Warren Oates: A Wild Life

Though he never reached the lead actor status he labored so relentlessly to achieve, Warren Oates (1928--1982) is one of the most memorable and skilled character actors of the 1970s. With his rugged looks and measured demeanor, Oates crafted complex characters who were at once brazen and thoughtful, wild and subdued. Friends remember the hard-living, hard-drinking actor as kind and caring, but also sometimes as mean as a blue-eyed devil. Married four times, partial to road trips in his RV affectionately known as the "Roach Coach," and famous for performances for directors ranging from Sam Peckinpah to Steven Spielberg, Warren Oates remained a Hollywood outsider perfectly suited to the 1960s and 1970s counterculture. Born in the small town of Depoy in rural western Kentucky and reared in Louisville, Oates began his career in the late 1950s with bit parts in television westerns. Though hardly lucrative work, it was during this time Oates met renegade director Sam Peckinpah, establishing the creative relationship and destructive friendship that produced some of Oates's most unforgettable roles in "Ride the High Country" (1962), "Major Dundee" (1965), and "The Wild Bunch" (1969), as well as a leading part in "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia" (1974). Though Oates maintained a close association with Peckinpah, he had a penchant for working with a variety of visionary directors who understood his approach and were eager to enlist the subtle talents of the consummate character actor. With supporting roles in "In the Heat of the Night" (1967), "The Hired Hand" (1971), "Badlands" (1973), "1941" (1979), and "Stripes "(1981), Oates delivered solid performances for filmmakers as diverse and talented as Norman Jewison, Peter Fonda, Terrence Malick, Steven Spielberg, and Ivan Reitman. Oates's offscreen personality was just as complex as his on-screen persona. Notorious for being a nightlife reveler, he was as sensitive and introspective as he was outgoing and prone to periods of exuberant, and at times illegal, excess. Though he never became a marquee name, Warren Oates continues to influence actors like Billy Bob Thornton and Benicio Del Toro, as well as directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Richard Linklater, all of whom have cited Oates as a major inspiration. In "Warren Oates: A Wild Life," author Susan Compo skillfully captures the story of Oates's eventful life, indulgent lifestyle, and influential career.

About the Author :
Susan Compo is a lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. She is the author of three works of fiction, including "Pretty Things" and "Life After Death and Other Stories."

