Bud Cort, the actor best known for playing one of the title characters in the 1971 black comedy Harold and Maude, has died. He was 77.
Cort began his film career after he was discovered by director Robert Altman, who cast him in two films in 1970: M*A*S*H and Brewster McCloud.
His later film appearances included roles in Heat, Dogma and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
Variety reports that he died in Connecticut after a long illness. No cause of death has yet been announced.
Cort was born Walter Edward Cox in Rye, New York on March 29, 1948. He changed his name due to distinguish himself from the actor Wally Cox.
After Altman used him in a small role in the war satire M*A*S*H, he then gave the 22-year-old the lead role of a reclusive teenager living in a fallout shelter under the Houston Astrodome in Brewster McCloud.
.jpg)
The following year, Hal Ashby cast him in Harold and Maude as a death-obsessed young man who begins a relationship with a much older woman. He was nominated for both a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for his performance.
Looking back at the cult favorite for The Independent, critic Clarisse Loughrey wrote: “Cort plays Harold as a sullen anarchist, adding a mischievous wink to his sickly, Victorian countenance. The delightful moment where he looks directly into the camera, following another of his ghoulish tricks, was improvised on the day.”
In 1979, Cort was involved in a serious car accident on the Hollywood Freeway. His vehicle struck an abandoned car that was blocking a lane, and Cort suffered a broken arm, a broken leg, a concussion and a fractured skull. His face was also severely lacerated. In the aftermath of the crash, Cort underwent extensive plastic surgery which led to substantial medical bills and disrupted his career.
His later performances included an uncredited role as Solenko, the restaurant manager in Michael Mann’s Heat in 1995. In 1999, he played John Doe Jersey, the comatose homeless man who is later revealed to be God, in Kevin Smith’s religious comedy Dogma.
In 2000 he played Romero in Coyote Ugly, and in 2004, he appeared in Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou as Bill Ubell, the “Bond Company Stooge.”
No funeral details have yet been announced, but a memorial is expected be held in Los Angeles at a future date.
