Bud Cort, star of Harold and Maude and Brewster McCloud, dies at 77.
His death was confirmed by Cort’s longtime friend Dorian Hannaway.
Hannaway said Cort died after "a long illness".
American actor Bud Cort, best known for his role as Harold Parker Chasen in Hal Ashby's cult classic Harold and Maude (1971), died on Wednesday (February 11) in Connecticut after a prolonged illness. He was 77.
Bud Cort death
As per reports, his longtime friend, writer and producer Dorian Hannaway, said Cort died after "a long illness".
Bud Cort's early life and career
Born Walter Edward Cox on March 29, 1948, in Rye, New York, Cort took acting lessons from William Hickey when he was just 14. He also attended Iona Preparatory School. After graduation, he tried to get into acting classes at New York University Tisch School of the Arts, but was rejected. He appeared in a few TV series. Later, he was discovered by director Robert Altman, who cast him as Pvt. Boone, in the 1970's, hit anti-war satire M*A*S*H. He also starred in Altman’s Brewster McCloud (1970).
Cort worked in both films and television. He appeared in 80 films and TV series, including Wes Anderson's comedy The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004).
His character, Harold, in Hal Ashby's is still one of his best works. In the film, he plays a troubled young man who falls in love with Maude, a beautiful elderly woman (played by Ruth Gordon). Audiences are still in love with his iconic character.
Cort received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for the performance.
The role was both “a blessing and a curse” for Cort. “I was typecast to the point where I didn’t make a film for five years after Harold and Maude,” he told The Times in 1996. “I only worked in theater where I was not typecast.”
“It closed a lot of doors in terms of my development as an actor, but on the other hand, it gave me the cachet to walk in a lot more doors than I would have been able to had I not made it,” he added.
She Dances Alone, Electric Dreams, Heat, Dogma, Coyote Ugly and Pollock are some of his notable works.
He also lent his voice to Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock and Justice League Unlimited. Cort also co-wrote, directed and starred in Ted and Venus (1991).
