Emmy- and Oscar-nominated actor and North Hollywood native Dean Stockwell has died at the age of 85. In the later stages of his career, Stockwell, aka “The Boy With Green Hair,” was recognized as one of the most adored adult character actors of his generation. He scored an Emmy nomination four times from 1989 to 1993 for his role in the television series “Quantum Leap” as well as an Oscar nomination in 1989 for “Married to the Mob.”
Stockwell was not only an accomplished actor but also a visual artist with over 70 years’ worth of credits to his name. His representatives confirmed that the actor passed away due to natural causes at his home in Taos, New Mexico.
In 1936, he was born as Robert Dean Stockwell and, through his childhood years in the ’40s, took on a series of supporting MGM child actor parts. The list included 1945’s “Anchors Aweigh” starring Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, 1947’s “Gentleman’s Agreement” with Gregory Peck, and a titular role in Joseph Losey’s Technicolor sleeper flick of 1948 “The Boy With Green Hair,” which was his claim to fame. Although he became a cult icon while essaying the role of Admiral Al Calavicci in the NBC time travel series “Quantum Leap.”
In 1984, he also played the role of Doctor Wellington Yueh in David Lynch’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” which has now gained more popularity than ever. Talking about his early days as a child actor, Stockwell stated in his IMDb bio that it wasn’t “the easiest life in the world, but then no life is easy.” He wrote, “I started at a very early age in this business, and I’m sure most of you have read stories about people who have started as children and ended up in very difficult lives and bad consequences.”
According to Deadline, those close to Stockwell describe him as a rebel, and a man with a penchant for golf, acting, laughing, and cigars. The actor leaves behind his wife, Joy, and their children, Austin and Sophie.