Exterminator star Robert Ginty dies

Actor wrote, directed TV shows and films

Robert Ginty, star of action films such as “The Exterminator” who also wrote, produced and directed, died of cancer Monday in Los Angeles. He was 60.

The rugged thesp was mostly known for his tough guy roles in B-movies, but in addition to writing and directing TV shows and films, he directed experimental theater productions and dabbled in painting and photography.

Ginty’s first major role were in Hal Ashby’s “Coming Home” and as recurring character on series “Baa Baa, Black Sheep.” More recently, he became a theater director, directing productions such as a Toronto rap/hip hop version of “A Clockwork Orange.”

Among his TV roles were playing Thomas Craig Anderson on “The Paper Chase,” and recurring roles on “Hawaiian Heat” and “Falcon Crest.”

After starring in “The Exterminator” in 1980, Ginty went on to star in a string of action movies such as “Gold Raiders,” “Cop Target,” “The Alchemist,” “Gold Raiders,” “The Scarab” and “Exterminator 2.” He wrote, directed and starred in “The Bounty Hunter” and then began directing for episodic television.

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Ginty was nominated for a Cable Ace award on HBO series “Dream On” and directed shows including “China Beach,” “Evening Shade,” “Nash Bridges,” “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “Charmed” and “Xena: Warrior Princess.”

In recent years, his career took a different direction as he worked in Canada, France, Ireland and Italy as a theater director and as an artist in residence at Harvard U.

Born in New York, he studied acting at the Actors Studio and Yale, and then begin acting in theater productions. Moving to Hollywood, Ginty began guest starring in tv shows and appeared in small roles in the films “Bound for Glory” and “Two Minute Warning.”

He is survived by his wife Michelle and son James Francis, an actor.

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Update: 2024-08-16

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