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109-592: Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known best for his role as Ash Williams in Sam Raimi 's Evil Dead horror series , beginning with the short movie Within the Woods (1978). He has also featured in many low-budget cult movies , such as: Crimewave (1985), Maniac Cop (1988), Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989), and Bubba Ho-Tep (2002). Campbell had

218-536: A cameo role as a priest heard translating the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis on a vinyl record (recorded in 1923) discovered by Danny, leading to Ellie's possession. In April 2023, the film's director Lee Cronin stated that Campbell's character in the film was one "that could very well be Ash Williams", displaced in time. Cronin later clarified it was indeed Ash, but neglected to elaborate how or why he'd ended up in 1923. In 2015, an older Ash appears as

327-666: A flamethrower and a harpoon gun from spare parts that are merely laying about; and in Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick , the inventiveness seems to run in Ash's family, as his blacksmith ancestor in the Colonial Dearborn level is quickly able to make a flamethrower and a Gatling gun from spare parts Ash finds for him, when Ash says those things "haven't even been invented yet". In the 1992 comic adaptation of Army of Darkness written by Sam and Ivan Raimi, Ash says that he has

436-399: A simulacrum clone of Ash Williams as the main character, which was created from the original Ash's right hand by Annie Knowby. Shortly before the upcoming 2016 United States presidential election and the launch of the second season of Ash vs. Evil Dead , Starz and Bruce Campbell, as Ash Williams, recorded an "Ash4President" bid for presidency in 2016, complete with its own website for

545-536: A brief appearance to establish a shared universe setting, to make a point, or to offer homage . Balzac often employed this practice, as in his Comédie humaine . Sometimes a cameo features a historical person who "drops in" on fictional characters in a historical novel , as when Benjamin Franklin shares a beer with Phillipe Charboneau in The Bastard by John Jakes . A cameo appearance can be made by

654-673: A bus accident previous to this game. Ash watches TV in a bar in Dearborn, Michigan, where a local TV show, "Mysteries of the Occult", reads the passages from the Necronomicon setting the evil loose and possessing most of the town. The game also features time-travel, including colonial times and the civil war era. The third and final game was Evil Dead: Regeneration , released in 2005 on Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Windows. This game plays through an alternate history: instead of being sucked into

763-557: A chainsaw, and proceeds to choke him, only for Ash to realize he is choking himself. The second appearance was as a clone in Army of Darkness , becoming "Bad Ash". Ash seemingly kills his clone and buries him, but "Bad Ash" is revived after Ash incorrectly recites the Necronomicon incantations. Bad Ash later leads the Army to Arthur 's castle to retrieve the Necronomicon , even corrupting Ash's then-love interest Sheila. He battles "Good Ash" for

872-625: A column for X-Ray Magazine in 2001, an issue of the popular comic series The Hire , and comic book adaptations of his Man with the Screaming Brain . Most recently he wrote the introduction to Josh Becker 's The Complete Guide to Low-Budget Feature Filmmaking . In late 2016, Campbell announced that he would be releasing a third book, Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor, which will detail his life from where If Chins Could Kill ended. Hail to

981-465: A couple of cameos. She had two cameos in Will & Grace and she even had a few in the 1990s. Actor Edward Norton appeared as himself in the satirical film The Dictator (2012) starring Sacha Baron Cohen . The mangaka Shotaro Ishinomori made many cameos in his Kamen Rider series. The animated series Adventures of Tintin featured its author Hergé in all the episodes. Stephen King

1090-444: A crossover appearance if both games are owned. In 1992, Dark Horse Comics released a three-issue adaptation of Army of Darkness , adapted by John Bolton from Sam and Ivan Raimi's original script. In 2004, Dynamite Entertainment acquired the rights to produce comics based on the Army of Darkness film, featuring Ash as the main character, starting with a four-issue miniseries titled Army of Darkness: Ashes 2 Ashes released in

1199-473: A degree in engineering from Michigan State University. Ash's personality and state of mind change drastically throughout the franchise . In The Evil Dead and the beginning of Evil Dead II , he is something of a laid-back everyman, but by the middle of Evil Dead II and into Army of Darkness , he has grown into a much braver person, and becomes the voice of encouragement and confidence in Arthur's castle. It

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1308-589: A dimensional rift, the Dark Ones take revenge on Ruby for imprisoning them millennia ago and reclaim the Necronomicon. With the Dark Ones now in the mortal realm, evil dead are summoned worldwide and a massive creature, Kandar the Destroyer, is unleashed. In Elk Grove, while military forces evacuate citizens, Ash decides to stay behind in order to finally fulfill his destiny of defeating the evil. After saying

1417-417: A film about Tony Wilson , has a cameo by the real Tony Wilson and many other notable people. In the film Apollo 13 , James Lovell (the real commander of that flight) and his wife Marilyn appeared next to the actors playing them ( Tom Hanks and Kathleen Quinlan respectively), and Chuck Yeager , whose story is told in the early part of the film, appears in a cameo in the airfield bar. Domino Harvey made

1526-458: A heartfelt goodbye to his friends and daughter, Ash commandeers an abandoned tank and fires the Kandarian dagger into the head of Kandar, destroying the evil and saving the world. Awakening from a coma in the far distant, technologically advanced future, Ash is told that the Dark Ones are on the move. The series ends with Ash saying his iconic line "Groovy" as he embarks on another quest to save

