Is Jon Gries Living or Dead?

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Is American actor, writer, director Jon Gries dead? Or ... still alive?

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By Turing Testman

Updated 20 May 2023

Image info

Artist	Gage Skidmore
Credit	Own work
License	cc-by-sa-3.0
Desc	Jon Gries at the 2011 Comic Con in San Diego
Usage	Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Image info/credit

American actor, writer, director

Jon Gries is ...

Alive

Born	17 June 1957 in Glendale
Age	65 years

Sex or gender	male
Country of citizenship	United States of America
Father	Tom Gries
Occupation	actor, film director, film producer, television actor, film actor and writer

About Jon Gries

Jon Gries: The Actor, Writer, and Director Who Defies Definition

Jon Gries is a man of many talents. He's acted in over 200 films and TV shows, written and directed his own projects, and even composed music. But despite his prolific career, Gries remains something of an enigma. He's not a household name, but he's a familiar face to anyone who's watched movies or TV in the past four decades. And while he's often cast in supporting roles, he's a scene-stealer who can make even the smallest part memorable.

Gries was born in Glendale, California, in 1957. His father, Tom Gries, was a writer and director who worked on classic TV shows like "The Twilight Zone" and "The Fugitive." Jon grew up on film sets and began acting at a young age. He made his film debut in 1977's "The Chicken Chronicles" and quickly landed roles in movies like "Real Genius" and "Joysticks."

But it was his role as Uncle Rico in the cult classic "Napoleon Dynamite" that brought Gries to a new level of fame. The film, which was made on a shoestring budget, became a surprise hit and spawned a legion of devoted fans. Gries' performance as the delusional, time-traveling uncle was a standout, and he's since become a beloved figure in the indie film world.

Gries' career has been eclectic, to say the least. He's played everything from a vampire in "Fright Night Part 2" to a drug-addicted musician in "Taken" to a military officer in "The Monster Squad." He's also worked behind the scenes, writing and directing films like "Pickin' & Grinnin'" and "Another Man's Gun." And he's composed music for several of his projects, including the score for "Skinwalker Ranch."

Despite his varied resume, Gries remains humble and down-to-earth. He's not interested in fame or fortune; he's simply passionate about his craft. "I just love acting," he told Rolling Stone in a 2018 interview. "I love being on set, I love working with other actors, I love the whole process. It's just what I do."

Gries' latest project is the indie film "Dreamland," in which he plays a small-town sheriff investigating a series of murders. The film,

Films - which cast members have died?

Jon Gries has been a part of these films.

Click to see which cast and crew are living and dead!

Taken

2008 film by Pierre Morel

Napoleon Dynamite

2004 film by Jared Hess

Taken 3

2014 action film by Olivier Megaton

Men in Black

1997 science fiction comedy film

Taken 2

2012 film by Olivier Megaton

Real Genius

1985 film by Martha Coolidge

The Monster Squad

1987 film by Fred Dekker

Get Shorty

1995 comedy film

The Grifters

1990 film by Stephen Frears

The Snow Walker

2003 film by Charles Martin Smith

More American Graffiti

1979 film by Bill L. Norton

The Astronaut Farmer

2006 American drama film

Operation Chromite

2016 South Korean film by Lee Jae-han

Fright Night II

1988 film by Tommy Lee Wallace

The Rundown

2003 film by Peter Berg

The Big Empty

2003 film by Steve Anderson

Running Scared

1986 film by Peter Hyams

Stick It

2006 film by Jessica Bendinger

Faults

2014 film

The Last Survivors

2014 film by Thomas Hammock

TerrorVision

1986 film by Ted Nicolaou

Bad Turn Worse

Will Penny

1968 film by Tom Gries

Crazy on the Outside

2010 film by Tim Allen

The Comebacks

2007 film by Tom Brady

Car Babes

Locker 13

2009 film by George Huang, Bruce Dellis

American Pastime

2007 film by Desmond Nakano

Kill Me Again

1989 film by John Dahl

The Sasquatch Gang

2006 film by Tim Skousen

Confessions of an Action Star

2005 film by Brad Martin

Pass the Light

2015 film by Malcolm Goodwin

3 Days with Dad

2019 film by Larry Clarke

Twin Falls Idaho

1999 film by Michael Polish

Durant's Never Closes

2016 film by Travis Mills

Jackpot

2001 comedy-drama film directed by Michael Polish

Natural Selection

2011 American film

Noobz

Waterborne

Redemption: For Robbing the Dead

Good Intentions

Four Eyes and Six Guns

1992 film by Piers Haggard

Fever

1991 film by Larry Elikann

Sunnyside

1979 film by Timothy Galfas

Small Town Secret

2009 film by Nathan Hope

Falsely Accused

2016 film by Maria Pulera

Television - which cast members have died?

Jon Gries has been a part of these shows.

Click to see which cast and crew are living and dead!

The X-Files

American science fiction drama television series

Lost

American television series

Seinfeld

American sitcom

24

American television series

Criminal Minds

2005 American television series

Sons of Anarchy

American television series

Hawaii Five-0

2010 version of the American television series

Las Vegas

American TV series

Beverly Hills, 90210

1990s American television series

Nikita

2010 American television series

ER

American medical drama television series

Psych

American detective comedy-drama television series

L.A. Law

television series

Cold Case

television series

The Jeffersons

television series

CSI: NY

television series

Chicago Hope

television series

Martin

US American sitcom

Napoleon Dynamite

Quantum Leap

television series

Tour of Duty

American television drama series

The Bridge

2013 American TV series airing on FX

The Pretender

American action television series

Falcon Crest

television program

The Twilight Zone

television series

Jake and the Fatman

television series

The White Shadow

The Powers of Matthew Star

Dream Corp, LLC

Bakersfield P.D.

American television comedy series

Paradise

American Western family television series