Character actor Wings Hauser, who was known for Vice Squad and Tough Guys Don’t Dance, died last weekend and his passing was announced on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. He was 77 years old.

Hauser often played tough guys like psychotic pimp Ramrod in Vice Squad and hardened police chief Luther Regency in Tough Guys Don’t Dance.

He was born Gerald Dwight Hauser, son of director-producer Dwight Hauser, on December 12, 1947 in Los Angeles, California. He had over 100 credits to his name, starting with 1967’s First to Flight. He was in Who’ll Stop the Rain, an episode of Magnum, P.I., Deadly Force, A Soldier’s Story, and Hostage.

Hauser was in Dead Man Walking, L.A. Bounty, Marked for Murder, Out of Sight, Out of Mind, and he was in episodes of China Beach and Roseanne. He starred in Watchers III, Tales from the Hood, he played a few characters in Murder, She Wrote, and had a recurring role on Beverly Hills, 90210.

He appeared in The Blue Lizard, the Kingpin miniseries, he guest starred in House, Monk, and Bones, and played Greg Foster in The Young and the Restless. Hauser’s later roles included an appearance on Castle and his last role was 2019’s Eve N’ God: This Female is Not Yet Rated.