R. G. Armstrong

Robert Golden Armstrong (born April 7, 1917 in Pleasant Grove) is an actor, best known for his supporting roles in westerns and for his portrayal of Lewis Vandredi in the Friday the 13th television series.

Armstrong graduated from the University of North Carolina where he was a member of the Carolina Playmakers. From there he went to New York and appeared on Broadway in the 1953 play End as a Man. He began writing and producing off-broadway plays and auditioning for film roles. He appeared in his first film, Garden of Eden, in 1954.

In 1955 Armstrong won good reviews for his portrayal of Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. In the late 1950s he moved to Hollywood and began apprearing in westerns such as "The Rifleman", "Bonanza", "Rawhide", "Gunsmoke", and "Have Gun, Will Travel".

He became a favorite of director Sam Peckinpah, who cast him as a conflicted Bible-toting heavy in films like Ride the High Country, Major Dundee, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, and Pat Garett & Billy the Kid. Armstrong played gym-owner Thor Erickson in the 1976 Bob Rafelson film Stay Hungry, set in Birmingham.

[{Category:1917 births|Armstrong, R. G.]]