Michael Rooker Net Worth
Michael Rooker Net Worth is
$3 Million
Michael Rooker Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
Michael Rooker is an American actor, best known for his roles as Henry in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Merle Dixon in The Walking Dead, Frank Bailey in Mississippi Burning, Hal Tucker in Cliffhanger, Rowdy Burns in Days of Thunder and Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy. | Full Name | Michael Rooker |
| Net Worth | $3 Million |
| Date Of Birth | April 6, 1955 |
| Place Of Birth | Jasper, Alabama, United States |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Profession | Actor, Voice Actor |
| Education | Goodman School of Drama (The Theatre School at DePaul University) |
| Nationality | United States of America |
| Spouse | Margot Rooker |
| Children | Alynne Rooker |
| Nicknames | Рукер, Майкл |
| Awards | Golden Space Needle Award for Best Actor (1986), Fantasporto Award for Best Actor (1986), International Fantasy Film Award (1991),Critics Choice Award (2014), Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series (2012) |
| Nominations | Fantasporto Award for Best Actor (1986) |
| Movies | "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" (1986), "Mississippi Burning" (1988), "JFK" (1991), "Cliffhanger" (1993), "Jumper" (2008), "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014), "The Walking Dead" |
| TV Shows | "CSI: Miami", "Las Vegas", "JAG", "Numb3rs", "Law & Order", "The Archer", "The Walking Dead", "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay", "Call of Duty" |
| Star Sign | Aries |
| # | Trademark |
|---|---|
| 1 | Frequently plays law enforcement or military characters |
| 2 | Raspy, gravelly voice |
| # | Quote |
|---|---|
| 1 | (On filming Undisputed (2002)) It was in a prison in Nevada. And it was scary. It was very scary. Every teenager should go visit a maximum-security prison. Talk about being scared straight. That was a scary, scary place. Clean as a whistle. You could eat off the floors, but it was so sterile and scary, it was like, "Holy shit. Let's do this movie and get the hell out of here". And the prisoners were very nice. The inmates were very, very cool. I have a lot of friends, a lot of fans that are in maximum-security prisons all over this country. |
| 2 | (On filming Cliffhanger (1993)) Cliffhanger got me in the best shape of my life, working at 10,000 feet up in the mountains. And everybody was great. I lived in Italy for seven months doing that movie. It was a great vacation. |
| 3 | (2011, on Tombstone (1993)) I learned to shoot in Tombstone (1993). I've been shooting ever since. As a matter of fact, I'm a co-owner shareholder of a shooting range outside of L.A. I shoot at least once or twice a week. |
| 4 | (On almost not being cast in Eight Men Out (1988)) I was one of the last ballplayers to be cast. They couldn't find this guy, Chick Gandil, anywhere. They had called up several theaters around town. They got my name a few times. So they called my house after getting my number from some of the theater directors. They wanted me to send in a tape for this role. I think it was one of the smaller roles. But I said, "Where is the production?" It was in Indianapolis, Indiana. I said, "Well, my God, I'm going down there on a family barbecue this weekend. Why don't I just try to swing by and do the reading when I get there?" They said, "Okay, yeah, we'd love that". Of course, I lied through my teeth. I don't know anybody in Indianapolis, Indiana. But at that time, video sucked, and I would do anything to get in to do the audition physically without doing a video. Now, I gotta be there. I didn't have an agent at that time. I just fired all six of my agents here in Chicago. I went around the city, firing all my agents and taking back all my head-shots, because they weren't doing shit for me. It was a turning point in my career. I had decided "I'm not going to do film anymore, or TV. This is bullshit. I'm gonna do theater the rest of my career. I'm just going to do theater. I don't need this bullshit anymore". So, I