A Unique Spirit: Hollywood Cult Legend Bud Cort Dies at 77
A longtime Hollywood performer with a career spanning more than 50 years and over 80 screen credits has died at 77.
Bud Cort has passed away, according to writer and producer Dorian Hannaway, a close friend, who said the actor died after “a long illness.”
Across five decades in film and television, Cort built an extensive résumé, but he remained best known for his starring role in the 1971 cult classic Harold and Maude.
He became permanently associated with that performance in Hal Ashby’s unconventional romance about a young man fascinated with death who falls in love with a free-spirited 79-year-old Holocaust survivor, played by Ruth Gordon.
When it was released in 1971, the film was initially a commercial and critical disappointment. Over time, however, it gained a devoted audience in repertory cinemas throughout the 1970s, ultimately becoming a cult favorite celebrated for its dark humor and unlikely love story.
“A young man obsessed with death falls in love with an old woman obsessed with life. She dies and teaches the kid how to live,” Cameron Crowe said in a 2011 description for AFI. “And it’s done with music [by Cat Stevens] that scratches at your soul … that movie holds up – to this minute.”
Director Edgar Wright later honored Cort’s work, describing him as a “welcome and magnetic presence in every film lucky enough to have him.” Reflecting on Harold and Maude, Wright added that the movie remains a pitch-perfect black comedy and love story, and credited Cort with delivering “one of the greatest looks to camera in film.”
Cort’s performance earned him nominations for both a Golden Globe and a BAFTA.
Born Walter Edward Cox in Rye, New York, in 1948, he later changed his name to avoid confusion with character actor Wally Cox. He attended school in New Rochelle, where his love of performing began early—appearing in school productions and frequently traveling into Manhattan to watch Broadway shows.
Hannaway remembered him as a “passionate theatregoer” who would slip away to Manhattan to catch Broadway performances and wait at the stage door, hoping to see Barbra Streisand after watching Funny Girl.
Roslyn Kind also reflected on knowing him from her teenage years.
“I was only fourteen when I met Bud at the backstage door at my sister’s play,” she said in a statement. “He was majoring in art at the time in high school. We became close friends who shared our interest in entertainment.
“When I got married, Bud and our songwriter friend, Bruce Roberts, wrote a special song that was performed at the ceremony. His unique spirit will always be with me.”
Cort moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s to pursue film work. He made a small appearance in MASH before being cast by Robert Altman in the title role of Brewster McCloud.
His co-star Sally Kellerman later recalled noticing him while waiting in line for lunch. “Although I didn’t know who he was, I said ‘Oh, boy. We’re going to be best friends.’”
Cort continued working steadily, taking supporting roles in films such as Heat, Dogma, Coyote Ugly, and Pollock, along with The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. On television, he appeared in series including Arrested Development, Ugly Betty, and Criminal Minds. He also voiced Toyman in animated projects, including Superman: The Animated Series.
In 1979, Cort narrowly survived a serious car accident that required multiple surgeries and disrupted his career.
He is survived by his brother Joseph Cox and sister-in-law Vickie, as well as their daughters Meave, Brytnn, and Jesse. He also leaves behind his sisters Kerry Cox, Tracy Cox Berkman, and Shelly Cox Dufour, along with many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at a later date in Los Angeles.
This story first appeared in The US Sun and was republished with permission.