And The Name Is L.Q. Jones!

You saw Jones recently in "A Prairie Home Companion", "The Mask Of Zorro", and "Casino"...
... but didja know he was part of Sam Peckinpah's film rep company, appearing in "The Wild Bunch"...
... and "Ride The High Country", among others?

Let's see what factually-suspect Wikipedia has to say...

L.Q. Jones (born August 19, 1927 in Beaumont, Texas) is an American character actor and film director, best-known for his work in the films of Sam Peckinpah.

Born Justus Ellis McQueen Jr., he made his film debut in 1955's Battle Cry, with Van Heflin, under his birth name. His character was named L.Q. Jones, and when it was suggested to him by film producers that he change his screen name for future pictures, he decided that the name of his debut character would be a memorable one.

Jones appeared in numerous memorable films in the 1960s and 1970s. He became a member of Sam Peckinpah's stock company of actors, appearing in his Ride the High Country (1962), Major Dundee (1965), The Wild Bunch (1969), The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970), and Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid (1973). Frequently cast alongside Strother Martin, most memorably in The Wild Bunch. Jones also appeared in television, as recurring characters on such shows as Cheyenne (1955), Gunsmoke (1955), and The Virginian (1962). Also directed, executive produced and adapted the screenplay for A Boy and His Dog (1975), with Don Johnson, Jason Robards, and the voice of Tim McIntire. Other films include Flaming Star (1960), Hell is for Heroes (1962), Hang 'Em High (1968), Stay Away, Joe (1968), The Brotherhood of Satan (1971) (which he co-produced and wrote, and cast Strother Martin again in the lead role), Lone Wolf McQuade (1983), Casino (1995), The Edge (1997), The Mask of Zorro (1998), and A Prairie Home Companion (2006).

L.Q. Jones (besides having an awesomely fictitious last name), is one my favorite actors to see in any program or film. He has a great cruel glint in his eye (rivaling the mighty Vincent Price!) that makes his scene in Casino with DeNiro (the one where he's trying to talk DeNiro into re-hiring Joe Bob Briggs) really crackle. You know that he is more than a match for the mobbed-up Casino manager, just from the way Jones smiles at him.

But he can be touching too, as seen in "A Prairie Home Companion" when he sings "You've Been A Friend To Me". This Carter Family classic is sung simply by Jones as the performance of a venerated old star from the Porter Wagner-era of Grand Ole Opry-dom. But when he gets to the last line "...If ever I have had a friend, you've been that friend to me", his voice cracks, he bows his head humbly to acknowledge the applause, and walks off the stage.

To see his range, please pick up one of the Peckinpah's and then "Prairie Home...". You'll be glad y'did pardner.