Red West: Movies & Box Office

Robert Gene ‘Red’ West (March 8, 1936 – July 18, 2017) was an American actor, stuntman, songwriter and author who rose to fame as a trusted confidant and bodyguard for rock‑and‑roll legend Elvis Presley. Born in Memphis, Tennessee to Lois and Newton Thomas West, he grew up alongside his cousin Sonny West, and the two met Presley while still in high school, forging a lifelong friendship that would shape Red’s career in both music and film. A standout athlete, West excelled in football at Jones County Junior College and fought as a boxer in the Golden Gloves before serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, a background that later made him a natural fit for demanding stunt work. After being hired as a bodyguard for Presley, he co‑wrote several songs for the singer, including That’s Someone You Never Forget and You’ll Be Gone, and later helped pen the controversial tell‑all book Elvis: What Happened? which appeared shortly before Presley’s death. West’s on‑screen debut came in the late 1950s, and he accumulated uncredited bits in more than a dozen Presley films before branching out as a stunt performer on television series such as The Wild Wild West and The Rebel. His acting résumé expanded with roles in Walking Tall (as Sheriff Tanner), the beloved cult classic Road House (as Red Webster), and the critically acclaimed independent film Goodbye Solo, which earned praise from Roger Ebert for his vivid, weather‑worn performance. Over a career that spanned more than five decades, West appeared in over ninety screen productions, authored a memoir, and remained an emblem of the rugged, behind‑the‑scenes talent that helped define American cinema. He married Pat Boyd in 1961, with whom he had two children, and he died of an aortic aneurysm in his native Memphis at the age of 81.