Hollywood actor Stacy Keach dies at 85 in Poland
American actor Stacy Keach, known for portraying characters such as detective Mike Hammer and novelist Ernest Hemingway, died on Tuesday at the age of 85, his wife announced in a statement to Variety, CE Report quotes Reuters.
Keach died in Poland "after a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and congestive heart failure", Malgosia Tomassi said in a statement to Variety, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.
"Stacy was not only a legendary actor, admired and loved by audiences around the world, but also my beloved husband, partner and the heart of our family," Tomassi said.
Keach appeared in dozens of television and film roles, portraying characters ranging from Barabbas in the television miniseries Jesus of Nazareth to Richard Nixon in the play Frost/Nixon.
He also enjoyed an extensive theatre career, which included Shakespearean plays such as King Lear and Hamlet. His performance as Hamlet in 1972 prompted a New York Times critic to describe him as "the best American classical stage actor since John Barrymore".
However, his best-known role was that of Mike Hammer, a tough private detective who became the central character in the television adaptations of Mickey Spillane's crime novels.
"I have always been and always will be Mike Hammer," Keach wrote in his 2013 autobiography, All in All: An Actor's Life on and off the Stage.
Keach portrayed Hemingway in the 1988 television miniseries Hemingway, a performance that earned him a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy nomination.
The actor was born on June 2, 1941, in Savannah, Georgia, and grew up in Southern California.
He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and attended the Yale School of Drama.
His filmography also included Fat City (1972), The New Centurions (1972), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), Up in Smoke (1978), The Long Riders (1980), Nice Dreams (1981), That Championship Season (1982) and American History X (1998).
Photo: Instagram/janeseymour