1635-505: A lawyer turned bounty hunter who was trying to hunt down John Bly, the man who killed his father. He featured in the television series Jack of All Trades , set on a fictional island occupied by the French in 1801. Campbell was also credited as co-executive producer, among others. The show was directed by Eric Gruendemann, and was produced by various people, including Sam Raimi . The show was broadcast for two seasons, from 2000 to 2001. He had

1744-410: A major voice role for the 2009 animated adaptation of the children's book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs , and a supporting voice role for Pixar 's Cars 2 . Campbell produced the 2013 remake of The Evil Dead , along with Raimi and Rob Tapert, appearing in the movie's post-credits scene in a cameo role with the expectation he would reprise that role in Army of Darkness 2 . The next year,

1853-413: A mechanical prosthetic hand out of a gauntlet from a suit of armor. Bungling the magic words that will allow him to safely retrieve it, Ash unleashes an army of the dead led by his monstrous doppelganger "Bad Ash". After leading the medieval soldiers to victory, Ash is given a potion that will allow him to sleep until his own time. Back in the present, Ash returns to his job as a sales clerk at S-Mart; when

1962-518: A normal quiet life. As the trio drive off, a radio broadcast reveals mysterious sinkholes are erupting across the country. Ash's partying in Jacksonville is cut short when deadites show up. Declaring that Ruby has sent them, one calls him "Ashy Slashy". It is revealed that, after escaping from the cabin Ash had returned home, only for no one to believe him about the deadites. Instead believing that Ash had killed his sister and friends, they gave him

2071-515: A number of her former cast members, including the villain ( Arte Johnson ), Johnny Brown , Judy Carne , Henry Gibson , Gary Owens and Joanne Worley . Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) features cameos by dozens of actors from Hollywood's golden age. The Player (1992) features cameos from 65 Hollywood actors. Run for Your Wife (2012) is filled with cameos from 80 of Britain's film and TV stars from

2180-670: A perceived mismatch between the celebrity's stature and the film or television series in which they are appearing. Many are publicity stunts . Others are acknowledgements of an actor's contribution to an earlier work, as in the case of many film adaptations of television series, or of remakes of earlier films. Others honour artists or celebrities known for work in a particular field, such as comic book writer Stan Lee , who made appearances in every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie up to Avengers: Endgame . Cameos also occur in novels and other literary works. "Literary cameos" usually involve an established character from another work who makes

2289-712: A recurring role as "Bill Church Jr." based upon the character of Morgan Edge from the Superman comics on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman . From 1996 to 1997, Campbell was a recurring guest actor of the television series Ellen as Ed Billik, who becomes Ellen's boss when she sells her bookstore in season four. He is also known for his supporting role as the recurring character Autolycus ("King of Thieves") on both Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess , which reunited him with producer Rob Tapert. Campbell played Hercules / Xena series producer Tapert in two episodes of Hercules set in

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2398-511: A selfish, self-serving attitude towards others at the same time. In Ash vs. Evil Dead , many of his neighbors call him an "asshole" and complain about his narcissistic cocky attitude while his boss frequently hounds him for making up excuses for getting out of work. At the same time, Ash has been portrayed as a womanizer and in the television series has been shown to flat out lie and invent sympathetic anecdotes to sleep with women at local bars. Ash vs. Evil Dead reveals that his father Brock Williams

2507-552: A series based upon the Evil Dead series that began his career. Ash vs Evil Dead began airing on Starz on October 31, 2015, and was renewed by the cable channel for second and third seasons, before being cancelled. In January 2019, Travel Channel announced a new version of the Ripley's Believe It or Not! reality series, with Campbell serving as host and executive producer. The 10-episode season debuted on June 9, 2019. Campbell

2616-633: A short appearance as a street thug who confronts Pee-wee in the back alley in Pee-wee's Big Adventure , and a visitor at the fair in Blackpool who gets a skeleton thrown at him in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children . Director Martin Scorsese appears in the background of his films as a bystander or an unseen character . In Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967), he played one of

2725-639: A short appearance in the credits of Domino , while the real Erin Brockovich had a cameo as a waitress named Julia in the eponymous movie (where her role is played by the actress Julia Roberts ). Sophie Wilson had a cameo as a barmaid in Micro Men , which shows her work for Acorn Computers . In a flashback sequence in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas , Raoul Duke (played by Johnny Depp ) runs into

2834-583: A tape recorder. The tape is a recording made by the cabin's owner Professor Knowby, who was translating a passage of the book. By playing the tape, the group unknowingly awaken the Kandarian Demon (the titular "Evil Dead") which can possess the living. They are possessed and killed one by one, until only Ash remains. He finally destroys the Book of the Dead by throwing it in the fireplace, and in doing so causes

2943-542: A teenager. After meeting future moviemaker Sam Raimi while the two attended Wylie E. Groves High School , they became good friends and collaborators. Campbell attended Western Michigan University and continued to pursue an acting career. Campbell and Raimi collaborated with a 30-minute Super 8 version of the first Evil Dead movie, titled Within the Woods (1978), which was initially used to attract investors. He and Raimi got together with family and friends to begin working on The Evil Dead (1981). While featuring as

