Kevyn Major Howard (January 27, 1956 – February 14, 2025) was a Canadian actor and photographer, best known for his role as Private First Class "Rafterman" in

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

's war film ''

Full Metal Jacket ''Full Metal Jacket'' is a 1987 war film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick from a screenplay he co-wrote with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford. The film is based on Hasford's 1979 autobiographical novel '' The Short-Timers''. It stars ...

'' (1987).

Life and career

Howard was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada on January 27, 1956. After acting in high school, Howard moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

in the late 1970s. His headshot was delivered to

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

and, shortly thereafter, he was called in and booked for his first major film role, in '' Serial'', starring

Martin Mull Martin Eugene Mull (, August 18, 1943 – June 27, 2024) was an American actor, musician, and painter. He became known on '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,'' its spin-off '' Fernwood 2 Night,'' and '' America 2 Night.'' Other notable roles included ...

. This was followed by his first television appearance in an episode of '' Trapper John, M.D.''. In 1982, Howard appeared as Stomper in ''

Death Wish II ''Death Wish II'' is a 1982 American vigilante action-thriller film directed and co-edited by Michael Winner. It is the sequel to the 1974 film '' Death Wish''. It is the second installment in the ''Death Wish'' film series. In the story, ar ...

'' and later as Hawkins in

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

's 1983 film ''

Sudden Impact ''Sudden Impact'' is a 1983 American action-thriller film, the fourth in the ''Dirty Harry'' series, directed, produced by, and starring Clint Eastwood (making it the only ''Dirty Harry'' film to be directed by Eastwood himself) and co-starri ...

'', notably making him the only actor to be in both ''Death Wish'' and ''Dirty Harry'' film series. In 1987, Howard appeared in his most notable role, the combat photographer "Rafterman" in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

film ''

'' directed by

. The following year, Howard made an appearance in the episode " Line of Fire" of the cult TV series ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...

''. Howard retired from acting in 1999, his final acting credit being in an episode of ''

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

''. In the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

show ''

The Human Face ''The Human Face'' is a 4-part BBC series that examines the science behind facial beauty, expression, and fame. Actor and comedian John Cleese investigated identity, perception, creativity and sexuality and their relation to the human face, co ...

'', Howard is touted as the "King of the Hollywood headshot" as he became a leading headshot photographer after his retirement from acting. Howard died in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

on February 14, 2025, at the age of 69. He had been hospitalized for weeks with respiratory issues.

Filmography

References

External links

* * as Kevin Howard in 'Serial'
E Online – Credits – Kevyn Major Howard

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Kevyn Major 1956 births 2025 deaths Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors 20th-century Canadian male actors Male actors from Montreal 20th-century Canadian photographers