When you see Cole Hauser on screen as the rugged, often terrifyingly loyal Rip Wheeler on Yellowstone, it feels like he was born to play a cowboy. And honestly? He kinda was. But if you’ve ever wondered who is Cole Hauser's father, the answer takes you down a rabbit hole of Hollywood history that's way more intense than just a "celebrity dad" trivia fact.
Cole’s father is Wings Hauser.
If you grew up in the ‘80s or ‘90s, that name probably rings a massive bell. Wings wasn't just some actor; he was a prolific, high-octane character performer who appeared in over 100 projects. He was the guy you hired when you needed someone with an edge—a "working class actor," as his family called him. But the connection between Cole and Wings is a lot more complicated than just sharing a famous last name and some serious acting chops.
The Man Behind the Name: Wings Hauser
Wings Hauser (born Gerald Dwight Hauser) wasn't just an actor. He was a musician, a director, and a screenwriter who basically lived and breathed the industry from the moment he was born in Hollywood in 1947. He famously played Greg Foster on The Young and the Restless back in the late ‘70s, which was really his first big break into the mainstream.
But where Wings truly made his mark was in the world of cult cinema and gritty thrillers.
He played the unforgettable, terrifying pimp Ramrod in the 1982 film Vice Squad. It was the kind of performance that sticks with you—visceral, scary, and totally committed. That role basically turned him into a B-movie icon. He was once called "the biggest star you’ve never heard of" by Entertainment Weekly. Think about that for a second. He was everywhere—China Beach, Roseanne, Beverly Hills, 90210, and guest spots on nearly every major network show from Murder, She Wrote to House.
A Complicated Father-Son Bond
You might assume that having a famous actor for a dad meant Cole grew up on movie sets, getting tips on how to land leading roles. Not exactly.
Cole’s parents, Wings Hauser and producer Cass Warner, divorced in 1977. Cole was only two years old at the time. After the split, things got pretty distant. In fact, Cole has been very open about the fact that he didn't really know his father for a huge chunk of his childhood. He grew up living with his mother, moving around quite a bit—Oregon, Florida, Santa Barbara.
The story of how he even realized his dad was famous is wild.
As a teenager, Cole was watching TV and saw a guy who looked a lot like him. Same last name. He went to his mom and asked, "Hey, I just saw a guy on TV named Wings Hauser. Who is that?" That’s how he found out about his father’s career. It wasn't through Sunday dinners; it was through a screen.
The Reunion and the "Freedom" Year
Everything changed when Cole was about 15. He reconnected with Wings and moved to Los Angeles to live with him for a year.
Cole has described that time as "awesome" because it represented a certain kind of freedom. It was during this year that he really got a crash course in the reality of the acting business. Wings didn't sugarcoat it. He taught Cole about the grind of auditioning and what it actually takes to survive in Hollywood as a working actor.
While their careers took different paths—Wings being the king of character roles and Cole eventually becoming a leading man—the influence is clearly there. If you watch old clips of Wings, you can see the same intensity in the eyes that Cole brings to Rip Wheeler. It’s that Hauser grit.
A Legacy of Hollywood Royalty
The crazy thing is that the "who is Cole Hauser's father" question is only half of the story. If you dig deeper into the family tree, Cole is basically cinema royalty.
- Paternal Grandfather: Dwight Hauser was an Academy Award-winning screenwriter and director.
- Maternal Great-Grandfather: Harry Warner. Yes, that Warner. One of the founders of Warner Bros.
- Maternal Grandfather: Milton Sperling, a legendary Hollywood producer and screenwriter.
Despite this massive lineage, Cole didn't use any of it to get ahead. He didn't even know about the Warner Bros. connection until he was a teen and told his mom he wanted to be an actor. She made him earn it, sending him to auditions on his own without the "Warner" or "Hauser" name doing the heavy lifting.
The Final Chapter
Sadly, Wings Hauser passed away on March 15, 2025, at the age of 77.
His wife, Cali Lili Hauser, shared the news, calling him a "movie icon" who "took flight" at their studio. Before he passed, Wings was reportedly a huge fan of Yellowstone. He was incredibly proud of Cole’s success and how he had carved out his own space in the industry.
For Cole, the relationship with his father came full circle. They went from years of estrangement to a place of mutual respect. Cole has mentioned that the Hauser side of the family has deep roots in Montana—his great-great-grandfather Samuel T. Hauser was actually the first territorial governor of Montana. So when Cole is out there filming Yellowstone, he’s literally walking on the land his ancestors helped lead.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re a fan of Cole’s work and want to see where that intensity comes from, do yourself a favor and look up some of Wings Hauser’s classic work.
- Watch Vice Squad (1982): This is the definitive Wings Hauser performance. It’s dark, but it shows the raw power he had on screen.
- Check out The Young and the Restless clips: To see a much younger, soap-opera version of the Hauser charm.
- Research the "Warner Sisters": Cole’s mother, Cass Warner, started this production company and a documentary about her family's history called The Brothers Warner. It's worth a watch to see the full scale of the family’s impact on film.
Understanding the man behind the star gives you a much deeper appreciation for the grit Cole Hauser brings to every role. It wasn't handed to him—it was in his blood, but he had to find it for himself.