Character Actor

Frank Aletter, a veteran character actor who starred in the 1960s situation comedies "Bringing Up Buddy" and "It's About Time," has died. He was 83. Aletter, who was once married to actress and former Miss America Lee Meriwether, died of cancer Wednesday at his home in Tarzana, said his daughter Kyle Oldham. Aletter, a 1950s Broadway actor whose credits included the musical comedy "Bells Are Ringing," appeared in a number of movies, including "Mister Roberts" and "Tora! Tora! Tora!

George Lindsey, the Southern-born character actor who played dim hayseed Goober Pyle, the genial gas station auto mechanic on "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Mayberry R.F.D.," died early Sunday morning. He was 83. Lindsey, who later was a regular on the long-running country music comedy show "Hee Haw," died at a healthcare center in Nashville after a brief illness, said his manager and booking agent, Carrie Moore-Reed. "George Lindsey was my friend," Andy Griffith said in a statement.

Lou Jacobi, an actor who was known for comic roles and won praise in dramatic ones over a long career in the theater and movies, including Woody Allen's "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex" and Barry Levinson's "Avalon," has died. He was 95. The Canadian-born actor died Friday at his home in Manhattan. His death was confirmed by Leonie Nowitz, a social worker who had been overseeing his care. Jacobi made his Broadway debut in 1955 in "The Diary of Anne Frank," playing one of the occupants of the Amsterdam attic where the Franks were hiding.

George Murdock Character actor often played the 'heavy' George Murdock, 81, a veteran character actor who had a recurring role as Lt. Scanlon on the television sitcom "Barney Miller" and played God in the 1989 film "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier," died Monday at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, said his close friend and fellow actor Jennifer Rhodes. He had cancer. Murdock's craggy facial features and booming bass voice helped him land a steady stream of "heavy" parts in theater, film and television productions.

Dub Taylor, the grizzled character actor who appeared in about 500 Westerns and other films over six decades, including this summer's "Maverick," has died. He was 87. The veteran actor died Monday night at Westlake Convalescent Hospital, his family said. The Georgia-born Walter Clarence Taylor II began his career in vaudeville. He made his film debut in the legendary Frank Capra's 1938 classic "You Can't Take It With You" and never looked back.

Many a great film director is tethered artistically to a trusted actor: John Ford had the Duke, Fellini had Mastroianni and Scorsese had De Niro. For Sam Peckinpah, the volatile maverick who reinvented the western as a hyperviolent, nihilistic landscape of losers, loners and lunatics, such a muse was a grizzled, world-weary and powerful character actor named Warren Oates. Any aficionado of New Hollywood cinema readily recognizes Oates' squinted eyes, crooked sneer and rustic cadence.

Perry Lopez, 78, a veteran character actor perhaps best known for his role as Lt. Lou Escobar opposite Faye Dunaway and Jack Nicholson in the classic 1974 film "Chinatown," died Thursday of lung cancer at the Rehabilitation Centre of Beverly Hills, according to his friend and executor, actor James Victor. Born in New York City, Lopez got his start on the stage before moving into film with an uncredited role in "Creature From the Black Lagoon." He also had roles in such familiar films as "Mister Roberts," "McClintock," "Che!"

William "Billy" Benedict, a character actor best remembered for his roles as Skinny in the East Side Kids serial and Whitey in the first 24 of the following Bowery Boys shorts, has died at the age of 82. Benedict, who also had a host of small parts in big movies such as "Funny Girl" and "The Sting," died Thursday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of complications after heart surgery. Born in Haskell, Okla.

James Gammon, a character actor whose gravelly voice and craggy face made indelible memories in Sam Shepard plays, a spate of western TV shows and films, plus a comic turn in the baseball movie "Major League," has died. He was 70. Gammon died Friday surrounded by his family at his daughter's home in Costa Mesa, where he and his wife, Nancy, had been living. He had cancer of the adrenal glands and the liver. Gammon may be best known for his role as Lou Brown, manager of the hapless Cleveland Indians in the 1989 comedy "Major League" and its 1994 sequel.

