Biography
Robert Tessier, an actor and stuntman of Algonquian Indian heritage, was born on June 2, 1934, in Lowell, Massachusetts. He was known for portraying tough, intimidating villains in American films during the 1970s and 1980s. Tessier served as a paratrooper in the United States Armed Forces during the Korean War, earning a Silver Star and a Purple Heart. He was also a skilled motorcycle rider and circus stunt performer.
His film career took off at age 33 with the low-budget biker movie The Born Losers (1967), directed by Tom Laughlin. With his menacing appearance, Tessier frequently played gang leaders, bikers, and violent criminals, appearing in multiple films each year. He acted alongside Burt Reynolds in The Longest Yard (1974), Hooper (1978), and The Cannonball Run (1981). Tessier was also active on television, guest-starring in popular series such as Starsky and Hutch (1975), Magnum, P.I. (1980), The Fall Guy (1981), and The A-Team (1983). His most memorable role was as the grinning, head-butting street fighter Jim Henry in Charles Bronson’s Hard Times (1975).
Together with fellow stunt performers Hal Needham, Glenn R. Wilder, and Ronnie Rondell Jr., Tessier co-founded the stunt organization "Stunts Unlimited." He died from cancer on October 11, 1990, at the age of 56.
