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Chuck Hicks (1927–2021), tough-guy actor alongside Clint Eastwood and Ronald Reagan

by Linnea Crowther

Chuck Hicks was an actor and stuntman with notable roles in many Clint Eastwood films, as well as in “Dick Tracy.”

Acting career

Hicks was a boxer before he got his first break in Hollywood, playing a football player in the Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) movie “She’s Working Her Way Through College” (1952). He had roles in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (1953),” “Rebel Without a Cause” (1955), and the first season of the TV show “The Untouchables.” Hicks began working with Eastwood on an episode of TV’s “Rawhide” and went on to appear with him in movies including “Paint Your Wagon” (1969), “Dirty Harry” (1971), “Magnum Force” (1973), “Every Which Way but Loose” (1978), and “City Heat” (1984). He played Chief in “Cool Hand Luke” (1967) and The Brow in “Dick Tracy” (1990). Hicks was known for playing tough-guy characters, drawing on his skill as a boxer as he frequently appeared in fight scenes.

Notable quote

“I was the bad guy, always getting beat up.” —from a 2011 interview for the Los Angeles Daily News

Tributes to Chuck Hicks

Full obituary: The Hollywood Reporter

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