Stacy Keach Dies: ‘Mike Hammer’ Star, Film & Stage Actor Was 85

Stacy Keach, the prolific actor who starred on TV’s Mike Hammer and Titus and recurred on Blue Bloods after establishing himself as a stage and film actor, died Monday. He was 85. His wife, Małgosia Tomassi, said he died “after a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure” at the family home in Magdalenka, Poland. “Stacy was not only a legendary actor, admired and loved by audiences the world over, but also my beloved husband, my companion and the heart of our family,” she wrote. “His passing leaves an immeasurable emptiness in our lives. But his extraordinary spirit, his unforgettable voice and the love he gave so generously will remain with us forever. Keach appeared in several Broadway, Off Broadway and local shows during the 1960s, often in Shakespeare plays, and began landing film roles late in that decade. He starred as an aging boxer who works with a younger fighter (Jeff Bridges) in John Huston’s Fat City (1972) and played famed gunfighter Doc Holliday opposite Faye Dunaway in Doc (1971) and starred which George C. Scott in cop drama The New Centurians (1971). Other early film credits include The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) with titular star Paul Newman; starring as Martin Luther in Luther (1974)nd playedpioneer Wilbur Wright in Orville and Wilbur (1972). Keach also began working in television during the 1960s, playing Banquo in a 1968 production of Macbeth and other telefilms. He also played Napoleon Bonaparte in The Man of Destiny (1973). His first series-regular role was starring as a police lieutenant in the one-season ABC drama Caribe in 1975. Keach would continue appearing regularly on TV and in features throughout the 1970s, including narrating Ridley Scott directing debut The Duellists (1977). He had a memorable key supporting role as Sgt. Stedanko in Cheech and Chong’s film debut Up in Smoke (1978), in which his tough-guy persona gives way to broad stoner humor. He reprised the role in the duo’s 1981 pic Nice Dreams. Keach also starred opposite Charlton Heston, Ned Beatty and David Carradine in the 1978 submarine-disaster pic Gray Lady Down. As the 1980s dawned, he starred with David, Keith and Robert Carradine in Walter Hill’s western The Long Riders, which premiered at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. Keach also earned his lone career writing credit only big-screen exec producer gig on the movie. MORE TO COME…