R. Lee Ermey Belongs To The Ages

...Full Metal Rolex...

R. Lee Ermey

Belongs To The Ages

1944-2018

A few days ago, Andi from Munich, Bavaria wrote in and mentioned that fellow Rolex fanatic and memorable actor R. Lee Ermey had recently passed away. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at his career achievements as well as some of the Rolex watches he wore.

In the photo seen above, we see R. Lee Ermey wearing his Rolex Daytona. 

So you think you are an alpha male? R. Lee was probably best known for his role as a U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor in the movie Full Metal Jacket, which was about Vietnam. In his role as a Marine Drill Instructor Sergeant, he gives a knock-down-drag-out performance of a hardcore alpha male, which would make most men who think they are alpha males, seem like girly-men (to use a Schwarzeneggerism :-) 

The only other movie scene I can think of in another movie that comes close to being this over-the-top is Alec Baldwin's 'Always Be Closing' speech from Glengarry Glen Ross.

R. Lee Ermey earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in his portrayal as Marine Corps drill instructor, in Stanley Kubrick's  Academy Award-nominated 1987 movie, Full Metal Jacket. Stanley Kubrick famously directed many iconic movies like Lolita (1962), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Clockwork Orange, The Shining (1980), and Eyes Wide Shut (1999).

R. Lee Ermey began his acting career when he was cast by Francis Ford Coppola as a First Air Cavalry chopper pilot in the 1979 movie named Apocalypse Now.

WARNING: The video below is NSFW and contains a great deal of profanity and verbal abuse. Normally I would not post a video clip like this, but R. Lee Ermey's performance, as seen in the opening of Full Metal Jacket is considered by many to be one of the most engaging and emotionally charged performances in a military movie. Once again, please use discretion if you decide to watch the video below as it contains a great deal of swearing.

I remember seeing Full Metal Jacket in theaters when it came out, and this opening scene (above) actually shocked me. I remember when I turned 18 praying they did not bring the draft back, as the last thing on earth I wanted to do was have to go and fight in some stupid war, halfway around the earth.

WARNING: The video below is also from Full Metal Jacket is also filled with profanity, but is another famous scene from the movie.



Below is an interesting 1987 review of Full Metal Jacket by Rex Reed.

R. Lee Ermey was in the Marines as we see in the photo of him below.

R. Lee Ermey is interviewed below discussing his role in Full Metal Jacket.

Gomer Pyle USMC

1964-1969

Talk about Deja Vu. I realize I am wandering off the reservation a little bit, but that is what I do on Jake's Rolex World... 
When I was a small child, I watched a tremendous amount of TV. I learned so much about the world from the boob tube. One of my favorite shows, when I was a small boy, was Gomer Pyle USMC, which was a spin-off of the Andy Griffith show. It starred Frank Sutton, who was AMAZING as Sergeant Carter. Below is and excerpt from the first episite of Gomer Pyle.

One of the reasons I am including these videos from Gomer Pyle is that R. Lee's character in Full Metal Jacket references Gomer Pyle a few times in the movie, and there really are many parallels. This is perhaps part of the Stanley Kubrick genius.

A Serious Rolex Collector

R. Lee Ermey was a serious Rolex wearer as we see in the photos below which show him wearing a stianless steel Rolex Datejust on an Oyster bracelet, a yellow gold Datejust on a Jubilee bracelet, a Pepsi GMT-Master on a Jubilee bracelet, a two-tone Rolex Submariner on a Jubilee bracelet as well as a two tone Rolex Daytona.

In the photo above and below we see R. Lee Ermey wearing his Pepsi GMT-Master on a Jubilee bracelet, which Rolex just reintroducted at Basel World 2018.

A Blog To Watch Compares Submariner v. Explorer II

A Blog To Watch Compares

Submariner v. Explorer II

Bilal Khan from A Blog To Watch recently wrote an interesting article comparing the Rolex Submariner to the Explorer II, which I recommend checking out.

1971 Rolex Day-Date Ad: Owning One Is Almost As Satisfying As Making One

1971 Rolex Day-Date Ad

Owning One Is Almost As Satisfying As Making One

...Rolex Tennis Super-Hotness... Ana Ivanovic

...Rolex Tennis Super-Hotness...

Ana Ivanovic

Rolex Daytona

Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day Rolex GMT Master: Reference 16710

...Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day...

