Fred Pickler

Fred Pickler
Born Pinehurst, North Carolina
Occupation Actor, author, deputy, photographer
Notable work Blue Velvet

Fred Pickler is an American actor, author, former deputy and photographer, whose photographs have appeared in Life Magazine.[1] He is possibly best remembered as Detective Tom Gordon/Yellow Man in David Lynch’s controversial film Blue Velvet, in which Pickler almost walked out of during its premiere.[2] He was also Deputy with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Department for eight years as a Chief Evidence Technician at the death scene of Robert Harrill,[3] in which Pickler would eventually co-write The Reluctant Hermit of Fort Fisher about the life of Harrill, and would go on to be elected President of the Fort Fisher Hermit Society, formed in Harrill's honor.[4]

Biography

Pickler was born in Pinehurst before moving to Wilmington at sixteen. From 1960 to 1962, he toured with the U.S. Army as an Infantryman during the building of the Berlin Wall, and worked in intelligence collection in East Germany for a year. After a short break in service, he re-enlisted in December of 1962, where he schooled in Massachusetts with the former Army Security Agency and made a short tour in Korea. He received a second honorable discharge after being reassigned to Fort Huachuca for two years.

He became a notable photographer when hired for Wilmington’s Star-News, while also working as a stringer for United Press International. Pickler eventually became a staff photographer at the Sun Sentinel in Pompano Beach, Florida for a few months before returning to Wilmington to be a freelance photographer.

In the author bio for The Reluctant Hermit of Fort Fisher, Pickler mentions having had numerous occupations, including driving trucks for the local zoo and an oil truck for a station at Carolina Beach, running a bar, traveling as a gun salesman with Smith & Wesson from 1979–1986 before becoming the US agent for NICO Pyrotechnik selling anti-terrorist munitions.

Pickler occasionally does interviews about his supporting role in Blue Velvet[2][5] and the case involving Robert Harrill, as seen in the documentary The Fort Fisher Hermit: The Life & Death of Robert E. Harrill.[6]

References

  1. ↑ The Reluctant Hermit of Fort Fisher. SlapDash Publishing. 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Remembering "Blue Velvet"". Wilmington Star News. 2006-09-17.
  3. ↑ "Case closed, mystery lingers around the death of the Fort Fisher Hermit". wect.com. Retrieved 2010. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ↑ "UNCW - Department of Creative Writing". uncwil.edu. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  5. ↑ "Episode 4: Fred Pickler". nowplayingnetwork.net. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  6. ↑ "GE Retirees Association Begins Meeting Season". wilmingtonbiz.com. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.