Beloved character actor Ed Lauter has died at the age of 74. Lauter was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May and succumbed to the terminal form of cancer on Wednesday. He appeared in over 200 films through the course of his career.
One of his most memorable roles came as the antagonist in Alfred Hitchcock's final film 1976's "The Family Plot." He scored the role after Hitchcock saw him playing opposite Burt Reynolds in 1974's "The Longest Yard" and recalled getting the role in a 2003 interview saying:
"Hitchcock came out of his screening room, walked back into the office and said, 'He's very good, isn't he?'" Lauter recalled in a 2003 interview. "[His assistant Peggy Anderson], thinking that he meant Burt Reynolds, said, 'Yes, he is.'"
"Hitchcock said, 'What's his name again?' Now, Peggy's lost; he doesn't know who Burt Reynolds is? Then, Hitchcock said, 'Ed something . . .' and when Peggy told him, 'Ed Lauter,' he said, 'Yes, we've got our Maloney.' He had actually told Peggy that he wasn't going to do the film unless he first cast Maloney, the antagonist."
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Entertainment News
May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.