Rolex GMT Master 
Reference 16710

King Harald of Norway A Lifetime wearing a Rolex GMT-Master

King Harald 

of Norway

A Lifetime wearing a Rolex GMT-Master

King Harald of Norway is seen in the photo below with Queen Sonja taken back in 1968, and he is sporting his Pepsi GMT-Master. King Harald seems to fit into the category, much like legendary Golfer, Jack Nicklaus, who has been a one wife/one Rolex man for more than 50 years. Meaning he has exclusively depended on and worn the same Rolex for more than a half-century, while being married only once to the same wife. That makes him a "One Watch Man" litterally and figuratively.

In the photo below we see Prince Harald and Princess Sonja attending the 1968 Olympics.

King Harald experienced a very unusual childhood as he moved to the United States as a small child to escape the German occupation of Denmark. He dated his future wife for 8 years before marrying her. The challenge is that she was a commoner, and thus he was not allowed to marry her. Finally, he gave his father an ultimatum and said that if he could not marry her he would not get married, thus leaving Norway without an heir apparent to the Norwegian throne.

King Harald Married Sonja Haraldsen in 1968, and later then had two children, Mätha and Haakon.

Pespsi GMT-Master as a Constant Companion

King Harald is pictured below with his two children back in 1977. It is interesting to not that in every photo I have seen of him taken since 1968, if his watch is visible, he always and only wears his Pepsi GMT-Master.

Harald succeeded his father as king in 1991 with his son Haakon becoming his heir apparent. King Harald of Norway and Queen Sonja are pictured below in a recent photo.

King Harald was an Olympic sailor who competed in three summer Olympic games including Tokyo (1964), Mexico (1968), and Munich (1972). 

King Harald's father, King Olav won a gold medal for sailing in the 1928 Olympics. King Harald opened the Lillehammer, Norway Olympic games in 1994 when they were hosted in his country.

1968 Acapulco Summer Olympic Games 

Stainless Steel Reference 5513

Since King Harald competed in the 1968 Summer Olympic games in Acapulco, Mexico I thought I would include this Rolex ad. This first one is from the 1968 Summer Olympic Games which were held in Mexico City, Mexico. The boating events of the XIX Olympiad were held in Acapulco, Mexico, which is featured in the Rolex ad below.

King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway are in their early eighties today, and King Harald is still a sailing fanatic and still wears his Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master as seen in the photos below.

As I mentioned earlier in this story, King Harald has not only been wearing his Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master for a more than a half-century, but it is his constant companion—as I have not been able to find a photo of him wearing any other watch. In the photo below, taken on April 28, 2011, Prince Harald is attending a pre-wedding ceremony dinner in London being held for Prince William and Princess Kate of Britain, and King Harald is wearing a black tie-tuxedo while wearing his Pepsi GMT. I have also seen photos of King Harald wearing his Pepsi GMT-Master with a white tie and tails.

In the photo below we see that the Pepsi bezel insert on King Harald's Rolex GMT-Master has completely faded and turned into a 'Ghost' dial. In other words, it almost looks like he is wearing a stainless steel Rolex Yacht-Master with a platinum bezel, but indeed it is the original Pepsi bezel that has faded over the past half-century or regular wear. 

With the new Pespsi Rolex GMT-Master that Rolex just introduced at Basel World 2018, if King Harald began with one of them, the Pepsi bezel would obviously never have faded. Some people like the fact the annodized aluminum bezels fade over time to five a more patinad look, while others, including Rolex today, with the shift to cermamic bezel inserts, prefer a bezel that will not be affected by UV light or change in appearance over the decades of wear.

For the record, the photo below shows what King Harald's Pespsi bezel would have look liked when he first started wearing it.

You can learn much more about the Rolex GMT-Master by checking out my story titled, "The Complete History Of The Rolex GMT-Master: The Birth Of A True Icon."

...Rolex Studio Shot Of The Day...

Exotic Rolex Dials

Yellow Gold Datejusts and Day-Date

Mario Andretti The Hodinkee Interview

...Rolex Super-Coolness...


Mario Andretti

The Hodinkee Interview

Hodinkee just published this super cool interview with Mario Andretti, which you must watch! Mario Andretti is considered to be on of the greatest if not the greatest racing legends that have ever lived.

During the video, Jon Bues discussed Mario Andretti's Rolex Daytona which is seen below close up.

In the photo above of Mario Andretti's watch collection, we see his Rolex Daytona next to a yellow gold Rolex Day-Date which they don't discuss in the interview or in the article.

I assume Mario Andretti's yellow gold Rolex Day-Date pictured above is the same one pictured below in the 1976 Mario Andretti Rolex Day-Date Ad, which is very cool.

The documentary below on Mario Andretti was filmed the same year as the Mario Andretti Rolex add pictured above from 1976 was originally published.

Paul Newman Rolex Day-Date!?!?!?