3052-477: A work in which they hold some special significance (such as actors from an original movie appearing in its remake) or renowned people making uncredited appearances. Short appearances by celebrities , film directors , politicians , athletes or musicians are common. A crew member of the movie or show playing a minor role can be referred to as a cameo role as well, such as director Alfred Hitchcock who made frequent cameo appearances in his films. Originally, in

3161-701: A writer, starting with an autobiography, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor , published in June 2001. The autobiography was a successful New York Times Best Seller . It describes Campbell's career to date as an actor in low-budget movies and television, providing his insight into " Blue-Collar Hollywood ". The paperback version of the book adds details about the reactions of fans during book signings: "Whenever I do mainstream stuff, I think they're pseudo-interested, but they're still interested in seeing weirdo, offbeat stuff, and that's what I'm attracted to". Campbell's next book Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way

3270-408: Is a reference to his originally intended fate at the end of The Evil Dead , stating "that's all that was going to be left of him in the end." Campbell, however, suggested the name was short for "Ashley"; the character is also referred to as "Ashley" by his sister Cheryl in the original Evil Dead . When creating Army of Darkness , Raimi toyed with giving him the full name "Ashley J. Williams", which

3379-441: Is a special conversation in the game where if the player chooses to play in an Evil Dead -inspired room, GLaDOS (the game's dealer ) will reveal that Ash is actually Brock's ancestor through time travel as Ash had slept with a woman whose family line Brock is a member of some time during his adventure in Army of Darkness . In another conversation between him and Brock, it is revealed that the store Ash previously worked for, S-Mart,

Bruce Campbell - Misplaced Pages Continue

3488-410: Is also an ordained minister, and has performed marriage ceremonies. 2024- Spooky Pinball’s-Evil Dead Callouts Ash Williams Ash and his girlfriend Linda, sister Cheryl, and friends Scott and Shelly stay at a log cabin in the woods, where they find the "Naturom Demonto" (renamed or possibly translated to Necronomicon Ex-Mortis in the sequels), a Sumerian Book of the Dead , along with

3597-491: Is at this point that Ash becomes known for his one-liners, and his personality takes on a more cynical, embittered tone. Raimi has said that he feels Ash's personality transformation in Darkness was very out of character. In The Evil Dead , Ash is portrayed as being incapable of dealing with the events around him. Over the course of the film, Ash gradually overcomes his fears and manages to fight off his possessed friends. He

3706-488: Is confirmed to exist in the Venture Bros. universe. Ash Williams also makes an unofficial appearance as a player character in the run-and-gun platform game Broforce . In keeping with the game's naming convention, he is referred to as "Ash Brolliams ". His weapon is a shotgun whose bullets shoot in three directions, and his melee and special is where he slices and dices enemies with his chainsaw hand. A leak in

3815-548: Is famous for making short cameo appearances in almost every movie based on his novels. An Adventure in Space and Time , a drama about how Doctor Who began, features many actors from the show's past , including two past companions in a party scene, another as a mother calling her children in for dinner and a fourth in a car park at the BBC as a guard. In the movie adaptation of Les Miserables , Colm Wilkinson , who originated

3924-530: Is featured as a voice actor for several video games. He provides the voice of Ash in the four games based on the Evil Dead movies series: Evil Dead: Hail to the King , Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick , Evil Dead: Regeneration and Evil Dead: The Game . He has expressed his intent to return to the role in an upcoming Evil Dead animated series. He also provided the voice of Ash in Dead by Daylight . Despite

4033-508: Is incompetent at everything except fighting the Evil Dead. Campbell also added that Ash is "a bad slow thinker and a good fast thinker". He knows some degree of hand-to-hand combat techniques, and shows prowess with a variety of weapons in various situations. His main strength seems to be his ingenuity: although he is repeatedly noted in the audio commentaries for The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II for his stupidity and ignorance, he has from

4142-568: Is more subtle and comes across as a psychopath, being friendly and flirty towards Amanda at first but becomes unstable and aggressive when she rejects him. It appears in the third season of the show; born as an infant (but demonstrating superhuman abilities), it soon grows to again resemble the adult Ash. In contrast to the independence of other incarnations, this one is noticeably subservient to its creator, Ruby. Ash ranked eleventh on UGO.com 's Top 100 Heroes of All Time list, describing him as "an egomaniacal, complaining, misogynistic goon", but also

4251-615: Is portrayed in all of his incarnations throughout the series. Ash appears as a playable character in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II , as well as the free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 , as part of their sixth seasonal content update. His appearance is adapted from Evil Dead II . Ash appears as a playable character in RetroRealms: Ash vs Evil Dead as well as being playable in RetroRealms: Halloween in

4360-409: Is revealed that Ash was merely playing along in order to gather the group to return Baal to hell; they succeed but Pablo is killed in the process. Recalling previous adventures via time travel, Ash theorizes that it may be possible to bring Pablo back from the dead by going back in time to the cabin and preventing his younger self from ever finding the Necronomicon . Taken back into the past by Ruby,

4469-471: Is shown to take his predicament very seriously in the first film, rather than in a comedic manner, as in the subsequent films. Evil Dead II portrays Ash as a braver character. Campbell commented that in the film Ash is more than capable at fighting off monsters. The character gradually became more of an antihero within Evil Dead II and its sequel, Army of Darkness. Ash's most defining characteristic

