Charles Tyner

(July 2023)">citation needed] – November 8, 2017) was an American film, television and stage character actor best known, principally, for his performances in the films Harold and Maude (1971), Emperor of the North Pole (1973), The Stone Killer (1973), The Longest Yard (1974), Evilspeak (1982), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) and Pulse (1988).

Tyner was a native of Danville, Virginia and served in the United States Army as a combat infantryman in Germany and France during World War II.

In 1957, Tyner made his debut on Broadway in Orpheus Descending. Two years later, he appeared with Paul Newman in Sweet Bird of Youth on Broadway.

During 1959, Tyner made his film debut with an uncredited part in That Kind of Woman. He worked with Newman again in 1967 as Boss Higgins, the sadistic prison guard in Cool Hand Luke and became a regular character actor, appearing in films such as The Reivers, Lawman, Harold and Maude, The Cowboys, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Emperor of the North Pole. One of his better known roles was opposite Burt Reynolds in the 1974 prison comedy The Longest Yard. Other roles include the evil Howard Rodman in the television series Father Murphy and Gus, the motel owner in Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Tyner returned to the stage in 1977 but continued to appear in films, as well as frequently on television. Tyner's last onscreen appearance was in the 2014 independent short film Lucidia. He died on November 8, 2017.