http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20060215/en_celeb_eo/18364"Babylon 5," "Fugitive" Actor Dies
By Josh Grossberg Wed Feb 15, 4:37 PM ET
As the infamous one-armed man,
Andreas Katsulas helped frame
Harrison Ford in 1993's The Fugitive. As Ambassador G'Kar, the actor helped ratchet up the intrigue on Babylon 5.
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Now, fans of both are mourning the loss of the veteran bad-guy actor, who has died at age 59.
According to his official Website, Katsulas passed away Feb. 13 in Los Angeles after a long illness. His agent, Donna Massetti, tells E! Online that the actor had been battling lung cancer for some time.
Though his name might not immediately be recognizable, Katsulas' scowl and furrowed brow were perfectly suited to villainous roles. He was a ruthless mobster opposite
Tom Berenger and
Mimi Rogers in
Ridley Scott's 1987 thriller Someone to Watch Over Me. He was a terrorist leader in the 1996
Kurt Russell-
Steven Seagal airplane-based thriller Executive Decision. And he murdered the wife of Ford's Dr. Richard Kimble in the Oscar-nominated The Fugitive, setting the plot in action.
But his greatest fame came on the small screen. After appearances in the syndicated Alien Nation TV series and The Death of the Incredible Hulk telefilm, Katsulas played the Rommulan commander Tomalak in a handful of episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. That in turn led to his most memorable role, as Narn Ambassador G'Kar in 1993's Emmy-nominated Babylon 5: The Gathering and the subsequent syndicated cult-hit series.
Donning heavy alien makeup, Katsulas played the cool, cunning diplomat with a sense of humor.
While G'Kar began as purely a baddie singularly focused on freeing his people from their arch-enemy, the Centauri, as the seasons wore on, the character evolved into an important spiritual leader, who still had his hand in a few nefarious plots, natch.
Born May 18, 1946 in St. Louis, Katsulas majored in theater at St. Louis University and obtained a master's in theater from Indiana University at Bloomington.
He acted in theater in St. Louis, New York and Boston, before moving to screen roles. He played a Greek immigrant in 1982's King of America opposite
Olympia Dukakis, and, that same year, had a role in the TV movie A Midsummer Night's Dream and landed a part on the daytime soap Guiding Light.
Other credits included:
Blake Edwards' 1988 comedy Sunset, starring
Bruce Willis and
James Garner;
Patrick Swayze's 1989 hillbilly thriller, Next of Kin; Hot Shots! Part Deux; and guest stints on such TV staples as The Equalizer, Hunter, Murder, She Wrote and The Father Dowling Mysteries.
His most recent TV credits included Millennium, Enterprise and NYPD Blue.
Katsulas is survived by his second wife, whom he married less than a year ago, and a daughter and a son from his first marriage. Funeral services are pending in his native St. Louis.
http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-17526From: jmsatb5@aol.com
Subject: Andreas Katsulas is gone
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
Date: 2/15/2006 6:52:01 AM
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Just over a year ago, Andreas Katsulas -- who loved smoking with a
passion that cannot be described -- was diagnosed with lung cancer,
which by then had already spread to other areas. He quit smoking at
once and went on a healthy diet and vitamin program, but there was
little hope of a good resolution even though the new regimen was very
good for him. When we spoke about it, he laughed, and said, "Now that
I'm dying I've never felt better!"
His spirits were always up and positive, putting everyone at ease about
his condition, because...well, that's the kind of person he was.
A couple of months ago, he and his wife convened a dinner with me,
Doug, and Peter Jurasik, which was filled with laughter and stories and
good food. He wanted to know all the stories we never told him
because, as he said, "Who am I going to tell?" So we did. Because we
knew we were saying goodbye, and there would not be a second chance.
Last night, in the company of his wife and family, Andreas closed his
eyes and went away.
He lived an amazing life...full of travel and wonder and good
work...was part of the world renowned Peter Brook company...he saw the
planet, loved and was loved, ate at great restaurants, smoked too many
cigarettes...he lived a life some people would die for.
And, sadly, due to the last part of that equation...he did.
Memorial arrangements are still being worked out, but will doubtless be
private.
Andreas is gone...and G'Kar with him, because no one else can ever play
that role, or ever will.
I will miss him terribly.
J. Michael Straczynski
Verdammt... G'kar war mein Lieblingschar in B5
Der Schauspieler hat den Char wirklich hervorragend vom Kriegstreiber zum erleuchteten Prediger gemacht....
Ruhe in Frieden, Andreas..
