Harold And Maude Actor Bud Cort Has Died, Aged 77

Bud Cort, the American actor best known for his leading performance in the cult 1970s movie Harold And Maude, has died at the age of 77.

On Wednesday evening, his long-term friend, the writer and producer Dorian Hannaway, told Variety that Bud had died in Connecticut following what the outlet described as a “long illness”.

After being born and raised in New York, Bud – whose legal name was Walter Edward Cox – moved across the US to Los Angeles as a young man to pursue a career in acting, beginning his on-screen career in the late 1960s with small roles in films like Sweet Charity.

He was then discovered by the acclaimed Robert Altman, who cast him in the dark comedy M*A*S*H and made him the lead in Brewster McCloud.

In the early 1970s, Bud was cast as the male lead in Harold And Maude, which centred around a young man who strikes up a friendship – and, later, romantic relationship – with a much older woman.

In Harold And Maude, he shared the screen with Oscar winner Ruth Gordon, and was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Bafta for his performance.

He went on to appear in films like Dogma, But I’m A Cheerleader, Coyote Ugly and Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, as well as making a cameo in the Jim Carrey thriller The Number 23.

Meanwhile, Bud’s TV work included the Psycho spin-off Bates Motel, The Twilight Zone, Ugly Betty, Criminal Minds and Arrested Development, in which he played a fictionalised version of himself.

Fans of DC Comics might also know him as the voice of the villainous Toyman in several animated comic book adaptations.

Bud’s final acting roles were the action comedy Eagleheart, a voice role in a movie adaptation of The Little Prince and a 2016 short film Affections.