Career
After filming a trucker movie, Napier wrote articles and took pictures for Overdrive magazine for a few years until a major truck strike in 1973 sent him back to Hollywood. Napier was reduced to living in his car on a parking lot, and claims that one day a limo pulled up its driver said, "Are you Charles Napier? Mr. Hitchcock would like to see you." Napier was taken to Universal Studios to meet Alfred Hitchcock, and was placed under contract with Universal Studios. In a different interview Napier also claimed to have been introduced to the movies when his girlfriend brought him along as an informal bodyguard for an audition with Russ Meyers. Meyers then offered Napier a role and Napier went on to become an important figure in the Meyers film universe.
In 1977, Napier was cast as frontier scout Luther Sprague in the six-episode NBC western television series, The Oregon Trail, with co-stars Rod Taylor, Andrew Stevens, Tony Becker, and Darleen Carr.
He also began making regular appearances in Jonathan Demme's movies, including The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia. Some of Napier's memorable roles include Murdock, the intelligence officer commanding Rambo in Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and Tucker McElroy, lead singer and driver of the Winnebago for "The Good Ol' Boys" in The Blues Brothers (1980).
He also provided some of the Hulk's growls on 1970s television series The Incredible Hulk. (The others were done by Ted Cassidy.) He also guest starred on the series and in the 1989 telefilm The Incredible Hulk Returns. He appeared in two episodes of the 1980s hit TV series The A-Team once as Col. Briggs. He also co-starred in a couple of The Rockford Files episodes, and played Hammer, Greg Evigan's character's arch-nemesis, in the short-lived series B. J. and the Bear in the 1970s.
Napier as Wolfson Lucas was teamed with Rod Taylor again for the short lived series Outlaws which also featured Richard Roundtree and William Lucking in 1986.
He is well known among Star Trek fans for appearing on both Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Way to Eden" as musically inclined space hippie Adam, and the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Little Green Men" as General Denning. He also appeared in the pilot episode of Knight Rider in 1982.
From 1997–2000, he did voice work as General Hardcastle on Superman: The Animated Series produced by Warner Bros. and reprised the role in 2004 on Justice League.
Napier provided the voice for Duke Phillips, the Ted Turner-inspired network owner in the 1990s animated series The Critic. From 1997 through 2001, he provided the voice for Zed on Men in Black: The Series. He has also provided several guest voices for episodes of The Simpsons. He provided the voice for the Sheriff on Squidbillies for season one and episodes 201–203, although uncredited. He was replaced by Bobby Ellerbee.
He had a small role during the sixth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2008 as a barber who assaults and drives Larry David from his shop after David offends him.
Napier appeared in the 2009 horror film Murder World alongside Scout Taylor-Compton. His last film role was in the 2009 comedy The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard opposite Jeremy Piven and James Brolin. Prior to his death in October of 2011, Napier published a book about his life and experiences in Hollywood, titled "Square Jaw and Big Heart", with Dante W. Renzulli Jr.as co-author. The publisher of the book is BearManor Media of Albany, Georgia (ISBN 978-1-59393-624-2).
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Famous quotes containing the word career:
“Like the old soldier of the ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Goodbye.”
—Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964)
“A black boxer’s career is the perfect metaphor for the career of a black male. Every day is like being in the gym, sparring with impersonal opponents as one faces the rudeness and hostility that a black male must confront in the United States, where he is the object of both fear and fascination.”
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