SHERMAN OAKS, Calif. — Burly character actor Dennis Burkley who played an endless string of truckers, bartenders, bikers and rednecks during a busy four-decade career, died in his sleep at his home here Sunday, July 14. He was 67. MSTies will remember him as hapless deputy Pete Unger in the movie in episode 706- LASERBLAST.
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RIP Dennis Burkley29 Replies to “RIP Dennis Burkley”Commenting at Satellite News
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It’s kind of weird that I read this, I get a little sad, and my first instinct is to get on here and write “are you ready for sum fooootbaaalll??” Oh well, I guess humor heals.
RIP Dennis
Yeah, WOFS… My thoughts are with his family and all his rowdy friends.
RIP.
RIP, sir. And to answer your question, yes. I am indeed ready. It is, after all, a Family Tradition.
You can count me as somebody who instantly felt it in his gut to post “are you ready for some football?!???!??”
RIP Burkley. He seems to have had a pretty long career with roles in multiple blockbuster, so I guess being in Laser “2 and a Half Stars” Blast didn’t really affect him all too much.
Oh man! This guy was in everything. RIP Dennis Burkley.
One of those actors that was in, well, everything. At least, it seemed that way. You sure remembered him, whether or not you remember what he was in. And, now, we mourn his passing.
I think it’s safe to assume all of us whose first reaction was “ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!?!?!” (myself included) are not doing so to mock his passing. We sympathize with his loved ones’ loss and so we immediately think of a fond memory of the man. In this case it’s an actor we didn’t know personally but whose wonderful performances in many outstanding films ( and one lousy low-budget alien film) brought a huge smile to our faces.
Rest in peace Dennis Burkley. Whether you knew it or not, MSTies were quite fond of you.
I’m starting to wonder if, this December, some especially creative MSTie could put together an obit reel of all the MSTed personalities we’ve lost this year. Something tasteful, sort of like what TCM does every year.
The first riff I associated with him while reading this was in response to Billy’s mother; “Kinda heavyset, ain’t she?”
But yes, now we will never know if he ever was READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL.
He was certainly in a lot of films and TV shows. My personal fave was a little-known movie called “Possums” which was filmed in Nowata, Oklahoma not too far from where I live. Dennis was the best thing in that film. I know that many fans of Dennis’ work often got him confused with Mickey Jones, another big, bearded actor with a Texas drawl, although they really don’t look alike.
Rest in Peace, Dennis.
RIP Dennis Burkley…a wonderful character actor…two favorite MST moments…the aforementioned, “ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!” in Laserblast…and the little mentioned cameo he had in Master Ninja II. Joel: “He started up the guy’s hand?!” and Servo: “Still seeing that gerbil?” “Hey, I got walnuts in there!” RIP Dennis.
You mean he didn’t die in that outhouse explosion in LASERBLAST?
SUBURBAN COMMANDO, STOP! OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT, SIDEKICKS, SON IN LAW. He was a welcome addition to any stinkburger of a movie and made each one a fraction better. I’ll miss ya, ya fuzzy marshmallow.
With a heavy heart we mourn as another star is added to the constellation MST3K :star: RIP
No longer shall we see him unfurl his pants. Godspeed, and indeed, I am ready for some football.
The man got himself a nice obituary in The Daily Mail… Quite a life he had, although 67 is sadly young in this day and age…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2366661/Dennis-Burkley-King-Of-The-Hill-actor-dies-aged-67.html
Not to nit-pick, but John (#11), that wasn’t Dennis Burkley in Master Ninja II. It was Micky Jones. I can see how you would mistake them, though. They are similar in appearance. R.I.P. DB – Laserblast is a classic MST ep.
Jumping Jehoshaphat Insect Man you’re right! ;) (thanks iMdb!) Good to see Mickey Jones is alive and well and probably not busting up towns anymore because it isn’t cool. :) RIP Dennis…Godspeed you fuzzy marshmallow ;)
well, i was, prior to reading this, but i’m not ready for some football anymore. I want Laserblast. and lots of it.married 46 years- to me that makes you something special.
So Long, Dennis. You were one of the good ones. I hope you passed peacefully.
Ok, I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who thought Mickey Jones and Dennis Burkley was the same person. RIP Dennis.
@Kenneth: That there is an excellent idea, Mr Morgan…
I remember him from “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”- when I saw him in Laserblast, he was like an old friend. And yes, he is ready for some football. RIP
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#8 How about something set to Lou Reeds Satellite of Love. And it would go something like this—–
Satellites gone way up to Mars
Bumping into departed stars
We watched them for a little while
We all love to watch them on TV ( or- on MST )
That’s all I got, after all it’s 5:47 after all and I have to go to work.
He was really, really good in “Hill Street Blues.” If I remember, his character was murdered by Dennis Franz’s first character, the bad cop Benedetto. So, indirectly, he set up the “NYPD Blue” hairy buttcheeks jokes as well. RIP.
RIP, Dennis Burkley. And, don’t worry, we MiSTies are ALWAYS ready for some football.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a bag of Mama Burgers waiting for me.”
I feel guilty for indulging in the fat jokes in Laserblast but I can say unashamedly that to me, Dennis Burkley will always be ready fer sum football. Thank you for making a bad movie memorable, Dennis.
67 is far too young for anyone to pass. Glad to hear he passed in his sleep though. Dennis was quite an entertaining character actor and will be missed. Everytime I hear “Get ready for some football” next year I’ll think of him. RIP Dennis.
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