Review :
"" "A Wild Life "offers up ample anecdotes about the actor's antics."--Kelly Reichardt, Film Comment" -- "" "A Wild Life" compresses a life's trajectory with a balance of tidiness and detours into some terrific anecdotes."-- Vue Weekly" -- "" "Warren Oates: A Wild Life" benefits from terrific research by author Susan Compo. It reads not only as a sad tale of addiction but as a joyous celebration of a tortured artist, managing to describe the excess while still earning our sympathy for Oates and his demons. Additionally, fans who enjoy the films of the period from the 1950s until his death in 1983 will find some terrific anecdotes that will keep them reading late into the night."--Scott Coffman, "courier-journal.com"" -- "" "Warren Oates: A Wild Life" tells an evocative story of a true maverick set against the background of one of the richest and most fascinating periods in American cinematic history. Susan Compo's passion for her subject is evident on every page. She displays a rare flair for the telling detail."--Eddi Fiegel, "author of John Barry: A Sixties Theme"" -- ""[Oates] lived a hard life -- womanizing, drinking, and drugging along the way, but despite all sorts of obstacles, it seemed like a happy life, one he faced with a Zen-like attitude."-- "The Santa Fe New Mexican"" -- ""A finely drawn and deeply researched portrait of Warren Oates, set against the rich cultural and social landscape of a long-gone American and filled with a fascinating supporting cast that includes Robert Culp, Monte Hellman, Ed "Kookie" Byrnes, and Sam Peckinpah. In writing this book, Susan Compo has done for the actor what he did for so many of life's misunderstood characters--give him depth, dignity, and importance. To paraphrase a line from Ride the High Country, one of the actor's first films, Compo can enter her house justified."--Deanne Stillman, "author of Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West"" -- Deanne Stillman ""A highly readable blow-by-blow of the actor's rocky and too-short life....The parts of Warren Oates' life are greater than its sum; he was not a visionary but a chameleon always searching for a new skin to inhabit. Behind the facade, Compo finds an ordinary human...."-- "Los Angeles Times"" -- " ""An informative, welcome portrait of an underappreciated American icon."-- "Kirkus Reviews"" -- ""Compo builds a convincing case that Oates was a talented rebel often haunted by long periods of hard drinking, drug abuse and infidelities."-- "Tucson Citizen"" -- ""Compo seamlessly melds together quotations, analysis, and description. She discusses Oates's private and professional life, and her details on the creation of individual movies and involved personalities will appeal both to fans of the actor and to those interested in the cinema of the era."--Jim Collins, "Library Journal"" -- ""Extremely well-researched and well-written biography about a man who pursued happiness, hipness, and Hollywood as if he were in a fun-filled fever dream."--Robert Nott, "Santa Fe New Mexican Pasatiempo"" -- ""Incredibly voluminous, fact-packed..."-- "Sunday Star Ledger"" -- ""It's a lively, well-researched biography."--Richard S. Wheeler, "richardswheeler.blogspot.com"" -- ""Susan Compo has written a garrulous and superbly readable biography of a genuine working actor--in the most honorable meaning of the term--and for that reason alone, her book will inspire anyone who believes that the love of the craft is about acting, not stardom.--Nat Segaloff, "author of Hurricane Billy: The Stormy Life and Films of William Friedkin"" -- ""The author serves up a lively and studious look at this extraordinary man, chronicling his early life in Kentucky as well has his later achievements and misadventures."-- "Tucson Citizen"" -- ""This book is not only useful but valuable; it pulls together a big piece of a compelling and important story. Susan Compo caught some of the contradictions that make Oates so resonant as a screen presence and now almost an American archtype."--Tom Marksbury, writer of the documentary " Warren Oates: Across the Border"" -- ""This is the first major biography of Oates, and Compo has done her homework, interviewing those who knew him best, including ex-wives, children, friends and costars."--Wallace Stroby, "New Jersey Star-Ledger"" -- ""A vivid portrait of a talented actor with a raucous and self-destructive lifestyle that shortened his career and hindered his further success."--Armchair Interviews" -- ""A Wild Life compresses a life's trajectory with a balance of tidiness and detours into some terrific anecdotes."-- Vue Weekly" -- ""A Wild Life offers up ample anecdotes about the actor's antics."--Kelly Reichardt, Film Comment" -- ""An unusual and valuable book."--RINF" -- ""Compo's gem-laden playland of tales, anecdotes, gossip and deep character study gets you right up close to the second golden era of the silver screen, and better, takes you on one of the greatest life-trips ever lived."--G.Q.com" -- ""Emphasizes Welles's artistic and political radicalism, which has been downplayed by numerous biographers."--RINF" -- ""Enormously entertaining."--WFMU" -- ""In this thoroughly readable biography, Compo gives us a vivid portrait of a talented actor with a raucous and self-destructive lifestyle that shortened his career and hindered his further success."--Paul Markowitz, bookideas.com" -- ""In Warren Oates: A Wild Life, author Susan Compo skillfully captures the story of Oates' eventful life, indulgent lifestyle, and influential career."--AHomeData.com" -- ""Incredibly voluminous, fact-packed..."--Sunday Star Ledger" -- ""Susan Compo has done the necessary research and she writes quite well."--JakartaGlobe" -- ""Susan Compo skillfully captures the story of Oates' eventful life, indulgent lifestyle, and influential career."--Turner Classic Movies" -- ""Warren Oates: A Wild Life benefits from terrific research by author Susan Compo. It reads not only as a sad tale of addiction but as a joyous celebration of a tortured artist, managing to describe the excess while still earning our sympathy for Oates and his demons. Additionally, fans who enjoy the films of the period from the 1950s until his death in 1983 will find some terrific anecdotes that will keep them reading late into the night."--Scott Coffman, courier-journal.com" -- ""Warren Oates: A Wild Life tells an evocative story of a true maverick set against the background of one of the richest and most fascinating periods in American cinematic history. Susan Compo's passion for her subject is evident on every page. She displays a rare flair for the telling detail."--Eddi Fiegel, author of John Barry: A Sixties Theme" -- ""While Compo's recounting of these innumerable yarns is at times hard to follow, fans will find the effort worth their while."--Kelly Reichardt, Film Comment" --