NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Denis Arndt, a character actor and favorite of TV writer and producer David E. Kelley, getting cast in 鈥淟.A. Law,鈥 鈥淧icket Fences鈥 and 鈥淐hicago Hope,鈥 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 鈥減eacefully in his bed鈥 at his cabin home in Ashland, Oregon, his family in an obituary published March 26. It noted that he was born in 1939, the same year 鈥淭he Wizard of Oz鈥 came out.
鈥淭hat was like Dadsa国际传媒 life,鈥 it said. 鈥淚t 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.鈥
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.
His career began in the mid-1980s with roles on the TV shows 鈥淐rime Story鈥 and 鈥淲iseguy鈥 and he would spend the 1990s in TV and film, with a highlight being one of the cops interrogating Sharon Stonesa国际传媒 character in Paul Verhoevensa国际传媒 鈥淏asic Instinct.鈥
Making his first and only Broadway appearance at age 77 opposite Mary-Louise Parker, Arndt received acclaim for his performance in 鈥淗eisenberg,鈥 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: 鈥淗e captures new love and old love at the same time, hope and fear, the new world and the old. Hesa国际传媒 turned the simplest of tales 鈥 boy meets girl 鈥 into an unexpectedly rich thing with just two chairs, two tables and two actors.鈥
On TV, Arndt was a frequent Kelly collaborator, starting with 鈥淟.A. Law鈥 and then as lawyer Franklin Dell on 鈥淧icket Fences鈥 over four seasons. He also had roles on 鈥淐hicago Hope,鈥 鈥淎lly McBeal,鈥 鈥淭he Practice,鈥 鈥淏oston Public,鈥 鈥淏oston Legal鈥 and
His other small-screen credits include 鈥淧rovidence, 鈥漈he Wonder Years," 鈥淢urder, She Wrote,鈥 鈥淟ife Goes On,鈥 鈥淗ermansa国际传媒 Head,鈥 鈥淭ouched by an Angel,鈥 鈥淕reysa国际传媒 Anatomy鈥 and 鈥淭he Good Fight.鈥
He is survived by his wife, Magee, and his children, Scott, Tammy, Laurie, Kirsten, Bryce, McKenna and Tanner.
