William Atherton is to "jerk" roles in the 80s what William Zabka was to "bully" roles. I discussed Zabka, who played the "bully" in The Karate Kid (1984), Just One of the Guys (1985) and Back to School (1986), a little when I published my issue on The Karate Kid and his "Sweep the Leg" video.

Atherton is able to radiate a vibe that makes you immediately dislike him before you even know that much about him. This is important because he usually does not receive that much screen time, but the time he does get is very effective. He played his first "jerk" as EPA agent "Walter Peck" in Ghostbusters (1984). You can watch below one of my favorite scenes from that movie in which Atherton's character is involved in a tense meeting with the mayor.

I read a hilarious anecdote told by Harold Ramis, who was a writer and star of the film, about a conversation he had with Atherton which is related to that scene above. Ramis had lunch with Atherton not long after Ghostbusters was a hit and said "so isn't it great that it's becoming so popular?" Atherton replied "there was a whole bus of teenagers the other day and I heard one kid say 'Hey, Peck!' so I turned around and the entire bus yelled 'DICKLESS!'" How funny is that? Sure it is no fun being called names, but one of the greatest compliments to an actor is believing that they really are the character they played.

I would like to think that Atherton is really a nice guy who is just a brilliant actor. His next "jerk" was "Professor Jerry Hathaway" in Real Genius (1985). This movie is one of my favorite 80s comedies. During the course of the film, you build up enough disdain for Atherton's character that you cheer when they destroy his house with popcorn at the very end. You can watch the video below to see a scene from Real Genius which puts Atherton's jerkiness on display. The actual scene does not start until about the 7:20 mark, so you may want to skip to that point in the video.

Next for Atherton was the "jerk" reporter "Richard ‘Dick' Thornburg" in Die Hard (1988) as well as its 1990 sequel. He plays the self-absorbed reporter who puts the wife and family of Bruce Willis' character at additional risk to advance his own career. You can watch the video below to see a scene from the end of the movie where Bonnie Bedelia's character gets to do something that most people want to do to Atherton's characters.

These intense feelings of loathing and contempt that Atherton is able to create for his characters are quite impressive. Though I disliked all of these characters, I really do admire Atherton as an actor for being able to make me feel that way. Atherton had many roles before the 80s and many since, but it was in the 80s where he seemed to find a niche as the best "jerk" in the business. He is now 61 years old and still acting. There are other actors who play good "jerks," but in my opinion, nobody does it as well as William Atherton did it back in the 80s.

That will wrap up yet another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading. I feel like watching Real Genius again, so I think I am going to go do that now. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the new Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: I came across this interesting signage from a parking garage. If you stand in this spot in the parking garage shown in the photo, the word "DOWN" is just floating there.

The sign was designed by an artist who won an award for it, because there are apparently awards for making innovative signage in parking garages. He created the effect of continuous letters by adjusting the angles for appropriate perspective as they reached walls. Here is how that same thing looks when you walk up close to it.

I thought it was pretty slick, so I thought I would share it here.

Quote of the day: "Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way." -Aristotle