went around and fired all of these schmucks, and I got back all my head-shots and resumes. And literally two days, three days later, I got this call from this film company. So I basically lied and I got into the audition. I borrowed $40 from my sister, drove down to Indianapolis in my Pontiac with a hole in the floorboard. I had to keep my windows open the whole time. Before I got there, I called the one and only agent that I hadn't been with in Chicago and said, "Look, you're my agent. I got an audition on this film. They're going to call you. I gave them your number and name. They're going to call you. Make the appointment. That's all you gotta do, okay?" "Okay". "Thanks, bye". That's all they did. They made the appointment and called me back and said, "Oh, yeah, you have a reading with John Sayles". I'm like, "Holy shit, great!" And so I went down there the whole time thinking "I'm going to have a reading with John Sayles!" So I get there and I'm talking with the casting lady, and there's no John Sayles to be had. He's not there. I didn't notice at first, and we were talking, and we start arguing about, "Well, where's John Sayles? I mean, I drove all this way to meet the director and read with the director." "Well, you can't do that." She wouldn't tell me he wasn't in town. So we have this whole row about it. We have this big argument about auditioning and "Where's John Sayles?", and blah-blah-blah-blah-blah. And so finally she yells. We're yelling in the office, and I'm a little upset because I drove this whole way. It's my last $40 in the world, and it wasn't even mine. I had borrowed it from my sister. Finally, she said, "Well, you have to read with me first no matter what." And then I was just, "Oh, okay. No problem." So as we're going back through the hallway, she gives me the sides, "Here, read these." It's some three lines, some thug or something. As I'm going back through the hallway, there's photos of the ballplayers on the wall. And as we're going back, I'm still a little teed off, because I'm not reading with John Sayles. I borrowed my sister's last $40, and I begged her for that, and I'm like, "Oh, fuck me." Walking through the hallway, I go, "Well, you know what? If I was going to play anyone in this stupid movie, I'd play this fucking guy here." And I smack the photo. And it's Chick Gandil. I smack the photo of Chick Gandil, who is the only ballplayer they couldn't find. Everybody else had been cast. They couldn't find Chick Gandil, and lo and behold, and she stops and looks at me, because when I smacked it, it made a loud noise. She turned around, and she looked at me, and she looked at who I smacked and she said, "Here, read this. Give me that." And she took away the old sides and gave me the Chick Gandil sides. And we went into the room, and I fucking did the audition and blew her away, and the rest is history. She asked me to stay for the weekend, and I said, "Yes, of course." And then I slept in my car until Monday morning to meet John Sayles. She wanted me to read for John Sayles. She invited me out to dinner and wanted to get to know me, make sure I wasn't some crazy person and I was a real actor. And I got to read for John Sayles that Monday, and ended up being his first choice. Then I was saddened, because even though I was his first choice, he couldn't cast me, because his producers in L.A., Sarah Pillsbury and Midge Sanford, it was their character to cast. He had already cast his allotment. They split up casting. This was their choice. The Chick Gandil role was their choice to cast. So he said, "They won't cast him." By this time, I'd already won ov |
