Actor Stacy Keach dies at 85
The American actor, known for Prison Break, The Bourne Legacy and the Mike Hammer series, died at his family home in Poland.
American actor Stacy Keach, known for the TV series Prison Break and the film The Bourne Legacy, has died at the age of 85.
He died on Tuesday at the family's home in Magdalenka, Poland, according to Variety. His wife, Małgosia Tomassi Keach, said in a statement that he died "after a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure". He had suffered a heart attack on stage in Chicago in 2017, Peoples Gazette reported.
"He fought for so long, with extraordinary courage, determination and strength," she said. "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."
Keach's career lasted about six decades. Variety lists his work as including the film Fat City and the starring role in the CBS series The New Mike Hammer. He also appeared in The Long Riders, Nebraska, Two and a Half Men and Ray Donovan, had a recurring voice role on The Simpsons, and played Cardinal Kevin Kearns on Blue Bloods. His last role was in the 2025 film Jay Kelly, as the father of the title character played by George Clooney.
He was widely regarded as a leading interpreter of Shakespeare. In 2010 he won a Helen Hayes award for playing King Lear at the Shakespeare Theatre Company, and in the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth he played Barabbas. He received an Emmy nomination in 1988 for playing the author in the miniseries Ernest Hemingway.
Born Walter Stacy Keach Jr. in Savannah, Georgia, he was the son of the actress Mary Cain and the actor and theatre director Stacy Keach Sr. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1963, and studied at the Yale School of Drama and, as a Fulbright Scholar, at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His younger brother, James, is a director and producer.
Early in his career he won an Obie Award for the title role in the Off Broadway anti-war satire MacBird! in 1966, and he made his Broadway debut in Danton's Death in 1965. He is survived by his wife, their children Karolina and Shannon, and their grandchildren.
SOURCE: Variety
