Ed Lauter, the actor who played the butler/chauffeur of Beenice Bejo's character Peppy in the best-picture Oscar winner "The Artist" died Wednesday, at age 74.
Lauter died of mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer most commonly caused by asbestos exposure, his publicist, Edward Lozzi, said the Associated Press reported.
"What good fortune to be married to a man who so easily combined love, kindness, caring and a sense of humor ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous," said his wife, Mia, according to TheWrap. "Our marriage, as they say in the business, was one hell of a run. I'll miss him dearly as well as his family and countless friends."
Lauter made his big screen debut in the 1971 western "Dirty Little Billy" and his last film was "The Town that Dreaded Sundown," a remake of the 1976 horror film. Lauter worked through his cancer and had a recurring character on the TV series "Shameless," and in last year's "Trouble With the Curve."
His film résumé also includes "The New Centurions" (1972), "The Last American Hero" (1973), "French Connection II" (1975), "King Kong" (1976), "Magic" (1978), "Cujo" (1983), "Lassiter" (1984), "Death Wish 3" (1985), "The Rocketeer" (1991), "Trial by Jury" (1994), "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995), "Mulholland Falls" (1995), "Seabiscuit" (2003), "Seraphim Falls" (2006) and "The Number 23" (2007).
Lauter, who went to college on a basketball scholarship at C.W. Post on Long Island and worked as a stand-up comic. Lauter also was known to do excellent impersonations of Burt Lancaster, George C. Scott, James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart.
"He was a pal, not just a PR client," Lozzi said. "His former stand-up comedy days would always entertain us behind the scenes with his most incredible impersonations. He called me as Clint Eastwood from the set of Trouble With the Curve last year. We really thought it was Eastwood!"
The Ed Lauter Foundation and a scholarship fund is being established to honor his work, and the scholarship will be awarded annually to aspiring young actors. His family, which includes his wife of eight years asks that donations be made to the foundation.
In the 2003 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lauter recalled someone calling him "turn" actor.
"That's when a story is going along and your character shows up and the story suddenly takes a major turn," Lauter said. "That's kind of neat."
