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Ned Beatty Passes Away at Age 83
Ned Beatty, who had memorable roles in classic dramas "Network," "Nashville," "Deliverance," and 1978's "Superman" has died. The legendary character actor was 83.
Beatty died early Sunday surrounded by his family and loved ones, his manager Deborah Miller said in a statement to USA TODAY. Beatty's family has decided to keep further details of his death private at this time, according to the statement.
"Ned is an iconic, legendary talent, as well as a dear friend, and he will be missed by us all," the statement read.
The Kentucky native Beatty broke into movies playing the genial vacationer Bobby Trippe, brutally raped by a backwoodsman in 1972's "Deliverance."
The scene in which Trippe is brutalized became the most memorable in the movie starring Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight, establishing Beatty as an actor whose name moviegoers may not have known but whose face they always recognized.
"For people like me, there's a lot of 'I know you! I know you! What have I seen you in?'," Beatty remarked to the Associated Press in 1992.
Beatty starred as corporate executive Arthur Jensen in 1976's "Network," receiving his one Oscar nomination.
In 1978, Beatty flipped the script to star in one of the most memorable roles of his career as the bumbling henchman Otis, alongside Gene Hackman's Lex Luther, in 1978's "Superman." Beatty also appeared in the 1980 sequel.
Other films included "All The President's Men," "The Front Page," "Nashville," and "The Big Easy."
On television, Beatty was at his best as Det. Stanley "The Big Man" Bolander on NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Street" and for recurring roles in "Roseanne" as John Goodman's father.