| 5 | (On landing Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)) I was doing a play called "Sea Marks", an Irish play, a two-person play. The director was doing the prosthetic work for Henry, and he turned me on to what was going on. "They're casting this guy. You should go and audition". I did, and I ended up getting the job. That's how it came about. That was my first real film role that had any sort of beginning, middle, and end. I was there throughout the whole piece. I started reading some books and material. Nothing really helped. I saw a couple of interviews with [Lucas] with a state trooper or something like that. So I got a little handle on it from that. He's very soft-spoken, and very shy and introverted. So I hooked into that, and that was my handle for the role. Everything else was just our imaginations, and my imagination. That was a really kind of crazy piece for me, because I was scared shitless. It was my first real role in film. I had done plays, but I wasn't sure if I was going to be good at this film stuff, so I really worked hard to make sure that I was there, I was bringing it that day and that minute. I stayed in character all day. Once I went in to work, I stayed in character all day long. So after the cut, I would leave the set and go to my room, close the door, and not talk to anybody. I wouldn't talk to anyone all day long during the filming of it. I would just do my work and go away. Come in, action, do my job, do what I needed to do, and then go away. And that's what helped me through the entire piece. It was way too difficult to go in and out of character, especially then, because I was young as an actor. I didn't know how this film stuff worked. In a play, you stay in character pretty much almost all the way through until the evening's over. So that's what I did here. I used that technique. I stayed in character as much as I possibly could all day long, or all night long, whatever the times were on the day we worked. People thought that was a little weird, that I'd just go away, that I wouldn't talk to them and stuff. Then they saw my room, and I had all my mirrors covered up, taped up. I didn't want to see images of myself, and I kept the room dark or black. And I just stayed in the room and just prepared for the next scene. So yeah, it was kind of weird and crazy, but that was a technique that seemed like it worked. |
| 6 | (On filming Crime Story: Pilot (1986)) That's one of the roles that I cut class at school to go do, and I never told them. They didn't know how else to work outside of school, but I did anyway. I think I ended up getting my SAG card with that. And I had to cut my hair. I was in a play, and I had to have my long hair for it. Then [the Crime Story producers] wanted me to cut my hair because I was a cop or something like that. So what we ended up doing was cutting just the edges and stuffing my hair up under my hat, my cop hat, and I did the role that way. |
| 7 | (On filming Super (2010)) It was mayhem. No, not really. James Gunn tried to keep everything really organized. He had a good AD department. Everyone was professional, by which I mean all the actors of course had a lot of good experience, and the crew did as well. So even though the budget was small, everybody was dead-on and worked real hard. You have to when you do a little one like this, because you don't have time to waste. And there is no time. There's no money. In these kinds of productions, time is definitely money, so if you screw up a day or a shot, you may not get a chance to go back and get that shot and redo that day. |
| 8 | I don't approach a role by saying I'll be unsavory or unlikable. I think all the roles I've done have been very passionate people who go to absolute extremes to make their points. |
| 9 | [on his Henry character] I can bring that role back in a second. I just rip into the little idiosyncrasies and it's interesting, I've never said good-bye to Henry. That character, the introverted-ness, the soft-spoken quality is always there. |
| # | Fact |
|---|---|
| 1 | Said in an interview, that when he was 13 years old, he saw a Volvo commercial that compared Volvos to other cars by hanging them upside down from a crane and dropping them on their roof. He was so impressed with how well the Volvo fared in the comparison that he's wanted one ever since. In 2014 he finally purchased an s60 Volvo Sedan. |
| 2 | The Walking Dead is not the first show on which Rooker's played a character with a prosthetic arm. He played a one-armed, drug smuggling, boat captain with a hook for a hand in CSI: Miami episode, "Dead Zone". |
