Chelcie Ross

He was born in Sacramento, California, the eldest of three sons of a career Air Force Officer. A military "brat", he attended many schools in the United States and abroad, graduating Stateside from Pemberton Township High School in New Jersey. Very athletic, Chelcie lettered in Baseball, Football and Basketball. Up until this point, he still had yet to discover acting. It wasn't until he was a Senior at Southwest Texas State University, that he took on his first theatre production, playing the Title Role in William Shakespeare's King Lear. Along with acting, he continued his collegiate baseball career, and also became the Commander of the AFROTC Corp of Cadets. After college Chelcie became a radio disc jockey in Texas, but left that line of work in order to go on active duty as a Commissioned 2nd lieutenant in the USAF. He spent one year in Than Son Nhut, Saigon, Viet Nam, and was a recipient of the Bronze Star. The following year he was stationed at the Pentagon, and after that assignment, Captain Ross resigned his commission to become an actor. In 1970, he entered the MFA program at the Dallas Theatre Center. It was during that time, in which he appeared in his first feature film, Keep My Grave Open. He spent the next four years as a member of the resident acting company of the DTC. In 1975, Chelcie left Dallas and moved to Chicago, where his stage debut was in a local production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ten years later, He was cast opposite Gene Hackman in Hoosiers It would be the first of many major film roles.