Charles Napier, an iconic character actor who specialized in playing stern authority figures and various tough guy roles in an acting career in film and television that spanned more than four decades, passed away today at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital in Bakersfield, CA. He was 75.

Born in 1936 in Scottsville, Kentucky, Napier served in the U.S. Army in the 11th Airborne Division before becoming an actor in the late 1960’s. One of Napier’s first acting roles was playing a space hippie on the Star Trek original series episode “A Way to Eden.” He later became a favorite actor of director Russ Meyer and appeared in his films Cherry, Harry, and Racquel!, The Seven Minutes, Supervixens, and Meyer’s mind-blowing magnum opus Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.