Bud Cort, the American actor, director and writer best known best known for his performance as Harold in 1971 cult classic Harold And Maude, has died in Connecticut after a long illness. He was 77.
Born Walter Edward Cox in New York in 1948, Cort got his first break when he was cast by director Robert Altman in 1970 satire M*A*S*H. That same year, Altman gave Cort the title role in his fantasy comedy Brewster McCloud.
For Harold And Maude, director Hal Ashby chose Cort to star with Ruth Gordon in the story of a wealthy young man obsessed with death whose life is changed when he meets a lively septuagenarian.
The film brought Cort a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a comedy or musical and a Bafta nomination for most promising newcomer to leading film roles. Though it opened to largely negative reviews and poor ticket sales, the film became a cult hit and is said to have finally made a profit in 1983. In 1997 it was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry.
Cort later appeared in films including Michael Mann’s 1995 crime drama Heat, Kevin Smith’s 1999 comedy Dogma, 2000 biopic Pollock and Wes Anderson’s 2004 The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.
He also had roles in TV series including Arrested Development, Ugly Betty and Criminal Minds.
In 1991, he directed, co-wrote and starred in independent comedy romance Ted & Venus.
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