| 3 | Announced on twitter, with a photo, that his 1st daughter gave birth to his 1st grandchild, a daughter, on Thanksgiving morning, 28 November 2013. |
| 4 | Father of two daughters, Alynne and Gillian. |
| 5 | He has appeared in two films whose plot centered around Human Cloning: The 6th Day (2000) and Replicant (2001). |
| 6 | Michael Rooker and Brian Thompson are the only actors to have acted alongside all 3 of the major action heroes of the 1980's. Michael Rooker appeared with Sylvester Stallone in Cliffhanger (1993), Arnold Schwarzenegger in The 6th Day (2000) and Jean-Claude Van Damme in Replicant (2001). Brian Thompson appeared with Sylvester Stallone in Cobra (1986), Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator (1984) and Jean-Claude Van Damme in Lionheart (1990). |
| 7 | Lives in Los Angeles, California. |
| 8 | He unofficially reprised his Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) role for the music video, "All Wrapped Up", by heavy metal band, American Head Charge. |
| 9 | Ranked #17 on Tropopkin's Top 25 Most Intriguing People [Issue #100] |
| 10 | He is a graduate of Chicago's Goodman School of Drama |
| 11 | Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) was Michael Rooker's first movie, which was filmed in 1986 but was not released until years later. |
| 12 | Studied Japanese martial art of Aikido with Fumio Toyoda Shihan prior to establishing himself in Chicago theatre. |
Actor
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | 2017 | post-production | Yondu |
| Bolden! | post-production | Pat McMurphy | |
| The Belko Experiment | 2016 | Bud Melks | |
| Guardians of the Galaxy | 2014 | Yondu Udonta | |
| Elwood | 2014 | Short | Condello |
| Brother's Keeper | 2013/I | Chief Carver | |
| Nerdist: Course of the Force | 2013 | TV Mini-Series | Bounty Hunter |
| Conan | 2013 | TV Series | Merle Dixon |
| The Walking Dead | 2010-2013 | TV Series | Merle Dixon |
| The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct | 2013 | Video Game | Merle Dixon (voice) |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops II | 2012 | Video Game | Mike Harper (voice) |
| The Lost Episode | 2012 | Dr. Death | |
| Outlaw Country | 2012 | TV Movie | |
| Lollipop Chainsaw | 2012 | Video Game | Vikke (voice) |
| Archer | 2012 | TV Series | Sheriff E.Z. Ponder |
| Mysteria | 2011 | Captain McCarthy | |
| Cell 213 | 2011 | Ray Clement | |
| Call of the Dead | 2011 | Video Game | Michael Rooker (voice) |
| Hypothermia | 2010 | Ray | |
| Matadors | 2010 | TV Movie | John Canterna |
| Scott's Dead | 2010 | Short | Mitch |
| DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection | 2010 | Video | Red Doc (segment "Jonah Hex") (voice) |
| Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam | 2010 | Video short | Red Doc (voice) |
| Atlantis Down | 2010 | Father / Alien | |
| Super | 2010/I | Abe | |
| Burn Notice | 2010 | TV Series | Dale Lawson |
| Louis | 2010 | Pat McMurphy | |
| DC Showcase: Jonah Hex | 2010 | Video short | Red Doc (voice) |
| Blood Done Sign My Name | 2010 | Defense attorney Billy Watkins | |
| Freeway Killer | 2010 | Det. St. John | |
| The Marine 2 | 2009 | Video | Church |
| Psych | 2009 | TV Series | Garth Longmore |
| Penance | 2009/I | Mann | |
| The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena | 2009 | Video Game | Centurion / Jack (voice) |
| Criminal Minds | 2009 | TV Series | Chief Carlson |
| Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion | 2009 | Judge / Dark Winged Vesper | |
| Meteor | 2009 | TV Mini-Series | Calvin Stark |
| Humanzee! | 2008 | TV Series | Priest |
| Chuck | 2008 | TV Series | Mauser |
| Shark | 2008 | TV Series | Oscar Riddick |
| Hope & Redemption: The Lena Baker Story | 2008 | Sheriff Haney | |
| This Man's Life | 2008 | Short | Richard Crummly |
| Law & Order | 2008 | TV Series | Jamie Yost |
| Jumper | 2008 | William Rice | |
| Whisper | 2007/I | Sidney | |
| Crossing Jordan | 2007 | TV Series | Shawn Curaco |
| Thief | 2006 | TV Mini-Series | Det. John Hayes |
