Harold and Maude are together again. Golden Globe- and BAFTA-nominated actor Bud Cort died on Wednesday at age 77 following a long illness. Cort is best remembered as half the titular duo in Hal Ashby’s beloved 1971 dark comedy, also starring Oscar-winning actress Ruth Gordon and scored to the songs of Yusuf Islam, aka Cat Stevens.
Born in Rye, N.Y., Cort scored his breakout role in Robert Altman’s 1970 Korean War satire M*A*S*H. Harold and Maude arrived the following year and was embraced by a small, but passionate audience that grew over the ensuing decades. Overlooked by Oscar voters, both Cort and Gordon received Golden Globe nominations for Best Musical/Comedy Actor and Best Musical/Comedy Actress, respectively. Cort also received a BAFTA nomination for Most Promising Newcomer.
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Cort continued to work steadily in film and television as a character actor in the ensuing decades. In 1991, he cowrote, directed and starred in the indie comedy Ted & Venus alongside James Brolin and Carol Kane. His last major film role was in the 2015 animated film The Little Prince, where he provided the voice of ruler of a distant asteroid.
Here are some of Cort’s most memorable appearances from his long career.
Brewster McCloud (1970)
After discovering Cort for M*A*S*H, Altman quickly reunited with the young actor and promoted him to the star of their second collaboration, which also featured the late Sally Kellerman and Shelley Duvall. A bird-obsessed oddball who lives beneath the Houston Astrodome, Brewster McCloud builds a set of wings with plans to join his feathered friends in flight. But first, he’s got to avoid capture by a police department that suspects him of being behind a string of murders. A box-office flop upon its initial release, Brewster McCloud has become a favorite in the Altman canon, and Cort was named Male Star of Tomorrow by the since-discontinued Laurel Awards created by Motion Picture Exhibitor magazine.
Harold and Maude (1971)
One of the most influential comedies of the 1970s — or, indeed, any decade — Harold and Maude takes a light touch to the heavy subject of death… not to mention generation-gap romances. Cort and Gordon are perfectly matched as two outsiders who find solace and love with each other. The soundtrack of Stevens-penned and performed bangers contributes to its lovingly handcrafted feel.
Invaders From Mars (1986)
Poltergeist director Tobe Hooper’s remake of the 1953 alien-invasion chiller scared an entire generation of kids who watched it on cable long after they were supposed to be in bed. Cort has a small, but memorable role as Dr. Weinstein, who tries to broker peace with the conquest-minded extraterrestrials… and fails miserably. Fair warning: The “it was all a dream… or was it?” ending is still guaranteed to keep you up at night.
The DC Animated Universe (1996-2006)
Just as Mark Hamill found a second act in the animated extension of the DC Universe, Cort delighted comic book fans with his villainous vocal performance as the Toyman on Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock and Justice League Unlimited. The actor also contributed voices to such varied cartoons as The Mask, Eagleheart, and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries.
Dogma (1999)
Talk about heavenly cameos. Cort briefly plays the Almighty herself in Kevin Smith’s century-ending religious comedy. During a periodic visit to Earth, God is attacked in his Cort-sized human form by a trio of demon-serving disciples and ends up in the hospital. Eventually awakened, God then adopts her true form as Alanis Morissette.
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004)
Writer-director Wes Anderson has frequently cited Ashby’s films as a significant influence on his own, so it’s surprising that he and Cort only worked together once. The erstwhile Harold plays “bond company stooge” and, thus, easy hostage target, Bill Ubell, who is predictably kidnapped by pirates while Bill Murray’s titular underwater filmmaker is sailing along in international waters. Cort shared the Zissou ensemble’s nomination for Best Cast from the Broadcast Film Critics Association.
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