Edward Matthew Lauter, 74, died Wednesday of mesothelioma, a rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure, the Associated Press reported.
According to the AP, Lauter's "long and angular" stern face landed him in sneering detective, mobster heavies or sheriff roles, like in "The Longest Yard," when he played the menacing captain with Burt Reynolds. Whatever the role, menacing was his forte.
Lauter was born on Oct. 30, 1938 in Long Beach in Long Island, New York. He studied English and played basketball at the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University, the Chicago Tribune reported. Before landing his first broadway production in "The Great White Hope" he studied acting and worked as a comedian in 1968.
Since the 1970's, Lauter has played TV roles in "Mannix," "The Rockford Files," "The A-Team," and "Miami Vice," to name a few.
His most recent roles in movies was in "Trouble With the Curve" in 2011 with Clint Eastwood and in "Born on the Fourth of July" with Tom Cruise. He was also in "The New Centurions" with George C. Scott and in "My Blue Heaven," "Revenge of the Nerds 2" and "Not Another Teenage Movie," among many other films, according to the AP. He also starred as the butler in the 2011 Oscar-winning "The Artist."
Lauter, who considered himself a "turn" actor, an actor who shows up in the film and turns the plot in a different direction, told the Tribune "a lot of people say, 'I know you,' but they don't know my name." His roles were specific, and assisted the developing plot, but his face was most unforgetable.
According to the AP, the 6-foot-2, balding actor had memorable roles and was the opposite of an out of work actor. On demand until the very end, he has two new films set to release in the upcoming year.
Lauter is survived by his wife, Mia, and four children.