Bruce Campbell - Misplaced Pages Continue

4578-498: Is the chainsaw attached to his right arm, placed after cutting off his possessed hand in Evil Dead II . Since Army of Darkness , Ash has been portrayed consistently as in Bruce Campbell's words "a guy who doesn't know anything, a big talker". Ash rarely takes situations seriously and is very incompetent as a hero or protagonist; He's often causing the conflict that drives the story forward rather than solving it while having

4687-491: Is unable to close the vortex after the entity is sucked away. Ash is sucked into the vortex after the entity and sent back in time to 1300 AD Europe. After saving a group of knights from an attacking deadite, he is hailed as the hero "who has come from the sky"; Ash can only scream in anguish at his situation. After being accidentally transported to medieval Europe, Ash must retrieve the Necronomicon so he can return home. Using his knowledge of modern technology, Ash constructs

4796-542: The Lethal Weapon franchise also directed by Donner – appears as the lead bank robber . He and Maverick (Gibson) share a scene where they look as if they knew each other, but then shake it off. As Glover makes his escape with the money, he mutters "I'm too old for this shit", his character's catchphrase in the Lethal Weapon films. In addition, a strain of the main theme from Lethal Weapon plays in

4905-506: The 100 Greatest Fictional Characters . The Evil Dead films and the character of Ash influenced many 1990s first-person shooters such as Doom , Duke Nukem 3D , and Blood . Duke Nukem quotes so many lines from Ash that Bruce Campbell stated that he was angered by not being paid for them. Another notable video game character influenced by Ash is Alisa Bosconovitch . Speaking on Alisa's creation, Tekken project director and chief producer Katsuhiro Harada explained, "Alisa

5014-511: The Necronomicon (Book of the Names of the Dead). Campbell also played as Coach Boomer in the movie “Sky High”. He has appeared in several of Raimi's movies other than the Evil Dead series, notably having cameo appearances in the director's Spider-Man film series . Campbell also joined the cast of Raimi's movie Darkman and The Quick and the Dead , though having no actual screen time in

5123-628: The Necronomicon , gets burnt with a torch, and continues fighting as a skeleton. Finally, Ash cuts off Bad Ash's right hand and catapults him into the sky on a lit sack of gunpowder, which then explodes. A new version of Bad Ash appears in the TV series Ash vs Evil Dead , spawned from Ash's dismembered hand from Evil Dead II . While essentially the same character, it has more in common with Ash in terms of personality, and even sharing old injuries and ailments which Ash uses to his advantage during their fight. Rather than being overtly evil and openly hostile, it

5232-415: The foxhole next to you." In an attempt to impress a date, Ash accidentally releases the Kandarian Demon by reading from the Necronomicon while intoxicated . His former coworkers Pablo Bolivar and Kelly Maxwell join forces with him after their encounters with the Evil Dead. Ash eventually discovers that the key to dispelling the evil is returning the book to the cabin and bury it within its grounds. At

5341-480: The score when Glover is revealed. Actress Margot Kidder made a cameo appearance in the same film as a robbed villager: she had previously starred as Lois Lane in Donner's Superman (1978). Ben Stiller , Vince Vaughn , Owen Wilson , Luke Wilson and Will Ferrell have made appearances in so many of the same films (whether as lead characters or cameos) that USA Today coined the term " Frat Pack " to name

5450-467: The 1920s, a "cameo role" meant "a small character part that stands out from the other minor parts". The Oxford English Dictionary connects this with the meaning "a short literary sketch or portrait", which is based on the literal meaning of " cameo ", a miniature carving on a gemstone. More recently, in the late 20th century, a "cameo" has come to refer to any short appearance as a character. Cameos are generally not credited because of their brevity, or

5559-524: The 1960s, '70s and '80s. Aaron Sorkin also had cameos in some works he wrote: as a bar customer speaking about the law in his debut film screenplay A Few Good Men (1992), as an advertising executive in The Social Network , and as a guest at the inauguration of President Matt Santos in the final episode of The West Wing . Franco Nero , the actor who portrayed the Django character in

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5668-639: The 2009 movie Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs , the voice of Rod "Torque" Redline in Cars 2 , the voice of Himcules in the 2003 Nickelodeon TV series My Life as a Teenage Robot , and the voice of Fugax in the 2006 movie The Ant Bully . He has a voice in the online MOBA game, Tome: Immortal Arena in 2014. Campbell also provided voice-over and motion capture for Sgt. Lennox in the Exo Zombies mode of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare . In addition to acting and occasionally directing, Campbell has become

5777-813: The Chin was released in August 2017, and accompanied by a book tour across the United States and Europe. Campbell maintained a weblog on his official website, where he posted mainly about politics and the movie industry. However, the website has since been deleted. Since 2014, the Bruce Campbell Horror Film Festival, narrated and organized by Campbell, was held in the Muvico Theater in Rosemont, Illinois . The first festival

5886-527: The Flower Moon , in a minor role as a radio drama narrator. In a same way, Roman Polanski appeared as a hired hoodlum in his film Chinatown , slitting Jack Nicholson's nose with the blade of his clasp knife. F. Gary Gray has made many appearances in the films he has directed including Friday , Set It Off , Law Abiding Citizen , and Straight Outta Compton . Directors sometimes cast well-known lead actors with whom they have worked in

