The Death of An Actor's Actor

[img_assist|nid=6682|title=|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=550|height=745]Tuesday, October 2---------George Grizzard, a veteran actor who made memorable appearances on film, television and the Amerrican stage, died yesterday from lung cancer at the age of 79.  The much loved and respected Grizzard is probably still best known for originating the role of Nick, the studly young professor in Edward Albee's original production of WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF (a part he lost to actor George Segal in the celebrated film version).

In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Grizzard played a host of roles on stage, including Hamlet, Henry V, President John Adams and Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams' CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF. He won a Tony Award (the theater's highest honor) in 1966 for his performance in Albee's Pulitzer Prize winning play A DELICATE BALANCE and also starred in the playwright's SEASCAPE.

Among his celebrated film roles were an ambitious junior senator in the Otto Preminger production of ADVISE AND CONSENT (1962), a corrupt oilman in COMES A HORSEMAN (1978) and the US President in Richard Brook's political satire WRONG IS RIGHT (1982). In the past decade, he played memorable parts in such films as WONDER BOYS (2000), Woody Allen's SMALL TIME CROOKS (2001) and last year's World War II epic FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (2006). He was one of the "go-to" actors to cast in a small part that instantly communicated the characters' motivations and inner demons. In short, a true "actor's actor".

Sandy Mandelberger, In Memoriam Editor