BEN GAZZARA DEAD AT 81

Monday, February 06 2012 06:13

Actor Ben Gazzara died on Friday (February 3rd) at the age of 81. The Emmy-winner succumbed to pancreatic cancer -- the same disease that killed his Road House costar Patrick Swayze.

Gazzara rose to fame on Broadway in the 1950s in productions like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Hatful of Rain. He made the transition to movies in Anatomy of Murder, which scored seven Oscar nominations.

His other notable films include The Big Lebowski, Summer of Sam and Dogville. On TV, he's best known for playing Paula Bryan in the 1960s series Run for Your Life.

He was reportedly working on new movie called Max Rose along with Jerry Lewis and Peter Bogdanovich when he died. It's unclear if he'd completed his role at the time of his death.