| Slither | 2006 | Grant Grant | |
| Lenexa, 1 Mile | 2006 | Russ | |
| Repo! The Genetic Opera | 2006 | Short | Repo Man |
| Chasing Ghosts | 2005 | Mark Spencer | |
| JAG | 2005 | TV Series | Captain Jack Ramsey |
| Numb3rs | 2005 | TV Series | Don's Partner |
| Las Vegas | 2004 | TV Series | Marcus Wexler |
| The Eliminator | 2004 | Miles Dawson | |
| The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay | 2004 | Video Game | Centurion Jack (voice) |
| Skeleton Man | 2004 | TV Movie | Captain Leary |
| Saving Jessica Lynch | 2003 | TV Movie | Colonel Curry |
| On Thin Ice | 2003 | TV Movie | |
| CSI: Miami | 2003 | TV Series | Marty Jones |
| Stargate SG-1 | 2003 | TV Series | Colonel Edwards |
| Lucky | 2003 | TV Series | Gibby |
| The Box | 2003/I | Detective Stafford | |
| Tremors | 2003 | TV Series | Kinney |
| Undisputed | 2002 | A.J. Mercker | |
| Jeremiah | 2002 | TV Series | Major Quantrell |
| Hostage Rescue Team | 2001 | TV Movie | Special Agent Nicholas Roberts |
| Replicant | 2001 | Det. Jake Riley | |
| The Outer Limits | 2001 | TV Series | Colonel Beckett |
| Table One | 2000 | Rowdy | |
| The 6th Day | 2000 | Robert Marshall | |
| Newsbreak | 2000 | John McNamara | |
| Here on Earth | 2000 | Malcolm Arnold | |
| The Bone Collector | 1999 | Captain Howard Cheney | |
| A Table for One | 1999 | Matt Draper / Dr. Matthew Swan | |
| Honolulu CRU | 1998 | TV Series | |
| Renegade Force | 1998 | Matt Cooper | |
| Brown's Requiem | 1998 | Fritz Brown | |
| Shadow Builder | 1998 | Father Vassey | |
| The Replacement Killers | 1998 | Stan 'Zeedo' Zedkov | |
| Song of Hiawatha | 1997 | Bertrand | |
| Deceiver | 1997 | Det. Edward Kennesaw | |
| Keys to Tulsa | 1997 | Keith Michaels | |
| Rosewood | 1997 | Sheriff Walker | |
| Meet Wally Sparks | 1997 | uncredited | |
| The Trigger Effect | 1996 | Gary | |
| Back to Back | 1996 | TV Movie | Bob Malone |
| Bastard Out of Carolina | 1996 | Uncle Earle | |
| Johnny & Clyde | 1995 | TV Movie | Frank Tennant |
| Fallen Angels | 1995 | TV Series | Babe McCloor |
| Mallrats | 1995 | Svenning | |
| The Hard Truth | 1994 | Jonah Mantz | |
| Suspicious | 1994 | Short | Attendent |
| Tombstone | 1993 | Sherman McMasters | |
| Cliffhanger | 1993 | Hal Tucker | |
| The Dark Half | 1993 | Sheriff Alan Pangborn | |
| Afterburn | 1992 | TV Movie | Casey 'Z' Zankowski |
| JFK | 1991 | Bill Broussard | |
| Days of Thunder | 1990 | Rowdy Burns | |
| Equal Justice | 1990 | TV Series | Wallace 'Wally' Dalton |
| Music Box | 1989 | Karchy Laszlo | |
| Sea of Love | 1989 | Terry | |
| L.A. Takedown | 1989 | TV Movie | Bosko |
| The Edge | 1989 | TV Movie | Deputy Sheriff |
| Gideon Oliver | 1989 | TV Series | Detective John Quinn |
| Retreads | 1988 | ||
| Mississippi Burning | 1988 | Frank Bailey | |
| Eight Men Out | 1988 | Arnold 'Chick' Gandil | |
| Above the Law | 1988 | Man in Bar | |
| The Equalizer | 1988 | TV Series | Bill Whitaker |
| Rent-a-Cop | 1987 | Joe | |
| Light of Day | 1987 | Oogie | |
| Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer | 1986 | Henry | |
| Crime Story | 1986 | TV Series | Lieutenant |
Producer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown's Requiem | 1998 | associate producer | |
| A Table for One | 1999 | co-executive producer |
Director
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Lost Episode | 2012 |
Thanks
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The 6th Day: The Future Is Coming | 2000 | Video documentary short thanks |
Self
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life After Flash | 2017 | Documentary filming | Himself |
| Unlocked: The World of Games, Revealed | 2016 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Heller Awards | 2016 | TV Movie | Himself - Presenter |
| WGN Morning News | 2016 | TV Series | Himself |
| This Week in Hollywood | 2016 | TV Series | Himself |
| Talking Dead | 2011-2015 | TV Series | Himself - Guest / Himself / Himself - 'Merle' |
| The Walkers Among Us | 2015 | Documentary | Himself |
| The Playboy Morning Show | 2015 | TV Series | Himself |
| I Am Dale Earnhardt | 2015 | Documentary | Michael Rooker |
