Who Was He? Gleason came to attention with a recurring role on long-running soap opera All My Children, playing Dr David Thornton from 1976-78. After that, he went on to appear in a number of successful films in the 1980s, with notable roles including Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson in Die Hard, and of course Richard Vernon, the Assistant Principal who presides over detention in The Breakfast Club. He died of lung cancer in 2006, aged 67.
Role On Friends: In The One That Could Have Been Part 2, when Phoebe returns to work at Merrill Lynch after her heart-attack (with the rest of the gang not telling her she's been fired), it's up to Gleason's character Jack - her boss in this reality - to break the news to her, causing her to have yet another heart-attack.
NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far.
A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.