Murray Rose Swimmer won Olympic gold medals Murray Rose, 73, a four-time Olympic gold medal swimmer from Australia who also competed at USC while studying acting in the late '50s, died Sunday in Sydney of leukemia, Swimming Australia said. Rose became a national hero at 17 after winning three gold medals at the 1956 Melbourne Games, in the 400- and 1,500-meter freestyle events and the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Four years later, in Rome, he won the 400 freestyle, took silver in the 1,500 freestyle and bronze in the 4x200 freestyle relay.

Russell Arms Actor who started on 'Your Hit Parade' Russell Arms, 92, a singer and actor who was a regular vocalist on the popular TV musical program "Your Hit Parade" from 1952 to 1957, died Monday at his home in Hamilton, Ill., where he had retired with his wife, Mary Lynne. The Lamporte-St. Clair Funeral Home in Hamilton confirmed his death but did not give the cause. Along with other regular cast members Gisele MacKenzie, Snooky Lanson and Dorothy Collins, Arms performed what were billed as the seven most popular songs in the country every Saturday night on the NBC show.

Peter Breck Actor on 'The Big Valley' Peter Breck, 82, an actor who played a son of ranch owner Barbara Stanwyck on the 1960s TV western "The Big Valley," died Monday in Vancouver after a long illness, his wife, Diane, announced on the website The Big Valley Writing Desk. Born March 13, 1929, in Rochester, N.Y., and raised in Haverhill, Mass., Breck began acting on the New York stage before landing parts in movies and television. He was best known for his role as hot-tempered rancher Nick Barkley on "The Big Valley," which aired from 1965 to 1969 on ABC. He was also a regular on the TV westerns "Maverick" and "Black Saddle.

Patricia A. Disney Philanthropist, ex-wife of Walt Disney's nephew Roy Patricia A. Disney, 77, who grew up as a neighbor of Roy E. Disney in Toluca Lake and was married to him for more than 50 years, died Friday of Alzheimer's disease, her family announced. She was the vice chairman of Shamrock Holdings Inc., the investment company for the Roy E. Disney family. Patricia married Roy, Walt Disney's nephew, in 1955, and they had four children, who survive her. After the couple divorced in 2007, he remarried in 2008 and died at 79 in 2009.

Ian Abercrombie, 77, the British character actor who played Elaine's demanding boss, Mr. Pitt, on "Seinfeld," died Thursday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said his friend Cathy Lind Hayes. He suffered complications of kidney failure and recently had been diagnosed with lymphoma. As the eccentric Justin Pitt, Abercrombie appeared in seven episodes opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Elaine Benes in the high-rated sit-com. "I was a pain in the neck. I was a hypochondriac.

During award season, any role smaller than nomination-size tends to get overlooked. But sometimes those small roles do more than support the lead actors. Sometimes it takes just a few minutes of screen time to shock an audience, to illuminate years of the main character's life or, in some cases, to set the film's third act on its head. Here we talk to three such performers — at various stages in their careers — who all had a powerful effect on the films they inhabited and came away richer for it. ROBERT FORSTER: Scott Thorson, "The Descendants" For a small role that literally packs a punch, look no further than Robert Forster's.

Bill McKinney Character actor was in 'Deliverance' Bill McKinney, 80, a character actor who carved out a career playing rough-and-tumble villains, most notably the backwoods man who sexually assaults Ned Beatty's character in the 1972 film "Deliverance," died Thursday of esophageal cancer at Valley Presbyterian Hospice in Van Nuys, said close friend Julie Mondin. Mondin was assisting McKinney with his autobiography, which has not yet been published. A Tennessee native, McKinney inhabited the key role of one of the backwoods locals who terrorize Beatty, Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight and Ronny Cox during a river rafting trip gone bad in John Boorman's "Deliverance.

Sid Melton Character actor in dozens of TV, film projects Sid Melton, 94, a character actor perhaps best known for his roles in the hit television shows "Green Acres" and "The Danny Thomas Show," died of pneumonia Wednesday at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, his family said. During a career that spanned nearly 60 years, Melton appeared in about 140 television and film projects. They included two 1951 movies, "Lost Continent" with Cesar Romero and the Samuel Fuller-directed "The Steel Helmet," and 1972's "Lady Sings the Blues" with Diana Ross.