5995-509: The Necronomicon is once again found and read, the Evil Dead makes a return to Elk Grove. Ash reunites with former lover Candace Barr, and learns he has a daughter, Brandy. Ash, Pablo, and Kelly unite against the younger Ruby who plans to kill Ash and turn his long-lost daughter against him. Also introduced are the Knights of Sumeria, an ancient order dedicated to defeating the evil that worship Ash and his destiny to save mankind. Entering through

6104-606: The UK. It was then distributed in the United States, resulting in the sequels Evil Dead II (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992). Campbell was also drawn in the Marvel Zombie comics as his character, Ash Williams . He is featured in five comics, all in the series Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness . In them, he fights alongside the Marvel heroes against the heroes and people who have become zombies (deadites) while in search of

6213-534: The action was restricted to the titular lifeboat, Hitchcock appeared in a newspaper ad. Quentin Tarantino provides brief cameos or small roles in all his movies. Likewise, Peter Jackson has made brief cameos in all of his movies, except for his first feature-length film Bad Taste in which he played a main character, as well as The Battle of the Five Armies , though a portrait of him appears in

6322-481: The age thing now. He was the wrong guy thirty-five years ago, and now he's really the wrong guy for the job and that made it an interesting character to play". In the films, Ash has fought with several demonic depictions of himself, referred to in Army of Darkness as " Bad Ash ", and also as " Evil Ash " by fans. The first illusion was in Evil Dead II , where Ash experiences a hallucination wherein his reflection torments him over dismembering his girlfriend Linda with

6431-549: The author of a work to put a sort of personal "signature" on a story. Vladimir Nabokov often put himself in his novels, for instance as the very minor character Vivian Darkbloom (an anagram of his name) in Lolita . Cameos are also a tradition of the Muppets ' many projects over the years. Alfred Hitchcock is known for his frequent cameos in his movies , as early as in his third film The Lodger (1927). In Lifeboat , as

6540-445: The best "demon and zombie killer ever to be portrayed on the silver screen". They additionally praised the character for his humility at the conclusion of Army of Darkness , in returning to his own time. Empire ranked him the 24th Greatest Movie Character on their list of 100, calling him a "truly iconic horror hero", and a "delirious, delicious, dimwitted" parody of action heroes. He was also ranked number 77 on Fandomania's list of

6649-400: The cabin, the group is confronted by Ruby, an ancient being and the original author of Necronomicon. Ruby offers Ash a compromise: if he allows her to release her demonic children as well as lord over them, then she will not only spare Pablo and Kelly but also fulfill his dream of living a normal life with his friends in Jacksonville, Florida. Ash accepts, delighting in the idea of finally living

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6758-601: The carrot eating peasant in The Desolation of Smaug was featured in the foreground in reference to The Fellowship of the Ring . In addition, when he was directing Heavenly Creatures (1994), he appeared as a drunk person bumping into the main characters, and in the Frighteners , Jackson appeared as a man with piercings with his real-life son in a bouncer. Director Tim Burton briefly appears in his films. He made

6867-631: The comedy metal band Psychostick released a song titled "Bruce Campbell" on their album IV: Revenge of the Vengeance that pays a comedic tribute to his past roles. Campbell worked as an executive producer for the 2023 movie Evil Dead Rise . Other than cinema, Campbell has appeared in a number of television series. He featured in The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. a boisterous science fiction comedy western created by Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse that played for one season. He played

6976-461: The crossover miniseries, Army of Darkness/ Bubba Ho-Tep , seeing Ash team up with another Bruce Campbell character, Elvis . In 2016, Space Goat Publishing released Evil Dead 2: Beyond Dead By Dawn , a three-issue series that, much like Dynamite's Army of Darkness books, took the liberty of stating that the events of the first two Evil Dead films took place in the 21st century. The series (and its several sequels and one-shot follow-ups) features

7085-424: The demon spawn back to hell. Reclaiming the book and throwing it into a portal to hell, the group unknowingly allows Baal to enter the mortal world. After awakening in an asylum, Ash is confronted by a doctor (Baal in disguise) who tries to convince Ash that there were no demons but merely "delusions". As time goes on Ash appears to succumb to Baal's attempts, obeying commands to capture his former allies. However, it

7194-419: The documentaries Fanalysis (2002) and A Community Speaks (2004); co-wrote, directed, produced, and featured in the movie Man with the Screaming Brain (2005); and directed, produced, and featured in a parody of his career My Name Is Bruce (2007). Campbell is known for frequent collaborations with the aforementioned Raimi, his brother Ted , Josh Becker , and Scott Spiegel . Bruce Lorne Campbell

7303-553: The events of the Evil Dead films didn't take place until the early 21st century, which was later designated by Marvel Comics as "Earth-818793" as part of their multiverse numbering system. In 2013, Dynamite announced a reboot of their Army of Darkness line titled " Ash And The Army of Darkness ", which featured a new version of Ash Williams, one who chose to stay in the Middle Ages following an unexpected return to that time period. This rebooted series ran for eight issues, but

7412-404: The fall of 2004. This miniseries later received two sequels ( Army of Darkness: Shop 'Till You Drop Dead and Army of Darkness vs. Re-Animator , both released in 2005) which eventually turned into an ongoing series, and later more crossovers (most notably Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness and Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash from 2007). These comics featured a version of Ash from a world where

