--- name: "Hoyt Axton" canonical: "https://film.one/person/hoyt-axton" fi1m_id: "hoyt-axton" imdb_id: "nm0001924" tmdb_id: 16166 wikidata_id: "Q80530" roles: ["Actor"] born: "25 March 1938" died: "26 October 1999" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 85 average_as: "actor" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-10-07T11:27:05.691745+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." --- # Hoyt Axton ## Identity Hoyt Axton - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/hoyt-axton - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** hoyt-axton - **IMDb ID:** nm0001924 - **TMDB ID:** 16166 - **Wikidata ID:** Q80530 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoyt_Axton, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80530, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001924/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/16166 Actor. Born 25 March 1938 in Duncan, Oklahoma, USA. Died 26 October 1999. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 25 March 1938, Duncan, Oklahoma, USA - **Died:** 26 October 1999 - **Active:** 1979–1990 - **Average Fi1m score:** 85, as actor, over 3 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 87 (1), 1980s 80 (1), 1990s 87 (1) - **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 2 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Adventure 1, Comedy 1, Documentary 1, Family 1, Fantasy 1, Horror 1 - **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $191m across 2 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoyt_Axton, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80530, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001924/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/16166 ## Streaming the US now - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Black Stallion*](https://film.one/film/the-black-stallion.md) (87) - **HBO Max:** [*Gremlins*](https://film.one/film/gremlins.md) (80) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Hoyt Axton > Hoyt Axton makes screen fathers sound worth listening to, even when their judgement is doubtful. We like his warmth and unforced comic timing, though the familiar character parts give him limited room. Hoyt Axton can sound reassuring while playing a man who has made a poor decision. His gravelly baritone does useful work in *Gremlins* (1984), where Randall Peltzer is the bumbling inventor father whose purchase sets the trouble going. We were fond of Randall almost at once, because Axton lets us enjoy the father's foolishness without treating him with contempt. The comic timing helps: he can be funny without making the character seem incapable of ordinary affection. That matters in a Christmas horror comedy so pleased with bad behaviour. The move from early villains to fathers in the late 1970s made good use of that voice. *The Black Stallion* (1979) cast him as Alec's father, one of his first prominent roles of this kind. Fathers and small-town authority figures, including sheriffs, became familiar work, while his reputation remained chiefly musical. By the time he played Father Levesque in *We're No Angels* (1989), the supporting character part was well-established territory. Joe Dante's *Gremlins* also shows the limits of those comfortable character parts. The humans can be underwritten, and Axton's appealing delivery cannot supply all the detail that the writing leaves out. We like the film a good deal, but its creatures earn most of the attention; the people are not always given enough to compete. Axton's warmth is useful here, making Randall worth watching without suggesting that the film ought to stop and become his story. His own account of playing fathers was suitably practical: “You just look confused and worn-out.” That description gets close to his appeal, since a parent need not be especially impressive to be recognisable. The danger is repetition, particularly when a screenplay relies on a familiar voice to supply a whole person. Start with *Gremlins*, where his good humour has plenty of bad behaviour to contend with. ## Biography Hoyt Axton was an American actor and singer-songwriter. Born in Duncan, Oklahoma, he appeared in numerous film and television roles from the 1960s onwards, often cast as paternal or authoritative figures. His best-known screen performance was as inventor Randall Peltzer in the 1984 comedy-horror film *Gremlins*. Other credits include *The Black Stallion* (1979), *Heart Like a Wheel* (1983), *We're No Angels* (1989) and guest appearances in series such as *Murder, She Wrote* and *Growing Pains*. Axton also wrote several hit songs, including "Joy to the World" and "The Pusher". He died in Victor, Montana, in 1999. *Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, themoviedb.org, americansongwriter.com.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *The Civil War* (1990), Fi1m 87, as Various (voice) — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-civil-war.md) - *Gremlins* (1984), Fi1m 80, as Randall Peltzer — [page](https://film.one/film/gremlins.md) - *The Black Stallion* (1979), Fi1m 87, as Alec's Father — [page](https://film.one/film/the-black-stallion.md) ## Complete filmography (48) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent. Dangerous: Making Gremlins* (2014), as (archive footage) - *King Cobra* (1999), as Mayor Ed Biddle - *Number One Fan* (1995), as Joe Halsey - *Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long* (1995), as Huey P. Long, Sr. - *Season of Change* (1994), as Big Upton - *Doorways* (1993), as Jake Mitchell - *Harley-Davidson: The American Motorcycle* (1993), as Narrator - *Harmony Cats* (1992), as Bill Stratton - *Space Case* (1992), as Charlie - *The Civil War* (1990), series, as Various (voice) — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-civil-war.md) - *Buried Alive* (1990), as Sheriff Sam Eberly - *We're No Angels* (1989), as Father Levesque - *Disorganized Crime* (1989), as Sheriff Henault - *Desperado: Avalanche at Devil's Ridge* (1988), as Sheriff Ben Tree - *Desperado: Avalanche at Devil's Ridge* (1988), as Sheriff - *Dixie Lanes* (1988), as Clarence Laidlaw - *Christmas Comes to Willow Creek* (1987), as Al Bensinger - *Retribution* (1987), as Lt. Ashley - *Guilty of Innocence: The Lenell Geter Story* (1987), as Charlie Hartford - *Act of Vengeance* (1986), as Silous Huddleston - *Dallas: The Early Years* (1986), as Aaron Southworth - *Growing Pains* (1985), series, as Claver Jackson - *The Steel Collar Man* (1985), as Red - *Murder, She Wrote* (1984), series, as Sheriff Tate - *Cover Up* (1984), series, Actor - *Gremlins* (1984), as Randall Peltzer — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/gremlins.md) - *Goldilocks and the Three Bears* (1984), as Forest Ranger - *Domestic Life* (1984), series, Actor - *Deadline Auto Theft* (1983), as Captain Gibbs - *The Rousters* (1983), series, as Jack Slade - *Heart Like a Wheel* (1983), as Jack Roque - *The Black Stallion Returns* (1983), as Narrator (voice) - *Cocaine Blues* (1983), as Narrator - *Faerie Tale Theatre* (1982), series, as Forest Ranger - *Endangered Species* (1982), as Ben Morgan - *Liar's Moon* (1982), as Cecil Duncan - *Cloud Dancer* (1980), as Brad's Mechanic - *Skinflint: A Country Christmas Carol* (1979), as Cyrus Flint - *The Black Stallion* (1979), as Alec's Father — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/the-black-stallion.md) - *Flying High* (1978), series, Actor - *WKRP in Cincinnati* (1978), series, as T.J. Watson - *The Bionic Woman* (1976), series, Actor - *The Smothers Brothers Show* (1975), series, Actor - *The Legend of Hillbilly John* (1974), as Songs - *McCloud* (1970), series, Actor - *Smoky* (1966), as Fred Denton - *I Dream of Jeannie* (1965), series, as Bull - *Doorways*, series, as Jake ## Gallery - ![Hoyt Axton](https://film.one/media/person/118213/gallery-7caeeb50fa8b.jpg) Hoyt Axton — news service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Hoyt_Axton_1976.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Hoyt Axton](https://film.one/media/person/118213/gallery-32d8eebe7d9a.jpg) Hoyt Axton — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Other awards — 1 won - Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame 2007: Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame (won) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © 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/hoyt-axton