Honoring a real artist

Life’s a play, or a film, or, well, a play for Munhall native Ed O’Ross

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When Munhall native Ed O’Ross was contacted about receiving the inaugural Hell’s Kitchen Film Festival Victor Argo Lifetime Achievement Award, “I swear to you, I almost fell over.”

It wasn’t for lack of confidence in his acting abilities. Mr. O’Ross, 69, has built a solid career in film, television and stage work as a character actor. But with his gruff voice and a penchant for playing tough guys, he’s not often the star but a guy you notice nonetheless.

His hometown has noticed as well; Tuesday morning, Mr. O’Ross received a proclamation from Pittsburgh City Council.

“He left Pittsburgh a long time ago, but you can still tell he’s from Pittsburgh,” said City Councilman Anthony Coghill of District 4.

Currently residing on both coasts, Mr. O’Ross’ credits include films such as “Full Metal Jacket,” “Red Heat,” “A Green Story” and “Lethal Weapon.”

At the Hell’s Kitchen event Sept. 9, Mr. O’Ross noted that in accepting an award named for Mr. Argo, who died in 2004, “I’ve got some big shoes to fill — and I wear a size 12.”

As a teenager, he became a star high school baseball player and also excelled at boxing. He tried out twice with major league teams — the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals — but an ankle injury hampered his efforts.

Although he had grown up singing a cappella on street corners with his friends, he didn’t consider the arts as a career. That changed after he became injured.

“I couldn’t do anything else, so I became an actor,” he said, laughing.

One of the a cappella crew suggested he take voice lessons, and Mr. O’Ross eventually studied with Ralph Lewando at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University). Among his other coaches were actors: Stella Adler, Uta Hagen, Pearl Pearson and