Harry Dean Stanton in Repo Man
Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel
Original Airdates: Aug. 15-18, 2025
TVC 702.5: Ed welcomes Joseph Atkins, author of Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel, a deep dive into the life and times of the angular-faced character actor who not only became a leading man in the 1980s (most notably, with Paris, Texas and Repo Man), but was also an accomplished singer and musician. Joe’s book includes interviews with such Harry Dean Stanton contemporaries as Nehemiah Persoff, L.Q. Jones, Dabney Coleman, Dennis Quaid, directors Alex Cox and Wim Wenders, as well as many members of Stanton’s family. Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel is available through University Press of Kentucky as well as Amazon.com. Topics this segment include how Stanton was arguably more authentic in his expression of The Method than any other actor; how he came to Hollywood in the 1960s hoping to leave his mark as a movie actor, but was pragmatic enough to recognize that television offered a lot of opportunities to find work; and how Stanton became frustrated near the end of the 1960s when contemporaries like Jack Nicholson and Warren Oates began finding leading roles, while he did not.
Harry Dean Stanton, Monte Hellman, and Alex Cox
Original Airdates: Aug. 15-18, 2025
TVC 702.6: Joseph Atkins, author of Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel, talks to Ed about how director Monte Hellman cast Stanton frequently in his movies, yet never saw him as a lead; how Stanton and Alex Cox, director of Repo Man, did not always see eye to eye during the early production of that movie; and how the soundtrack of Repo Man kept the film in the public eye. Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel is available through University Press of Kentucky as well as Amazon.com.
Harry Dean Stanton, Paris, Texas, and Big Love
Original Airdates: Aug. 22-25, 2025
TVC 703.1: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Joseph Atkins, author of Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel, a deep dive into the life and times of the angular-faced character actor who became a leading man in the 1980s (most notably, with Paris, Texas and Repo Man). Topics this segment include how the success of Paris, Texas paved the way for Stanton’s singing career (even though his music background stemmed from his upbringing in Kentucky); the back story of how Stanton came to play Roman Grant in Big Love; how Sam Shepard was instrumental in director Wim Wenders casting Stanton in Paris, Texas; and how the word “Zen” came to be associated with Stanton. Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel is available through University Press of Kentucky as well as Amazon.com.
