From Wikipedia (English):

Warren Mercer Oates (July 5, 1928 – April 3, 1982) was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah including The Wild Bunch (1969) and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974). He starred in numerous films during the early 1970s which have since achieved cult status including The Hired Hand (1971), Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) and Race with the Devil (1975). Oates also portrayed John Dillinger in the biopic Dillinger (1973) and Sergeant Hulka in the comedy Stripes (1981).

Early life

Oates was born and raised in Depoy, a tiny rural community west of Greenville in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. He was the son of Sarah Alice (née Mercer) and Bayless Earle Oates, who owned a general store. He attended Louisville Male High School, Louisville, Kentucky until 1945 but did not graduate. He later earned a high school equivalency degree. After high school he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps for two years serving in the air wing as an aircraft mechanic. He became interested in theater at the University of Louisville and starred in several plays there in 1953 for the Little Theater Company. He got an opportunity in New York City to star in a live production of the television series Studio One in 1957.

Death

Warren Oates died in his sleep at his house in Los Angeles, California of a sudden heart attack brought on by natural causes on April 3, 1982; he was 53 years old. His ashes were scattered at his ranch in Montana.

In 1981, nearly one year before his death, he had co-starred in the CBS TV mini-series The Blue and the Gray, which aired in November 1982. His last two films, Blue Thunder (which was filmed in early 1980) and Tough Enough (which was filmed in late 1981) (both released in 1983), were posthumously dedicated to him. Monte Hellman's film Iguana ends with the titles "For Warren" as a dedication.

• Census: 1940 -  Bardo Hill Road, Depoy, Mag Dist # 4, Muhlenberg, Kentucky, USA
• Updated from MyHeritage Match by SmartCopy: Sep 17 2014, 18:23:25 UTC

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GEDCOM Note

1977-age listed 49.

Warren Oates

Date of Birth
5 July 1928, Depoy, Kentucky, USA

Date of Death
3 April 1982, Los Angeles, California, USA (heart attack)

Birth Name
Warren Mercer Oates

Height
5' 11" (1.80 m)

American character actor of the 1960s and 1970s whose distinctive style and intensity brought him to offbeat leading roles. Oates was born in a very small Kentucky town and attended high school in Louisville, continuing on to the University of Louisville and military service with the U.S. Marines. In college he became interested in the theatre and in 1954 headed for New York to make his mark as an actor. However, his first real job in television was, as it had been for James Dean before him, testing the contest gags on the game show "Beat the Clock" (1950). He did numerous menial jobs while auditioning, including serving as the hat-check man at the nightclub "21". By 1957 he had begun appearing in live dramas such as "Studio One" (1948), but Oates' rural drawl seemed more fitted for the Westerns that were proliferating on the big screen at the time, so he moved to Hollywood and immediately stared getting steady work as an increasingly prominent supporting player, often as either craven or vicious types. With his role as one of the Hammond brothers in the Sam Peckinpah masterpiece Ride the High Country (1962), Oates found a niche both as an actor and as a colleague of one of the most distinguished and distinctive directors of the period. Peckinpah used Oates repeatedly, and Oates, in large part due to the prominence given him by Peckinpah, became one of those rare character actors whose name and face is as familiar as those of many leading stars. He began to play roles which, while still character parts, were also leads, particularly in cult hits like Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974). Although never destined to be a traditional leading man, Oates remained one of Hollywood's most valued character players up until his sudden death from a heart attack at the age of 53. His final two films, Tough Enough (1983) and Blue Thunder (1983), filmed back-to-back in early 1982 shortly before his death, were dedicated to his memory.

Social Security Death Index Record
about Warren Oates
Name: Warren Oates
SSN: 402-32-7030
Born: 5 Jul 1928
Died: Apr 1982
State (Year) SSN issued: Kentucky (Before 1951 )