7521-653: The faux campaign, promising to "Make America groovy again". Ash appears non-canonically in the pornographic parody film Evil Head from 2012; in the parody, he is portrayed by Tommy Pistol , who won the 'Best Actor' award for the role at the 2014 AVN Award Show . The character was featured at Halloween Horror Nights in 2009 and 2017, the latter at both the Florida and Hollywood events. Ash Williams has been portrayed by actor and socialite Stephen Melaga for multiple productions of "Evil Dead: The Musical" at Camel City Playhouse. According to Sam Raimi, Ash's name

7630-484: The film, and gave the term wide circulation outside the theatrical profession. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), an "epic comedy", also features cameos from nearly every popular American comedian alive at the time, including The Three Stooges , Jerry Lewis , Buster Keaton and a voice-only cameo by Selma Diamond . "Murder on High C", a 1975 episode of the TV series Get Christie Love! , which starred former Laugh-In cast member Teresa Graves , featured

7739-674: The film. For example, he played a peasant eating a carrot in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Desolation of Smaug , a warrior of Rohan in The Two Towers , and a Corsair of Umbar boatswain in The Return of the King . All four were non-speaking "blink and you miss him" appearances, although in the Extended Release version of The Return of the King , his character was given more screen time and his reprise of

7848-569: The fourth season of Homicide: Life on the Street . Campbell later played the part of a bigamous demon in The X-Files episode " Terms of Endearment ". He also featured as Agent Jackman in the episode " Witch Way Now? " of the WB series Charmed , as well as playing a state police officer in an episode of the short-lived series American Gothic titled "Meet The Beetles". Campbell co-featured in

7957-643: The gangsters; he was a lighting crewman in After Hours and a passenger in Taxi Driver . He opened up his film The Color of Money with a monologue on the art of playing pool. In addition, he appeared with his wife and daughter as wealthy New Yorkers in Gangs of New York , and as a theatre-goer and can be heard as a movie projectionist in The Aviator . He also appeared in his 2023 work Killers of

8066-497: The group is confronted by Baal and a younger Ruby; when Ash finally defeats Baal the cabin is set ablaze and sinks into the depths of hell. The trio return to the present and the citizens of Elk Grove throw a parade in Ash's honor. In a grateful speech, Ash declares that he wants to stay in Elk Grove and defend the town if evil ever returns. A post credits scene reveals the Necronomicon on the cabin grounds, left behind by Ash. After

8175-400: The group. Actor Adam Sandler is also known for frequently casting fellow Saturday Night Live performers (including Rob Schneider and David Spade ) in various roles in his films (as well as making cameo appearances of his own in theirs, most of which he co-produces). Sam Raimi frequently uses his brother Ted and Bruce Campbell in his films. The American singer/actress Cher had

8284-598: The inclusion of his character "Ash Williams" in Telltale Games' Poker Night 2 , Danny Webber voices the character in the game, instead of Bruce Campbell. Campbell also provided voice talent in other titles such as Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle , Spider-Man , Spider-Man 2 , Spider-Man 3 , and The Amazing Spider-Man . He provided the voice of main character Jake Logan for the PC game, Tachyon: The Fringe ,

8393-570: The latter movie's theatrical version. In March 2022, Campbell was announced to have a cameo in Raimi's Marvel Cinematic Universe film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness . Campbell often performs quirky roles, such as Elvis Presley for the movie Bubba Ho-Tep . Along with Bubba Ho-Tep , he played a supporting role in Maniac Cop and Maniac Cop 2 , and spoofed his career in

8502-463: The main character in Ash vs Evil Dead , a horror comedy series for Starz . In an interview with Entertainment Weekly , Campbell stated, "Ash has survivor's guilt. You could have a heyday with his PTSD . He's a war vet. He doesn't want to talk about it, and he'll lie about that stump on his hand to impress the ladies. This is a guy who's got some issues. He's emotionally stunted. But he's the guy you want in

8611-782: The main roles of the television series The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (1993–1994) and Jack of All Trades (2000), and a recurring role as Autolycus, King of Thieves in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995–1999) and Xena: Warrior Princess (1995–1999). He played Sam Axe on the USA Network series Burn Notice (2007–2013) and reprised his role as Ash for the Starz series Ash vs. Evil Dead (2015–2018). He also appeared in The Escort (2015). Campbell directed, produced, and featured in

8720-420: The nickname "Ashy Slashy" and drove him out of town. Returning to Elk Grove to search for Ruby, Ash is reunited with his estranged father Brock who disowned him after Cheryl's death. Ruby reveals that her children have betrayed her and attempted to take possession of the book themselves in order to summon a demon known as Baal ; Ash and his friends form an alliance with Ruby to retrieve the Necronomicon and send

8829-466: The original 1966 film , appears in a bar scene of the Tarantino film Django Unchained . There, he asks Django ( Jamie Foxx ) to spell his name, which led to the famous promotional tagline for the film - "The 'D' is silent". Franco's character responds simply, "I know." Many cameos featured in Maverick (1994), directed by Richard Donner . Among them, Danny Glover – Mel Gibson 's co-star in

