Character actor James Gammon dies at 70
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James Gammon, a versatile character actor who brought to stage and screen his gravelly voice and craggy face, died Friday in Costa Mesa. He was 70 and had cancer.
Gammon may be best known for his role as Lou Brown, manager of the hapless Cleveland Indians in the 1989 comedy ‘Major League’ and its 1994 sequel. He stood out with key roles in many films including ‘Urban Cowboy,’ ‘The Milagro Beanfield War,’ ‘Ironweed,’ ‘Silverado’ and ‘Cold Mountain.’
On television he played the father on ‘Nash Bridges’ from 1996 to 2001, though he was only nine years older than star Don Johnson. He also had roles in such TV series as ‘Gunsmoke,’ ‘The Waltons’ and ‘Bagdad Café.’
A co-founding member of the MET Theatre in Hollywood, he received several Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for acting and directing. Gammon played a succession of roles for Sam Shepard and received a Tony nomination for a 1996 production of the playwright’s ‘Buried Child.’
A full obituary will follow at www.latimes.com/obits.
-- Claire Noland