| All Access Pass | 2014-2015 | TV Series | Himself |
| Guide to the Galaxy with James Gunn | 2014 | Video short | Himself |
| The Dark Half: The Sparrows Are Flying Again! - The Making of the Dark Half | 2014 | Documentary short | Himself |
| Tweet Out | 2014 | TV Series | Himself |
| Bonus Content | 2013-2014 | TV Series | Himself |
| Super Power Beat Down | 2014 | TV Series short | Himself - Interviewee |
| MythBusters | 2013 | TV Series documentary | Himself - Guest Star |
| NSFW Show | 2013 | TV Series | Himself |
| Creative Continuity | 2013 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Nerdist | 2013 | TV Series | Himself |
| Good Day L.A. | 2013 | TV Series | Himself |
| Speakeasy: With Paul F. Tompkins | 2013 | TV Series | Himself |
| Durch die Nacht mit... | 2012 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| The Ballad of El Topo Chico | 2011 | Short | Himself |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops | 2010 | Video Game | Himself (voice, uncredited) |
| The Making of The Walking Dead | 2010 | Documentary short | Merle Dixon |
| Atlantis Rising: The Making of 'Atlantis Down' | 2010 | TV Series | Himself |
| Greatest Ever Disaster Movies | 2007 | TV Movie | Himself |
| Working with a Master: John McNaughton | 2006 | Video documentary short | |
| Portrait: The Making of 'Henry' | 2005 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Mallrats: The Erection of an Epic - The Making of Mallrats | 2005 | Video documentary short | Himself - 'Mr Svenning' |
| THS Investigates: Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer | 2005 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| The Making of 'Tombstone' | 2002 | Video documentary short | Himself - 'Sherman McMasters' |
| The 6th Day: The Future Is Coming | 2000 | Video documentary short | Himself / Robert Marshall |
| Stallone on the Edge: The Making of Cliffhanger | 1993 | TV Short documentary | Himself |
Archive Footage
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extra | 2016 | TV Series | Himself |
| Scarface: The World Is Yours | 2006 | Video Game | Tony's Enforcer / Old Civilian (uncredited) |
| Ban the Sadist Videos! Part 2 | 2006 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Cinema mil | 2005 | TV Series | Henry |
| Tremors | 2003 | TV Series | Kinney |
| Jeremiah | 2002 | TV Series | Major Quantrell |
| On the 6th Day | 2001 | Video documentary | Himself / Robert Marshall |
| Empire of the Censors | 1995 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Crime Story | 1986 | TV Series | Lieutenant |
Won Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | DFCS Award | Detroit Film Critic Society, US | Best Ensemble | Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) |
| 2014 | NFCS Award | Nevada Film Critics Society | Best Ensemble Cast | Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) |
| 1991 | International Fantasy Film Award | Fantasporto | Best Actor | Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) |
| 1990 | Golden Space Needle Award | Seattle International Film Festival | Best Actor | Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) |
Nominated Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | COFCA Award | Central Ohio Film Critics Association | Best Ensemble | Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) |
| 2014 | PFCS Award | Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Ensemble Acting | Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) |
| 2006 | Chainsaw Award | Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Relationship from Hell | Slither (2006) |
| 1993 | Chainsaw Award | Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best Supporting Actor | The Dark Half (1993) |
| 1991 | Independent Spirit Award | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Male Lead | Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) |
Known for movies
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
as Yondu Udonta
Cliffhanger (1993)
as Hal Tucker
Jumper (2008)
as William Rice
The Bone Collector (1999)
as Captain Howard Cheney