8938-450: The others are killed off leaving only Ash and Annie. To better fight the deadites, Ash affixes the chainsaw in place of his right hand and wields a " boomstick " to match. Annie reads passages from the Necronomicon , first to force the Kandarian Demon to manifest physically, and then opening a space-time vortex to banish the now-corporeal demonic spirit. However, Annie is stabbed by Ash's possessed disembodied hand; succumbing to her wound, she

9047-457: The past in other films. In Jane Eyre (1943), Elizabeth Taylor makes a cameo appearance as Helen Burns, Jane's friend from school who dies from a cold. Mike Todd 's film Around the World in 80 Days (1956) was filled with cameo roles: John Gielgud as an English butler, Frank Sinatra playing piano in a saloon, and others. The stars in cameo roles were pictured in oval insets in posters for

9156-409: The perk selection screen revealed that Ash would be making an appearance in Dead by Daylight . He was later officially announced with a trailer on March 28, and released on April 2. Ash is playable in the indie video game Phantom Halls . Ash is a playable character in the 2022 video game Evil Dead: The Game , appearing alongside characters and locations from throughout the franchise. Williams

9265-405: The possessed bodies of Scott and Cheryl to rapidly decay and "die". The film ends with Ash being suddenly attacked by the evil force (originally intended to portray his death). In an alternate recap of the previous film, only Ash and Linda are shown on the trip to the cabin. Picking up from the ending of the first film, Ash is carried off by the demonic force and briefly possessed, released from

9374-507: The present. He directed a number of episodes of Hercules and Xena , including the Hercules series finale. Campbell also obtained the main role of race car driver Hank Cooper for the Disney made-for-television remake of The Love Bug . Campbell had a critically acclaimed dramatic guest role as a grief-stricken detective seeking revenge for his father's murder in a two-part episode of

9483-400: The protagonist, Campbell also had participation with the production of the movie, receiving a co-executive producer credit. Raimi wrote, directed, and edited the movie, while Rob Tapert produced. After an endorsement by horror author Stephen King , the movie slowly began to receive attention and offers for distribution. Four years after its original release, it became the most popular movie in

9592-505: The real investor Michael Burry appeared as an employee of his hedge fund "Scion Capital" while answering the phone saying "Doctor Burry's office". An unusual example of a famous non-actor being given a small but speaking fictional role occurred in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode " Second Chances ." Dr. Mae Jemison , an astronaut , the first Black woman in space, and a long-time fan of Star Trek ,

9701-419: The real-life Hunter S. Thompson , upon whom the character of Duke is based, leading him to remark "There I was...mother of God, there I am! Holy fuck." Stephen Hawking in popular culture lists more than a dozen appearances of the scientist playing himself. Maria Von Trapp made an uncredited brief cameo appearance in the film version of her life, The Sound of Music . She appeared in the background during

9810-640: The role of Jean Valjean in the West End and on Broadway, made a cameo as the Bishop of Digne . In the Soviet film Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears , Innokenty Smoktunovsky appeared for a minute as himself. Films based on actual events occasionally include cameo guest appearances by the people portrayed in them. In The Pursuit of Happyness , Chris Gardner made a cameo at the end. 24 Hour Party People ,

9919-493: The second film on been shown creating such things ranging from his chainsaw bracket and shotgun harness, gunpowder from mainly referencing its elemental makeup in a chemistry book, a fully functional prosthetic hand from a metal gauntlet, and the short-lived "Deathcoaster". His invention and ingenuity are further expanded on in the games: in Evil Dead: Regeneration , he creates fully functional weapons such as

10028-617: The self-directed My Name is Bruce . Other mainstream movies for Campbell include supporting or featured roles in the Coen Brothers movie The Hudsucker Proxy , the Michael Crichton adaptation Congo , the movie version of McHale's Navy , Escape From L.A. (the sequel to John Carpenter 's Escape From New York ), the Jim Carrey drama The Majestic and the 2005 Disney movie Sky High . Campbell had

10137-685: The song "I Have Confidence" with her daughter Rosmarie and stepson Werner Von Trapp. Jacqueline Susann , author of the best-selling novel Valley of the Dolls , appears as a TV reporter in a brief scene in the film based upon her novel . Tom Morello , American guitarist and musician, made an appearance in the Marvel film Iron Man (2008), in which he also participated in the soundtrack . Elon Musk and Larry Ellison , both founders of large technology companies, were featured in cameos in Iron Man 2 (2010). The king of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf ,

10246-474: The spirit by the light of dawn and falling unconscious. Attempting to leave, Ash finds the only bridge out completely destroyed and is forced to spend another night in the cabin. As the evil force toys with Ash's mind, his right hand becomes possessed and he cuts it off at the wrist with his chainsaw. Later, the cabin owner's daughter, Annie Knowby, and three others arrive to discover what became of Professor Knowby. Despite banding together in an attempt to survive,

10355-502: The store is attacked by a deadite, he kills it and is again hailed as a hero. In the original ending, a distracted Ash drinks one drop too many from the potion, awakening instead in post-apocalyptic London . The film then cuts to black as his insane laughter is heard. Ash makes an appearance in a post-credits scene , in which he says his signature catchphrase, "Groovy". In 2023, Bruce Campbell appears in Evil Dead Rise in

10464-404: The television series Burn Notice , which was broadcast from 2007 to 2013 by USA Network . He portrayed Sam Axe , a beer-chugging, former Navy SEAL now working as an unlicensed private investigator and occasional mercenary with his old friend Michael Westen , the show's main character. When working undercover, his character frequently used the alias Chuck Finley, which Bruce later revealed

