Bud Cort, who personified the role of Harold in the 1971 Hal Ashby classic “Harold and Maude,” died Wednesday in Connecticut after a long illness. He was 77.
His longtime friend Dorian Hannaway reported his death.
Cort also starred in Robert Altman’s “Brewster McCloud” and had roles in numerous other films and TV shows.
In “Harold and Maude,” which became a beloved and enduring cult classic despite a rocky start at the box office, Cort played a 20-year old man obsessed by thoughts of suicide whose life changes when he meets Maude, a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor played by Ruth Gordon.
Born Walter Edward Cox in Rye, N.Y., he changed his name to avoid confusion with character actor Wally Cox. He went to school in New Rochelle, N.Y. and enjoyed going to Broadway shows.
“I was only fourteen when I met Bud at the backstage door at my sister’s play,” Roslyn Kind recalled in a statement. “He was majoring in art at the time in high school. We became close friends who shared our interest in entertainment. When I got married, Bud and our songwriter friend, Bruce Roberts, wrote a special song that was performed at the ceremony. His unique spirit will always be with me.”
Cort moved to Los Angeles to work in film, and was cast by Altman in a small part in “MASH.” Altman then selected his to star in the quirky “Brewster McCloud” about a young man who yearns to fly, with Sally Kellerman as a guardian angel.
“We were in the line for lunch when I spotted him,” she later recalled. “Although I didn’t know who he was, I said ‘Oh, boy. We’re going to be best friends.’”
His chemistry with Gordon while auditioning for the part of Harold convinced Ashby and writer Colin Higgins to cast him in “Harold and Maude,” which has endured as a repertory screening favorite for more than 50 years. He was nominated for a BAFTA award as most promising newcomer and for a Golden Globe for best actor in a musical or comedy.
“A young man obsessed with death falls in love with an old woman obsessed with life. She dies and teaches the kid how to live,” Cameron Crowe described it for AFI in 2011. “And it’s done with music [by Cat Stevens] that scratches at your soul. . . . that movie holds up — to this minute.”
His other roles included films “She Dances Alone,” “Electric Dreams” and “The Life Aquatic,” as well as “Heat,” “Dogma,” “Coyote Ugly” and “Pollock.”
He also voiced the character Toyman in “Superman: The Animated Series,” “Static Shock” and “Justic League Unlimited.” He co-wrote, starred in and directed the 1991 film “Ted and Venus.”
In 1979, Cort narrowly survived a devastating car accident, which necessitated numerous surgeries and affected his career.
He is survived by his brother Joseph Cox and his sister-in-law Vickie and their daughters, Meave, Brytnn, and Jesse of Rye, N.Y.; his sister Kerry Cox of Larchmont, N.Y.; his sister and brother-in-law, Tracy Cox Berkman and Edward Berkman, and their sons, Daniel and Peter. He is also survived by his sister, Shelly Cox Dufour and brother-in-law Robert Dufour, and nieces Madeline and Lucie.
A memorial will be held at a future date in Los Angeles.
