"Harold and Maude" Star Bud Cort Dies at 77 Jack SmartFebruary 12, 2026 at 3:48 AM 0 Bud Cort in 'Harold and Maude' CBS via Getty Bud Cort died on Feb. 11 at age 77 The actor was known for his starring roles in Brewster McCloud and Harold and Maude "Acting is and always has been my life," Cort told PEOPLE in 1984 Actor Bud Cort, known for his work in the 1971 movie classic Harold and Maude, has died. He was 77 years old. Cort died Feb. 11 in Connecticut after a lengthy illness, multiple outlets reported on Wednesday.
- - "Harold and Maude" Star Bud Cort Dies at 77
Jack SmartFebruary 12, 2026 at 3:48 AM
0
Bud Cort in 'Harold and Maude'
CBS via Getty
Bud Cort died on Feb. 11 at age 77
The actor was known for his starring roles in Brewster McCloud and Harold and Maude
"Acting is and always has been my life," Cort told PEOPLE in 1984
Actor Bud Cort, known for his work in the 1971 movie classic Harold and Maude, has died. He was 77 years old.
Cort died Feb. 11 in Connecticut after a lengthy illness, multiple outlets reported on Wednesday.
Born Walter Edward Cox in 1948 in New Rochelle, New York, Cort discovered a love for live performance early on. Admitted as a scenic design major rather than actor at the NYU School of the Arts, he began working in commercials, onstage and his first official screen credit, the soap opera The Doctors.
Hollywood director Robert Altman caught Cort in a theater revue, casting him in 1970 in M*A*S*H and the titular role in Brewster McCloud, which launched his screen career.
Bud Cort in 2013
Mark Sullivan/WireImage
Soon afterward, Cort played Harold Chasen opposite Ruth Gordon's Maude Chardin in 1971's Hal Ashby-directed Harold and Maude, earning nominations at the Golden Globe Awards and BAFTA Awards. Although commercially unsuccessful as first, the film has since been regarded as a cult classic.
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Cort went on to earn strong reviews in films including 1981's She Dances Alone, 1984's Electric Dreams, 1995's Heat, 1999's Dogma, 2000's Coyote Ugly and 2004's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. He also lent his voice to the character Toyman in DC Comics adaptations Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock and Justice League Unlimited.
Bud Cort in 1981
Bertrand LAFORET/Gamma-Rapho via Getty
In 1972 he made his Broadway debut in Simon Gray's play Wise Child, and in 1974 co-founded the LA Classic Theatre Works with Richard Dreyfuss, Rene Auberjonois and more. At one point he lived with the late performer Groucho Marx.
In November 1984, Cort spoke to PEOPLE about the 1979 car collision on a Hollywood freeway that derailed his life and career. "I try not to look in mirrors," he said, after a fractured arm, leg and skull resulted in multiple postoperative scars.
"But I'm getting on with my life," he said at the time. "Acting is and always has been my life. I was playing Santa Claus when I was four."
Fond remembrances for Cort began appearing on social media on Wednesday. On her Facebook and Instagram accounts, Jamie Lee Curtis remembered befriending the star on an airplane amid her Trading Places publicity tour. A friend later arranged to have Cort "come and be a male stripper at my wedding shower," wrote the Oscar winner, captioning photos of the shower in question.
"He just came in and did his thing and then split. My mother [Janet Leigh] was in attendance and absolutely loved it," Curtis added. "He was a talented and interesting person, and I am glad that the universe brought us into orbit with each other for a brief time."
Cort is survived by his four siblings.
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: February 12, 2026 at 12:36AM on Source: RED MAG
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