10573-446: The television series, Ash bonds with Pablo and Kelly, at one point calling Kelly the "daughter he never had." He also shows regret and remorse when he's forced to kill his elderly neighbor when she's becomes possessed and tries to kill him. By the time of Ash vs. Evil Dead , decades after the original films, Ash has aged considerably; he now wears dentures , a " man girdle ", and dyes his hair. According to Bruce Campbell, "we're milking

10682-593: The voice of main character Jake Burton for the PlayStation game Broken Helix and the voice of Magnanimous for Megas XLR . Campbell voiced the pulp adventurer Lobster Johnson in Hellboy: The Science of Evil and has done voice-over work for the Codemaster's game Hei$ t , a game which was announced on January 28, 2010, to have been "terminated". He also provided the voice of The Mayor for

10791-503: The vortex at the end of Evil Dead II , Ash has been placed in a mental institution for the criminally insane. His doctor has gone mad and, having obtained the Necronomicon , releases the deadites once again. Ash appears in Telltale Games ' Poker Night 2 . The player participates in a poker tournament against Williams, Sam from Sam & Max , Claptrap from Borderlands , and Brock Samson from The Venture Bros . There

10900-543: The world. In the 2000s, Bruce Campbell voiced Ash in a trilogy of video games . The first was Hail to the King , released in 2000 on PlayStation , Dreamcast , and Windows . This game continues after Army of Darkness . Ash is dating Jenny, a fellow S-Mart employee. After she convinces him to return to the cabin to face his fears, his severed hand replays the tape and sets the evil loose again. The second game, A Fistful of Boomstick , released in 2003 on Xbox and PlayStation 2 . In this game Ash mentions Jenny died in

11009-479: Was born in Royal Oak, Michigan , on June 22, 1958, the son of advertising executive and college professor Charles Newton Campbell and homemaker Joanne Louise (née Pickens). He is of English and Scottish ancestry, and has an older brother named Don and an older half-brother named Michael. His father was also an actor and director for local theater. Campbell began acting and making short Super 8 movies with friends as

11118-486: Was followed-up by two miniseries, Army of Darkness: Ash Gets Hitched , and Army of Darkness Volume 4 (better known as "Ash In Space") in 2014. Dynamite returned to their original "Earth-818793" version of Ash with 2016's Army of Darkness: Furious Road miniseries, but have since gone on to publish more crossovers with other licensed titles that are independent of this continuity (such as KISS /Army of Darkness and Vampirella /Army of Darkness ). In 2019, Dynamite launched

11227-517: Was in the children's program Mika ( Mika och renen Ossian på äventyr ) when Mika was in Stockholm with his reindeer. In The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), the real Jordan Belfort appeared as an emcee to introduce Leonardo DiCaprio , who played Belfort, in the final scene. Boxer Roberto Duran and his wife Felicidad made a cameo appearance towards the end of the film Hands of Stone , about Duran's life. In The Big Short (film) ,

11336-555: Was later used by video games and comics involving the character. Campbell later confirmed in Cinefantastique that the full name was official. The Ash vs. Evil Dead episode "Unfinished Business" also reveals that his middle name is Joanna (though the Army of Darkness comics had previously given his middle name as "James" after his grandfather, a fictitious member of the Untouchables ). Bruce Campbell has stated Ash

11445-402: Was often overly competitive with him as a child and it seems that many of Ash's traits have originated from his father's behavior. Despite his immature conceited attitude, Ash has been shown to have a softer, more heroic side. In Army of Darkness he chooses to stay behind and help the people of Arthur's castle fight the deadite army despite having nothing to gain from doing so. Over the course of

11554-686: Was originally from August 21 to 25, 2014, presented by Wizard World, as part of the Chicago Comicon . The second festival was from August 20 to 23, 2015, with guests Tom Holland and Eli Roth . The third festival took place over four days in August 2016. Guests of the event were Sam Raimi , Robert Tapert and Doug Benson . Campbell married Christine Deveau in 1983; they had two children before divorcing in 1989. He met costume designer Ida Gearon while working on Mindwarp . They married in 1991. They reside in Jacksonville, Oregon . Campbell

11663-462: Was published on May 26, 2005. The book's plot involves him (depicted in a comical way) as the main character struggling to make it into the world of A-list movies. He later recorded an audio play adaptation of Make Love with fellow Michigan actors, including longtime collaborator Ted Raimi . This radio drama was released by the independent label Rykodisc and spans six discs with a six-hour running time. In addition to his books, Campbell also wrote

11772-518: Was something we created based on internal staff feedback. We really wanted a character with chainsaws on her arms [...] I'm a huge fan of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead ." Cameo appearance A cameo appearance , also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo ( / ˈ k æ m i oʊ / ), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts . These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly either appearances in

11881-557: Was the name of one of his father's old co-workers. Campbell was the star of a 2011 Burn Notice made-for-television prequel focusing on Sam's Navy SEAL career, titled Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe . In 2014, Campbell played Santa Claus for an episode of The Librarians . Campbell played Ronald Reagan in season 2 of the FX original series Fargo . More recently Campbell reprised his role as Ashley "Ash" Williams in Ash vs Evil Dead ,

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