![]() ![]() Matheson came to learn that every five to seven years, it was time to change things up to avoid getting bored or phoning it in. RELATED: ‘One Shot,’ Scott Adkins’ latest action flick, centers on military realism We both got the parts, and now a new section of my career was launching.” Fortunately, I got to audition with Peter Riegert, an improv actor… We bounced off each other with ease. “Westerns were on the wane… So I took improv classes, and then I saw the script for ‘Animal House,’ and I had never really done a comedy. Time for a changeĮarly in his career, Matheson was cast in “The Virginian,” a western and continued to land roles in the genre – including “Bonanza” and “The Quest” – for about seven years. ![]() In response, Matheson said he told his gunny that he was “the exception that proves the rule” because he needed the long hair for his civilian career. My gunny was affronted by the fact that I was wearing a short-hair wig and wasn’t following, to the letter, the short, short hair.” And then once, I think after about two and a half years, I forget how it got out. “ play counterculture hippies, I let my hair grow and put on a short hair wig when I would go to my reserve unit,” Matheson said. Having recently left the Marines, his hair was short, prompting him to don a wig for the “spoof on hippies” flick. In 1969, Matheson starred in “How to Commit Marriage” alongside Jackie Gleason and Jane Wyman, Ronald Reagan’s former wife. “So they mobilized the entire base basically and shipped them over, office workers and all… but he did blow my cover.” “I found out the 4th Marine Division, which is what was based at Camp Pendleton, was en masse moved out and sent to Vietnam,” Matheson said. It wasn’t until a friend who served in the 4th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton outed him – ultimately to little ado for the future “Animal House” star. In a twist of irony, Matheson once marched by the base theater, which was showing his first film, “Divorce American Style.” But because his role as Mark Harmon was minor, nobody was the wiser. I went into bootcamp and made sure I didn’t mention anything about it.” “So I did not want to be called a Hollywood Marine. “ was always kidding me about Hollywood Marines, and Elvis Presley had enlisted in the Army,” Matheson said. Marine and Naval Center in Los Angeles in Chavez Ravine, Matheson aimed to keep his acting career quiet. And I thought they might go easier on me if I was a squad leader,” he said with a laugh. “I was a squad leader in boot camp because I didn’t mind taking charge of a situation. He didn’t work out much but was in decent shape. “We were lower middle class, but I smoked, and I didn’t run.” The experience, he said, was “shocking and enlightening.” You can do much, much more, and it’ll whip you into shape.” “But I must say that boot camp in the Marine Corps was one of the most profound occurrences in my life,” he said, “as its purpose is to teach you that you can do a lot more than you think you can. ![]() He turned it down to refocus his attention on acting – the only career he ever wanted to pursue. He ended his military service as a lance corporal but had the opportunity to attend Officer Candidate School.
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