SAD NEWS: 1 hour ago Denis Arndt passed away at the age of 86 at his home in Oregon. His son said he passed away peacefully “Dad’s life was like that…”

Denis Arndt, Tony-nominated star of ‘Heisenberg’ and veteran of David E. Kelley TV shows dies at 86 in Oregon home

rndt turned to acting after spending multiple seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and performing as an early member of the Intiman Theatre in Seattle.

Denis Arndt, a character actor and favorite of TV writer and producer David E. Kelley, getting cast in “L.A. Law,” “Picket Fences” and “Chicago Hope,” and later earning a Tony nomination for his Broadway debut at age 77 in a play about mismatched lovers, has died. He was 86.

Arndt died “peacefully in his bed” at his cabin home in Ashland, Oregon, his family announced in an obituary published March 26. It noted that he was born in 1939, the same year “The Wizard of Oz” came out.

“That was like Dad’s life,” it said. “It started out in black and white and blossomed into a life of color, brilliance, daring adventure and passion. And it was also a little bit trippy, like Oz.”

Arndt was a Vietnam veteran helicopter pilot who twice was awarded the Purple Heart and later flew helicopters in Alaska. He turned to acting after moving to Seattle, spending multiple seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and performing as an early member of the Intiman Theatre in Seattle.

FILE – Denis Arndt arrives at the 71st annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 11, 2017, in New York.

Evan Agostini / AP

His career began in the mid-1980s with roles on the TV shows “Crime Story” and “Wiseguy” and he would spend the 1990s in TV and film, with a highlight being one of the cops interrogating Sharon Stone’s character in Paul Verhoeven’s “Basic Instinct.”

Making his first and only Broadway appearance at age 77 opposite Mary-Louise Parker, Arndt received acclaim for his performance in “Heisenberg,” which debuted off-Broadway in 2015 before hitting Broadway a year later.

In the play by Simon Stephens, babble-mouthed 42-year-old Georgie from New Jersey randomly meets a bored 75-year-old Irish butcher, Alex, in a London train station and the two begin a strange courtship.

The Associated Press was charmed by the performers and Stephens’ play: “He captures new love and old love at the same time, hope and fear, the new world and the old. He’s turned the simplest of tales — boy meets girl — into an unexpectedly rich thing with just two chairs, two tables and two actors.”

On TV, Arndt was a frequent Kelly collaborator, starting with “L.A. Law” and then as lawyer Franklin Dell on “Picket Fences” over four seasons. He also had roles on “Chicago Hope,” “Ally McBeal,” “The Practice,” “Boston Public,” “Boston Legal” and “Mr. Mercedes.”

His other small-screen credits include “Providence, ”The Wonder Years,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Life Goes On,” “Herman’s Head,” “Touched by an Angel,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Good Fight.”

He is survived by his wife, Magee, and his children, Scott, Tammy, Laurie, Kirsten, Bryce, McKenna and Tanner.

Related Posts

Henry Cavill’s legacy has made it increasingly more stressful for all the Supermans who came after him to play the role. No one can replace him.

Henry Cavill’s portrayal of Superman in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) has left an indelible mark on the superhero genre, creating a towering shadow that continues to loom over his…

Read more

Netizens are investigating that it seems HBO secretly fired Paapa Essiedu from his role as Severus Snape due to pressure from the Internet and J. K. Rowling.

The Harry Potter fandom has been thrown into a whirlwind of speculation following rumors that HBO may have quietly dismissed Paapa Essiedu from his role as Severus Snape in the…

Read more

BBC News reports: 30 minutes ago! Prince William has issued a statement on behalf of the royal family, announcing that King Charles, after being rushed to hospital with cancer, had… more

King Charles: A Resilient Journey Facing Cancer In February 2024, the world was stunned when Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III had been diagnosed with cancer. After a brief…

Read more

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *