Veteran Actor Jack Kehler Succumbs To Leukemia At 75

Actor Jack Kehler died Saturday due to leukemia, and the news of his death was confirmed by his son, Eddie Kehler, on Monday.

Eddie told Deadline that the actor died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He was 75 years old.

A character actor, Kehler had supporting roles in hundreds of TV shows and movies for over four decades. His most notable roles include “The Man in the High Castle” and “The Magicians.”

Born May 22, 1946, in Philadelphia, he entered the entertainment industry at age 24 with his work in theater. Kehler kicked off his tenure as a member of the Actors Studio in 1982 after falling in with American actors and acting teachers Sanford Meisner and Wynn Handman. Among his first television shows were “Fresno,” “Hill Street Blues,” and “Hunter.”

The late actor's first screen credit was in the 1983 sci-fi film by Michael Laughlin, “Strange Invaders,” which also starred Paul Le Mat and Nancy Allen. In the movie, Kehler played the role of a gas station attendant. He went on to appear in several other remarkable films, including “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” “Pineapple Express,” “Love Liza,” “Point Break,” and “Men in Black II.”

The veteran actor spent most of the 1980s appearing in television series, including “St. Elsewhere” and “Cagney & Lacey.” He was also one of the most notable characters in the action movies “The Last Boy Scout,” “Waterworld,” and “Wyatt Earp.”

Kehler rose to fame after appearing in the cult film “The Big Lebowski,” where he played the role of the landlord who pesters the Dude, played by Jeff Bridges, about rent.

Some of his most recent appearances included popular TV shows like “NYPD Blue,” “Angel,” and “Mad Men.” Kehler also recently appeared in “Love, Victor,” a film inspired by Becky Albertalli’s renowned novel “Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda.”

The actor's last work before passing away is a crime movie, “The Platinum Loop” by Eric Fulford, which centers on two grifters selling “a legendary piece of film showing Marilyn Monroe as the world has never seen her,” according to IMDb. The film is currently in post-production.