Bud Cort, the actor best known for his role in the dark comedy Harold and Maude, has died at the age of 77. According to Variety, Cort died in Connecticut after a long illness.
He was discovered by Robert Altman while performing in a revue, and went on to star in Altman's M*A*S*H and Brewster McCloud. His breakthrough came in Hal Ashby's Harold and Maude, where he played a death-obsessed young man who falls in love with a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor, earning him Golden Globe and Bafta nominations.
The film was initially poorly received but later became a cult classic. In 2012, Cort said: 'As I was reading the script I immediately knew it was going to be a classic film for the ages.' However, in 2014 he told the Guardian the role was 'a blessing and a curse' as it led to typecasting. He turned down the role of Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and later regretted it.
In the 1970s, Cort appeared in Why Shoot the Teacher? and a TV adaptation of Bernice Bobs Her Hair. A 1979 car accident left him with serious injuries. He returned to acting in the 1980s with roles in Love Letters and Invaders from Mars. Later films included Dogma, But I'm a Cheerleader, Coyote Ugly, The Number 23, and Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
Television appearances included Ugly Betty, Criminal Minds, and Arrested Development. He also voiced characters in animated series such as Batman, The Mask, and Superman. Another car accident in 2011 almost tore off his arm, making it difficult to find work in subsequent years.
