Is Powers Boothe Dead? ‘Agents Of SHIELD’, ‘Deadwood’ Actor Reportedly Dies At 68

Conflicting reports about popular movie and TV actor Powers Boothe’s death surfaced Sunday night. He was 68 years old and has acted recently in TV shows such as “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Deadwood.”

Although there were credible sources who reported that the actor passed away due to natural causes early Sunday morning in his Los Angeles home, other reports suggested the news of his death might just be another celebrity hoax floating around the internet.

“R.I.P. Powers Boothe, who has passed away at the age of 68,” a Facebook page called “R.I.P. Powers Boothe” was the first to report. The page, which has since been deleted, posted the news of his death on Saturday, even though the actor reportedly died on Sunday. According to the page, he died on Saturday morning.

Even as the page received millions of likes, with people flooding in to express their condolences, there were also those who were skeptical about believing the news without some sort of additional confirmation. This is because more than a dozen celebrity death hoaxes have gone viral in the recent few months.

“He joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax. He's still alive and well, stop believing what you see on the Internet,” representatives for the actor confirmed to Media Mass on Sunday.

But things got confusing when the Hollywood Reporter reached out to Boothe’s spokesperson, and then published a story confirming his death. The report added that a private service will be held in his home state of Texas. The event will be followed by a memorial celebration, the date and time for which is under consideration.

Boothe’s publicist spoke to TVLine and also confirmed the news of the actor’s death. The Wikipedia page dedicated to Boothe has been updated to include the news of his death.

The actor’s long-time friend, Beau Bridges, sent out the following tweet after news of the actor’s death was reported worldwide:

Boothe was born June 1 1948, in a farm in Snyder, Texas. He was married to his high school sweetheart in 1969 and had two children. He began his career as a theatre actor appearing in a number of roles in Shakespearean plays such as “Henry IV.” Boothe made his Broadway debut in the late '70s through “Lone Star & Pvt. Wars.”

He won his first Emmy for CBS' “Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones”, and chose to accept the award during an actor’s strike. "This may be either the bravest moment of my career, or the dumbest," he said in his acceptance speech.

Boothe went onto star in a number of villainous roles in films such as “Sudden Death” (1995), “Frailty” (2001) and “Sin City” (2005). Recently he became widely known for playing Cy Tolliver, the evil saloon owner on the TV show “Deadwood” and as Gideon Malick in “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

He also portrayed memorable roles in movies such as “Nixon” (1995), “U Turn” (1997) and “Tombstone” (1993). He was nominated for multiple SAG awards for “Nixon” and “Deadwood.”

Donations can be made in Boothe’s honor to an organization called Gary Sinise Foundation, which honors the nation’s defenders, veterans, first responders and their families.