Wade Garrett's mustache Movie

Photo: NBC Television · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons Photo shows actor Sam Elliott

Movie Character · Action

Wade Garrett

Road House (1989)
Played by Sam Elliott
91STACH SCORE

The legendary bouncer who taught Dalton everything he knows, arriving at the Double Deuce with long hair, a limp, and a mustache that has seen some bars.

Is this a Legendary Stach?
Stach Stats
Stash Power95
Ruggedness97
Curl Factor28
Legend Status89
Stats are for entertainment. No screenwriters were consulted.
Actor
Sam Elliott
Film
Road House
Year
1989
Medium
Movie
Style
Walrus
Fan Votes
0 legendary · 0 meh
The Story of the Stach

Why Wade Garrett's Mustache Matters

Road House (1989) is a film about a philosopher bouncer named Dalton (Patrick Swayze) cleaning up a Missouri roadhouse called the Double Deuce. When things get serious, Dalton calls in his mentor, Wade Garrett — and Sam Elliott strolls in with a gray-streaked walrus, a ponytail, and the unbothered air of a man who has thrown better people than you out of better bars than this.

Elliott's mustache is the film's shorthand for experience. Dalton is the clean-cut new generation; Wade is the weathered old guard, and his lip tells you everything about the miles on him. The character became a cult favorite largely on the strength of Elliott's charisma and a handful of quotable lines.

It is an action mustache in a movie that is secretly about friendship, which is the sort of thing Sam Elliott's face has always been good at.

Fun Facts
  • *Road House* (1989) was directed by Rowdy Herrington and stars Patrick Swayze as Dalton.
  • Sam Elliott was born in 1944 and has worn a mustache in most of his film roles since the 1970s.
  • A new *Road House* film starring Jake Gyllenhaal was released in 2024.
Want the Look?

How to Grow the Walrus

Big, bushy, and draped over the mouth like a velvet curtain. The mustache of wise men and Sam Elliott.

✂ Read the Style Guide
Put Mr. Stach in your pocket
Install the app for one-tap access.