredited)

 1965 Harum Scarum

Assassin (uncredited)

 1965 Tickle Me

Mabel's Boyfriend (uncredited)

 1965Girl Happy

Extra in Kit Kat Club (uncredited)

 1965 John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!

Football Player (uncredited)

 1964 Roustabout

Carnival Worker (uncredited)

 1964 The Americanization of Emily

Soldier (uncredited)

 1964 Shock Treatment

Orderly (uncredited)

 1964 Viva Las Vegas

Son of Lone Star State (uncredited)

 1963 Fun in Acapulco

Poolside Guest (uncredited)

 1963 Palm Springs Weekend

Card Player (uncredited)

 1963 Arrest and Trial (TV Series)

Courtroom Spectator

- Tears from a Silver Dipper (1963) ... Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

 1963 It Happened at the World's Fair

Fred (uncredited)

 1962 Girls! Girls! Girls!

Bongo-Playing Crewman on Tuna Boat (uncredited)

 1962 Two for the Seesaw

Party Guest (uncredited)

 1962 Kid Galahad

Opponent (uncredited)

 1962 Follow That Dream

Bank Guard (uncredited)

 1961 Blue Hawaii

Party Guest (uncredited)

 1961 Wild in the Country

Hank Tyler (uncredited)

 1960 Flaming Star

Indian (uncredited)

 1960 The Rebel (TV Series)

Townsman

- The Earl of Durango (1960) ... Townsman (uncredited)

- Lady of Quality (1960) ... Townsman (uncredited)

 1960 Tall Story

Basketball Player / Student (uncredited)

 1960 Peter Gunn (TV Series)

Sheriff

- Sentenced (1960) ... Sheriff (uncredited)

 1960 Maverick (TV Series)

Hotel Doorman

- Guatemala City (1960) ... Hotel Doorman (uncredited)

 1960 Bonanza (TV Series)

Townsman

- The Fear Merchants (1960) ... Townsman (uncredited)

 1960 Ice Palace

Train Passenger (uncredited)

 1959 Journey to the Center of the Earth

Bearded Man at Newspaper Stand / University Student (uncredited)

 1958 The Californians (TV Series)

Barfly

- Mutineers from Hell (1958) ... Barfly (uncredited)