I have an interesting story to share with you about the photo below of Mario Andretti with his good friend Paul Newman. Back in 2014, I discovered the photo below of Paul Newman and Mario Andretti which was taken at the 1988 Indianapolis 500, and I noticed Paul Newman wearing what appeared to be a Platinum or White Gold Rolex Day-Date.

I was surprised, as Paul Newman is renowned for wearing at least five different Rolex Daytona models, as well as having worn a stainless steel Rolex Datejust, which I documented in detail in "The Complete History Of The Paul Newman Daytona". 

In the photos below we see Paul Newman wearing his iconic stainless steel Daytona that has a white exotic dial.

If you are a reader of Jake's Rolex World you know that Paul Newman's famous Rolex Daytona recently sold for close to $18 Million.

Late last year, on December 4th of 2017, I published a story that finally solved the mystery of Paul Newman's President bracelet, which can be seen in the photo below. This story revealed that Paul Newman somehow fitted a Rolex President bracelet to his black dial Rolex Daytona, which was fascinating.

...Lume Shot Of The Day... Submariner Sans Cyclops

...Lume Shot Of The Day...

Submariner Sans Cyclops

from Bondtoys in Germany

Alden Ehrenreich is the new Han Solo...

...Rolex Super-Coolness...

Han Solo

Alden Ehrenreich

Rolex Oyster Transitional Cushion Case

Everybody's favorite scoundrel is back!!! Disney recently released the first official trailer for the highly anticipated upcoming Han Solo prequel movie titled, "Solo: A Star Wars Story" which was directed by Ron Howard. This new movie covers the adventures of young Han Solo in the years prior to the events in the original 1977 'Star Wars' movie. This includes how he met his co-pilot, Chewbacca, as well as the notorious gambler, Lando Calrissian. Alden Ehrenreich is playing Han Solo which was originally played by Harrison Ford.

The image above of Alden Ehrenreich appears courtesy of British GQ, and in the photo below we see a close-up of the detail of his Rolex Oyster.

Alden Ehrenreich is pictured above wearing an early Rolex Oyster with a transitional case. The photo below is of a very similar transitional 32MM Rolex Oyster model, which I am including for frame of reference. It features the same case, hands, winding crown, and dial. It appears his dial differs in the sense it says 'Rolex Oyster' below the 12 O'clock marker, with the words 'Ultra Prima' surrounding the top of the seconds subdial.

What makes this watch 'transitional'? The first Rolex Oyster cases featured soldiered skinny lugs, and the transitional cushion case on this watch was the first one that soldiered thicker lugs that featured a spring bar. The next and final version of this cushion case came later and featured lugs that were machined as part of the case.

The New Han Solo

The new 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' will answer many questions, like how did Han Solo complete the Kessel run in the Millennium Falcon at less than twelve parsecs? It will also cover how Han met his future copilot, Chewie, and Lando, as well as how he got indebted to the interstellar gangster, Jabba the Hutt.

In the photo below, we see Alden Ehrenreich playing the role of Han Solo.

The new 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' official teaser trailer, as well as the official movie trailer, are featured below, which I highly recommend watching. Solo: A Star Wars Story is scheduled to debut at the Cannes film festival on May 15th, and will be in theaters this summer around the world on May 25, which is Memorial Day in the United States.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is the first in a series of upcoming Disney movies that are based upon the earlier history of Star Wars figures. Disney is also working on a Star Wars story movie about young Obi-Won Kenobi, as well as a movie about Boba Fett, which are scheduled to be released in 2019.

Alden Ehrenreich is featured below in an interview before he was chosen to play the role of Han Solo, and he seems like a really cool dude...

It is interesting to note that Alden Ehrenreich wears what I would consider to be a very small Rolex watch by today's standards, which is 32MM in diameter. In an interesting twist of fate, Ryan Gossling who costarred with Harrison Ford in the recently released Blade Runner 2049 also wears a smaller vintage Rolex which is a Rolex Air King, which is 34MM.

Han Solo

Harrison Ford

Rolex Datejust on a Jubilee Bracelet

Alden Ehrenreich has big shoes to fill in following Harrison Ford in the role of Han Solo, and from what I have seen, he seems to be doing a great job.

Harrison Ford's role as Han Solo in the original Star Wars movies is beyond iconic, and as we see in the picture below, he is holding Carie Fisher in his arms, off-set, while he is wearing his stainless steel Rolex Datejust.

In the photo below we see Harrison Ford's wearing his stainless steel Rolex Datejust off-set when he was filming the original Blade Runner movie. 

It's profoundly ironic that both men who play Han Solo on-screen wear silver Rolex watches off-screen!!!