Francis Luke Askew (March 26, 1932 - March 29, 2012) was an American actor best known for his role in the 1969 film Easy Rider. He appeared in many westerns, and had a rare lead role in the spaghetti Western Night of the Serpent (La notte dei serpenti; 1969).

Biography

Askew was born in Macon, Georgia to Milton Dillard Askew (1904-1976) and Dorothy Doolittle (1910-1969). Askew attended the University of Georgia, Mercer University, and Walter F. Jay School of Law. Askew served in the United States Air Force during his college years in intelligence.

He made his film debut in Hurry Sundown (1967), but was first noticed as an actor for his role in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke. The following year he worked with John Wayne in The Green Berets (with his hair cut short). The following year he worked with Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda in Easy Rider, a film that set him on the road to becoming a cult figure of modern cinema.

Askew continued to work as an actor after that, predominantly appearing in guest roles on television series. This includes work on such series as: Bonanza, High Chaparral, Mission: Impossible, Cannon, The Rockford Files, Quincy, M.E., The Six Million Dollar Man, T. J. Hooker, L.A. Law, MacGyver, Walker, Texas Ranger, Murder She Wrote, and HBO's Big Love. He appeared frequently with Bill Paxton.

He also took part in Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage (1999), a documentary about the making of Easy Rider DVD, and the 2003 documentary Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood. Askew sang Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Jimmy Reed songs at The Gaslight Cafe. According to Bob Dylan, when Luke sang at The Gaslight Cafe it was like a "guy who sounded like Bobby Blue Bland".

He later moved to Lake Oswego, Oregon. He died in Portland, on March 29, 2012, three days after his 80th birthday, from lung cancer.

Selected filmography

• Hurry Sundown (1967)
• The Happening (1967)
• Cool Hand Luke (1967)
• Will Penny (1968)
• The Green Berets (1968)
• The Devil's Brigade (1968)
• Easy Rider (1969)
• Flareup (1969)
• Night of the Serpent (1969)
• Angel Unchained (1970)
• The Magnificent Seven Ride (1972)
• The Culpepper Cattle Company (1972)
• The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972)
• Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
• Slipstream (1973)
• Posse (1975)
• Walking Tall Part 2 (1975)
• Mackintosh and T.J. (1975)
• Rolling Thunder (1977)
• Wanda Nevada (1979)
• The Beast Within (1982)
• The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984)
• Bialy smok (1987)
• Bulletproof (1988)
• No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)
• Frank & Jesse (1994)
• Traveller (1997)
• The Newton Boys (1998)
• South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000)
• Frailty (2001)
• The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005)

Television

• Big Love ... Hollis Green
• BJ and the Bear ... Blackwell
• Mission: Impossible - The Execution ... Ducho
• Bonanza ... Deputy Hatch "Kingdom of Fear" (1968 ; part of last season that was not aired*)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]