Rob Garrison

American character actor Rob Garrison found his career defined by one of the most repeated film lines of the 1980s. A native of Wheeling, West Virginia, he began his career as a professional actor while still in school. Before graduating from college he had appeared with Robert Redford in the prison film "Brubaker" (1980) playing a young convict. He also appeared as one of Jamie Lee Curtis ' teen classmates in the horror film "Prom Night" (1980) and had a small role in the George Segal movie "Lost and Found" (1979). His most recognizable role came a few years later when Robert Avildsen cast him as one of the villainous Cobra Kai members in "The Karate Kid" (1984). Playing off of William Zabka 's Johnny in tormenting Ralph Macchio 's Daniel, he's heard yelling "Get him a body bag, yeah!" during the film's climactic fight scene. The line would become as much of a cultural touchstone from the film as Pat Morita 's "Wax on, wax off" instructions. Garrison appeared briefly in the sequel "The Karate Kid II" (1986).

Throughout the '80s he worked steadily in television, including playing a would-be bomber in a two-episode story arc on "St. Elsewhere" ( NBC , 1982-88). He made additional guest appearances on "MacGyver" ( ABC , 1985-92), "Tour of Duty" ( CBS , 1987-90), and "Coach" ( ABC , 1989-97). He acted only periodically after that, most notably with a role in the independent drama "The Pledge" (2011). Garrison returned to his most famous role once more, however, with a guest appearance as the aged Tommy opposite Zabka and Macchio in their "Karate Kid" spinoff series "Cobra Kai" ( YouTube , 2018- ). Garrison died on September 27, 2019 at 59 from liver and kidney issues.