---
name: "Al Matthews"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/al-matthews"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "21 November 1942"
died: "22 September 2018"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T21:19:54.395815+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Al Matthews

Actor. Born 21 November 1942 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. Died 22 September 2018.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 21 November 1942, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
- **Died:** 22 September 2018

## Biography

Al Matthews was an American actor and singer. Born Alexander Basil Matthews on 21 November 1942 in Brooklyn, New York, he served in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, receiving thirteen combat awards including two Purple Hearts, and was the first black Marine in the 1st Marine Division to be meritoriously promoted to sergeant.

Matthews moved to the United Kingdom, where he worked as a folk singer, scoring a UK hit with "Fool" in 1975, and became the first black disc jockey on BBC Radio 1. He turned to acting in the mid-1970s and appeared in British television and theatre. He is best known for playing Gunnery Sergeant Apone in *Aliens* (1986). Other film roles include appearances in *Superman III* (1983), *The Fifth Element* (1997) and *Tomorrow Never Dies* (1997). He reprised the role of Apone for the video game *Aliens: Colonial Marines* (2013).

Matthews died on 22 September 2018 in Orihuela, Alicante, Spain, aged 75.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, hollywoodreporter.com, stripes.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Aliens* (1986), Fi1m 91, as Sergeant Apone — [page](https://film.one/film/aliens.md)

## Also known for

- *The Fifth Element* (1997), General Tudor
- *Tomorrow Never Dies* (1997), Master Sergeant 3
- *Superman III* (1983), Fire Chief
- *The Final Conflict* (1981), Workman
- *Ragtime* (1981), Maitre D'
- *Stormy Monday* (1988), Radio DJ
- *Yanks* (1979), Black GI at dance
- *The Sender* (1982), Vietnam Veteran

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/al-matthews