Adam Roarke

Burly Brooklyn-born tough guy 'Adam Roarke' (qv) made an infamous name for himself in 1960s biker flicks, usually donning a black leather jacket and a mean, mean scowl, typically the head of a bunch of hell-raisers. Nine of his more than 30 films would be in motorcycle movies, sometimes at odds with young rebel 'Jack Nicholson' (qv) before his 'Easy Rider' fame.The former Richard 'Jordan Gerler' (qv) was born on August 8, 1937, and destined to become some type of entertainer as his dad was a vaudeville comic and his mom a chorus girl. His parents met while performing in a Ziegfeld Follies show. He grew up rough and rebellious and was a former gang member surviving on the streets of New York. He eventually straightened up by enlisting in the Army. Following his military duty, he studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse and eventually earned a Universal contract to boot, making his film debut (billed as 'Jordan Gerler' (qv)) in the crimer _13 West Street (1962)_ (qv). Some of his early work includes a bit part in the film _Ensign Pulver (1964)_ (qv) and parts on the TV shows _Combat! (1962)_ (qv) and _The Virginian (1962)_ (qv).Adam played tough on TV in many of the "hip" 60's and 70's shows at the time such as _Mod Squad (1968)_ (qv), the first pilot episode of _Star Trek: The Original Series (1966)_ (qv) and _The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964)_ (qv). His cult films include _Hells Angels on Wheels (1967)_ (qv) with Nicholson, _The Savage Seven (1968)_ (qv), _Psych-Out (1968)_ (qv) again with Nicholson, _Hell's Belles (1969)_ (qv) and _Platinum Pussycat (1968)_ (qv). In addition, he appeared on horseback in 'John Wayne' (qv)'s western _El Dorado (1966)_ (qv), and co-starred with 'Anthony Perkins' (qv) in _Play It As It Lays (1972)_ (qv), 'Peter Fonda' (qv) in _Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974)_ (qv), and 'Peter O'Toole' (qv) in _The Stunt Man (1980)_ (qv).Parts grew scarce in the early 80s and Adam decided to focus his attentions on teaching. In 1982 he opened the Film Actor's Lab in Dallas, Texas and settled there. One of his prized students would be 'Lou Diamond Phillips' (qv) of "La Bamba" fame. During this time he also acted in and co-directed the low-budget vengeance thriller _Trespasses (1987)_ (qv) with 'Loren Bivens' (qv) and co-written by former protégé Phillips. Adam's last film was a featured role in the low-budget film _Sioux City (1994)_ (qv) directed by and starring Phillips.Adam, 58, died suddenly of a heart attack in his sleep in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Euless, Texas. A sturdy 60's 'leader of the pack' prototype was survived by second wife 'Carla Delane-Roarke' (qv) who co-starred in the film _Final Cut (1988)_ (qv) and actor/son 'Jordan Gerler' (qv).::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net