Donald Lee "Don" Stroud (born September 1, 1943) appears as "Coach", the manager of the Galveston Mustangs minor league baseball team manager in the Season Four episode of Quantum Leap titled "Play Ball". Stroud has appeared in many films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and has starred in over 100 films and 175 television shows to date.
Career[]
Stroud was surfing at Waikiki when he was discovered by actor Troy Donahue who was filming ABC's Hawaiian Eye TV series, and needed a stunt double for his surfing scenes. Don, at 18, 6'2" and 175 pounds, stepped up and was hired on the spot. He loved the gig so much, he decided to go to Hollywood to give acting a try. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, he landed a variety of jobs, including parking cars, bouncer and then manager of the world-famous Whisky a Go Go nightclub on the Sunset Strip, where such greats as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison of the Doors appeared. It was at the "Whisky" that actor Sidney Poitier turned Don on to his acting career. Stroud went on to become one of Hollywood's great heavies and character actors.
Stroud co-starred with Clint Eastwood in two films, Coogan's Bluff (1968) and Joe Kidd (1972). He also appeared in several episodes of CBS's Hawaii Five-O, and in the Barry Sullivan NBC-TV series The Road West.
Stroud also co-starred in Roger Corman's film Von Richthofen and Brown (1971) He also starred as real-life jewel thief Jack Murphy, in the movie Murph the Surf (1975). He also starred in the horror/thriller Death Weekend (1976) and had a supporting role in the cult horror film The Amityville Horror (1979), as well as the miniseries Mrs. Columbo from that same year which starred Kate Mulgrew (Stroud played Lt. Varrick). Stroud co-starred in The Buddy Holly Story (1978) as the late musician's drummer (in which he actually played the drums), and played a James Bond villain in the film Licence to Kill (1989). He played Captain Pat Chambers in the television series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer and The New Mike Hammer, with Stacy Keach, with whom he co-starred in the film The Killer Inside Me (1976). Stroud starred in four television series, notably The New Gidget (1986) where he was a natural to play the "Kahuna", Nash Bridges (1996–2001), and Pensacola: Wings of Gold (1996–2000).
Don's brother Duke Stroud is also an actor, memorable as the furious air-traffic controller in 1986's Top Gun. Duke also stages plays and teaches acting at Pasadena City College (Nick Nolte's alma mater).
Recent work[]
Stroud made a brief appearance in the new CBS=TV series Hawaii Five-0 on October 10, 2011. In the second season's fourth episode, entitled "Mea Makamae", which means 'Treasure' in Hawaiian, Stroud played a bartender.
References[]
External links[]
- To Smile & Play the Villain: An Interview with Don Stroud – January 2001
Don Stroud at the Internet Movie Database
- Don Stroud article at Wikipedia
