‘Full Metal Jacket’ star Kevyn Major Howard dead at 69

nypost.com:

Kevyn Major Howard, the actor who played Rafterman in Stanley Kubrick’s critically acclaimed “Full Metal Jacket,” passed away on Friday at age 69.The cause of death has not yet been determined, but the actor had been in a Las Vegas hospital for weeks with respiratory problems.

He was surrounded by friends and family when he passed, TMZ reported. Howard was born on Jan. 27, 1956 in Montreal and moved to Los Angeles as a young man in the 1970’s.

He soon landed his first major film role in “The Serial,” starring Martin Moll and Tuesday Weld. Howard also appeared with Charles Bronson in “Death Wish II” and Clint Eastwood in “Sudden Impact.” Kubrick’s hit Vietnam War pic gave Howard his most prominent role.

The movie, also starring Mathew Modine, Billy Baldwin and Lee Ermey, was released in 1987 and was nominated for an Academy Award.Howard and Modine remained friends for years, his family told TMZ — with the pair speaking on the phone shortly before the actor passed.Later in life, Howard retired from acting and became a photographer.