Robert Tessier
Beefy and imposing at over six feet tall, the actor (and stuntman) Robert Tessier was a perfect physical specimen for specializing in heavies. He made his acting debut in "Born Losers," a low-budget American International biker pic directed by Tom Laughlin--the first film to feature the "half-breed" cult hero Billy Jack, a Western-style vigilante who fought against prejudice. It probably wasn't coincidental that Tessier was of Algonquin descent. Most of the actor's early work was done on a shoestring budget; he rode out the biker-movie cycle (propagated by movies like "Born Losers" and "Easy Rider") of the late 1960s and early '70s before he struck a big Hollywood hit: "The Longest Yard," in which he played a karate-chopping convict who played football with Burt Reynolds. He was a fighter again in Walter Hill's brutal period piece "Hard Times," which starred Charles Bronson in one of his seminal roles: a rugged, bare-fisted boxer. Tessier had guest spots on popular TV shows of the time, like "The Dukes of Hazzard," "CHiPs," "The A-Team," and "Fantasy Island," and appeared in major-studio productions like "The Deep" and "Cannonball Run." Tessier's 20-year-long movie career was cut short by cancer; his last film, "Fists of Steel," was released posthumously.
Photos
Robert Tessier
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | No Safe Haven | Randy (Character) | - | 1989 |
No Score Yet |
|
Future Force | Becker (Character) | - | 1989 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Fists of Steel | Saylor (Character) | - | 1989 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Fix | Spook (Character) | - | 1985 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Lost Empire | Koro (Character) | - | 1984 |
No Score Yet |
|
Double Exposure | Bartender (Character) | - | 1982 |
33% |
|
Starcrash | Thor (Character) | - | 1979 |
0% |
|
The Villain | Mashing Finger (Character) | - | 1979 |
No Score Yet |
|
Steel | Cherokee (Character) | - | 1979 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Last of the Mohicans | Magua (Character) | - | 1977 |
42% |
|
The Deep | Kevin (Character) | - | 1977 |
94% |
|
Hard Times | Jim Henry (Character) | - | 1975 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Jesus Trip | Duncan (Character) | - | 1971 |
71% |
|
The Velvet Vampire | Biker (Character) | - | 1971 |
No Score Yet |
|
Cry Blood, Apache | Two Card Charlie (Character) | - | 1970 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Machismo | Two Card Charlie (Character) | - | 1970 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Babysitter | Unknown (Character) | - | 1969 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Glory Stompers | Magoo (Character) | - | 1968 |
60% |
|
Born Losers | Cueball (Character) | - | 1967 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Fall Guy | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1981 1984-1985 |
No Score Yet | 71% | The A-Team | Scully (Guest Star) | 1983 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | CHiPs | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1982 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Fantasy Island | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1981 |
No Score Yet | 74% | Incredible Hulk | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1980 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Dukes of Hazzard | Mitch Henderson (Guest Star) | 1980 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Hart to Hart | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1979 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Starsky and Hutch | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1979 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Little House on the Prairie | Chief Jack Lame Horse (Guest Star) | 1975 |
No Score Yet | 100% | Kung Fu | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1974 |