Robert Ginty

Born in New York, rugged, virile, hard-looking action star 'Robert Ginty' (qv) initially sought a career in music, becoming involved in several rock bands from age 16 on. During this stage he actually got to play and hang out with several rock legends, including 'Jimi Hendrix' (qv), 'Janis Joplin' (qv), 'Carlos Santana' (qv) and 'John Lee Hooker' (qv). In the 1970s, however, he switched gears and gave acting a try.Trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Actors Studio for a time, he eventually found himself thriving in the regional theater circuit. 'Harold Prince' (qv) brought him to Broadway as his assistant after seeing him perform 'William Shakespeare' (qv)'s works in New Hampshire. Eventually Hollywood beckoned and Ginty journeyed to the western shore, where he found frequent work as a strong-armed player on TV action. Finding a steady role on _Black Sheep Squadron (1976)_ (qv) and bit parts in _Bound for Glory (1976)_ (qv) and _Two-Minute Warning (1976)_ (qv), he made his biggest impression as 'Bruce Dern' (qv)'s pal in _Coming Home (1978)_ (qv).Around the time he was appearing in the series _The Paper Chase (1978)_ (qv), Robert won his first film action lead in _The Exterminator (1980)_ (qv), which became a surprising box-office hit. Soon Ginty was on a roll, emulating 'Clint Eastwood' (qv) and 'Sylvester Stallone' (qv) as a high-action anti-hero. He formed his own production company that distributed his vehicles both here and abroad. Most were crudely made on very limited budgets, but he has nevertheless done quite well for himself as a writer/producer/director, especially overseas, with such assembly-line fare as _Gold Raiders (1982)_ (qv), which was filmed in Thailand; _Cop Target (1990)_ (qv), which was shot in France; and the sequel to his first big hit, _Exterminator 2 (1984)_ (qv).Ginty did not slow down into the late 1990s, performing producing and directing chores on such shows as _China Beach (1988)_ (qv), _Xena: Warrior Princess (1995)_ (qv), _Nash Bridges (1996)_ (qv), _Charmed (1998)_ (qv) and _Tracker (2001)_ (qv). He has also been a viable presence as a director on the experimental theater scene, particularly in Europe. He directed a rap/hip-hop musical version of 'Anthony Burgess' (qv)' "A Clockwork Orange" to fine reviews.Married three times, 'Robert Ginty' (qv) died of cancer at age 60 and was survived by third wife Michelle and two children: Marissa (by actress 'Lorna Patterson' (qv)) and 'James Francis Ginty' (qv) (by wife 'Francine Tacker' (qv)).::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net