Early life

McRae was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He graduated from Tennessee State University with a double major in drama and history. He was a defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears in the 1967 NFL season appearing in 6 games.

Career

Among his acting roles are bank robber Reed Youngblood in Dillinger (1973); a shouting police captain in 48 Hrs. (1982), a role he later parodied in Last Action Hero (1993) and Loaded Weapon 1 (1993); the history teacher, Mr. Teasdale, in Red Dawn (1984); James Bond's friend Sharkey in Licence to Kill (1989); and former professional boxing champion Harry Noble in *batteries not included (1987). He also appeared opposite Sylvester Stallone in 4 films; F.I.S.T. (1978), Paradise Alley (1978), Rocky II (1979) and Lock Up (1989).

He made an effective pairing with John Candy as two bumbling subordinates; first as two tank soldiers (under an equally bumbling Sgt. Frank Tree played by Dan Aykroyd) in the cult classic 1941 (1979), and later as a "Walley World" security guard in National Lampoon's Vacation (1983). One of his more recent roles was Cookie in the Hallmark Channel original films Love's Long Journey and Love's Abiding Joy.

Selected filmography

• Cool Breeze (1972) - Barry, Mercer's Servant (uncredited)
• Shaft in Africa (1973) - Osiat
• Dillinger (1973) - Reed Youngblood
• Bank Shot (1974) - Hermann X
• Hard Times (1975) - Hammerman
• Walking Tall Part 2 (1975) - Steamer Riley
• Pipe Dreams (1976) - Moose
• Tracks (1976) - Train Coachman
• F.I.S.T. (1978) - Lincoln Dombrowsky
• Big Wednesday (1978) - Sergeant
• The End (1978) - Male Nurse
• Paradise Alley (1978) - Big Glory
• Norma Rae (1979) - James Brow
• Rocky II (1979) - Meat Foreman
• 1941 (1979) - Pvt. Ogden Johnson Jones
• City in Fear (1980) - Captain Madison
• Used Cars (1980) - Jim the Mechanic
• Cannery Row (1982) - Hazel
• 48 Hrs. (1982) - Captain Haden
• National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) - Grover
• Red Dawn (1984) - Mr. Teasdale
• *batteries not included (1987) - Harry Noble
• Farewell to the King (1989) - Tenga
• Licence to Kill (1989) - Sharkey
• Lock Up (1989) - Eclipse
• The Wizard (1989) - Spankey
• Another 48 Hrs. (1990) - Captain Haden (uncredited)
• Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) - Captain Doyle
• Last Action Hero (1993) - Lieutenant Dekker
• Lightning Jack (1994) - Mr. Doyle
• The Killing Jar (1997) - Det. Bernie Morris
• Mr. P's Dancing Sushi Bar (1998) - Bruce McFee
• Hijack (1999) - Roger Tate
• One Hell of a Guy(2000) - Moe
• G-Men from Hell (2000) - Lester
• Love's Long Journey (2005) - Cookie
• Love's Abiding Joy (2006) - Cookie

[ Source: Wikipedia ]